B5798 - Ethnographic Reasearch Lab on Everyday Practices

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students acquire knowledge of ethnographic research techniques and can apply them to the analysis of everyday practices in order to understand their cultural and social meanings from the point of view of the practitioners.

Course contents

The laboratory aims to offer students the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge in a specific area of social research on everyday practices. The workshop is designed as a simulation of ethnographic research conducted in a specific field, in which students will be guided and assisted by the lecturer as members of a research team. In the 2025-2026 academic year, an ethnographic field in the city of Bologna will be proposed, suitable for the study of the imaginaries and practices of urban nature in connection with the issues of climate and environmental crisis and environmental sustainability.

The course includes a number of lectures and seminars aimed at providing an introductory framework on the fundamental epistemological and methodological aspects of qualitative social research and ethnography, while the main part of the training activities are aimed at accompanying students in the design of an ethnography (from the research question to the identification and field-testing of ethnographic research techniques) and in its realisation (fieldwork, analysis of the data collected and drafting of a final research report). Field research, carried out directly by students either under the guidance of the teacher or independently, alternates with moments of feedback, analysis and discussion of the results in the classroom.

During the workshop, innovative social research techniques will be illustrated and tested, assessing their suitability for the ethnographic field identified for the workshop, and there will be a focus on participatory action research (PAR) techniques.

Readings/Bibliography

A basic knowledge of qualitative research techniques and ethnography is required, preparatory to the laboratory, in the absence of which students are invited to study a manual on qualitative social research, for example we suggest one among the following:

Cardano M., Gariglio L., Metodi qualitativi. Pratiche di ricerca in presenza, a distanza e ibride, Carocci, 2022.

Giorgi A., Pizzolati M., Vacchelli E., Metodi creativi per la ricerca sociale. Contesto, pratiche, strumenti, il Mulino, Bologna, 2021.

Cardano M., Argomenti per la ricerca qualitativa Disegno, analisi, scrittura, il Mulino, Bologna, 2020 or alternatively by the same author La ricerca qualitativa, il Mulino, Bologna, 2011.

Corbetta P., La ricerca sociale: metodologia e tecniche. III Le tecniche qualitative, il Mulino Bologna, 2015.

Sacchetti F., Processi di categorizzazione in etnografia. Il ruolo degli impliciti e delle categoria ex ante, Bonanno, 2014.

Semi G. , Bolzoni M., L'osservazione partecipante. Una guida pratica. il Mulino Bologna, 2022.

Lupton, D. (2024) A Little Book of Creative Methods for Social Inquiry and Research Communication. Sydney: UNSW and ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society.

The supporting bibliography for the laboratory will be indicated by the lecturer at the beginning of the course according to the object of study.

On the innovative technique of walking ethnography we suggest reading:

Kusenbach M., (2003) ‘Street phenomenology: the “go-along” as ethnographic research tool’, Ethnography, 4, pp. 455-485.

Lee J., Ingold T. (2006), ‘Fieldwork on foot: perceiving, routing, socialising’ in Coleman S., Collins P. J. (eds.), Locating the field: space, place and context in anthropology, Berg, Oxford.

Teaching methods

Lectures, seminars, brainstorming, group work in classroom and on the field.

Assessment methods

The assessment of learning will take place by means of an individual oral interview based on the discussion of the social research work carried out during the course, aimed at assessing both the students' learning of methodological tools and applied research techniques and their ability to reflect on experience and to argue.

The student's possession of excellent critical and in-depth skills, the ability to link together the main themes addressed in the course, and the use of appropriate language concerning the specificity of the discipline, will result in excellent grades.

The student's possession of a mnemonic knowledge of the contents, a discrete critical capacity and ability to connect the topics covered, and the use of appropriate language will result in fair marks.

Sufficient assessments will result from: the presence of some educational gaps, but attainment of a minimal knowledge of the topics covered; the use of inappropriate language.

The following will result in negative assessments: the absence of critical capacity, difficulties in orientation about the topics addressed in the examination texts, educational gaps, and the use of inappropriate language.

 

Teaching tools

Powerpoint presentations

Field work

Research work in classroom.

Office hours

See the website of Roberta Bartoletti