Contemporary Ethnography
SOCIOL 1107
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
This class is an introduction to ethnographic methods in sociology. Ethnographers learn about the social world by doing immersive firsthand research, spending time alongside people and watching events unfold in their lives. In this class, each student will conduct their own semester-long ethnographic research project. We will also read recent ethnographic books about topics like a freshman college dorm, “drill” rappers in Chicago, an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Los Angeles, sex workers in Vietnam, and more. By reading these books and doing ethnographic research ourselves, we will learn about unique ways that ethnographers gather and present sociological evidence. We will also discuss the ethical questions that ethnographers must grapple with and consider how ethnographies can teach lessons about the social world that apply beyond the narrow cases they examine.
Recommended Prep
SOCIOL 1128: Models of Social Science Research, or an equivalent course on social science methodology
Available for Harvard Cross Registration
