Anthropology: of the observation to the theory
[POLS1113]
[30h] 4 credits
Teacher(s): Olivier Servais
Language: French
Level: First
Aims
To understand the process of production of the data and especially the participating observation and ethnographic interview;
To plan the organization of a fieldwork.
Main themes
The course will illustrate these various dimensions of the ethnographic method on basis of great contemporary sets of themes of anthropological work.
Content and teaching methods
1. The participating observation?
2. Production and statute of the data.
3. The ethnographer as a participant.
4. Evolution of the debate around the reflexive position in the ethnographic production.
5. Systematic of the approaches of field (how to observe and carry out an ethnographic interview, but also what to draw from the investigations in the archives files).
6. Rupture, restitution, ethical questions, and policies of the field.
7. Methods of the writing
8. Description by the control of the glance and the work of writing.
9. Conditions of the "ethnographic translation".
10. The construction of problems starting from the ethnographic data.
11. Reflexions around the analysis and the interpretation of the data.
Methods:
The course is conceived on the basis of preliminary readings, synthetic talks led by the professor and visioning and discussing of support videos. For the first time, the students are brought to think of the process of fieldwork.
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)
Syllabus, (books at the disposal via collective purchases);