CMS 384K: Contemporary
Ethnography of Communication
COURSE SYLLABUS for Fall 2000
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Course information
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Meeting time and location
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Instructor
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Description
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Readings
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Graded Assignments
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Attendance policy
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Ethical standards
Contemporary Ethnography of Communication
Unique number: 06255.
Course number: CMS 384K.
Description: A course in using discourse analysis in the ethnography
of communication.
Prerequisite:graduate standing.
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Meeting time and location
Days: Tuesdays.
Time:3:30-6:30 pm..
Place: CMA 7.114C.
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Instructor
Name: Madeline M. Maxwell, Ph.D.
Office: CMA 7.120. Jesse H. Jones Communication Center
Office hours: Tuesdays 1:00-3:30, Wednesdays 1:30-3:00,
and by appointment. E-mail seems to work best for messages and arranging
appointments. Or leave a message on the bulletin board on my office door,
and I will get back to you. I expect to have several individual discussions
with each of you about your work for this course. I'll offer some times
after the beginning of the semester.
Phone & voice mail: 471 1954.
mmaxwell@utxvms.cc.utexas.edu
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Description
An examination of the major contributions made by ethnographic research,
broadly conceived, to the knowledge of communication practice and theory.
The course will include reviews of the major traditions in ethnographies,
with an focus on current issues. The emphasis will be on detailed ethnographies
of face to face interaction as particularly efficient tools to discover
what major social and cultural forces can impact institutions and practices
and how individuals can reconstruct their own local practices.
Thus we will visit ethnographies of communication, the blending of conversation
analysis and ethnography, film ethnography, fictional ethnography, autoethnography,
and critical ethnography. The notion “culture” is being claimed by many
different positions both within and outside the academy. What role does
ethnography play in the “culture wars” and the critical theory movement?
While there are many "types" of ethnographies, recent innovation involves
the inclusion of discourse interaction. How does one draw ethnographic
ideas from interactional data? In this class we will study a number of
ethnographic studies to develop criteria for critiquing ethnographic work,
with a focus on discourse analysis. Various authors have used different
methods of discourse analysis in ethnographies of communication. Our emphasis
will be on these discourse methods, i.e., on using close transcription
of talk in interaction, to support ethnographic claims.
"Ethnographic description is by no means the straightforward, unproblematic
task it is thought to be in the social sciences, but a complex effect,
achieved through writing and dependent upon the strategic choice and construction
of available detail. The presentation of interpretation and analysis is
inseparably bound up with the systematic and vivid representation of a
world that seems total and real to the reader" (Marcus & Cushman, 1982:29,
in Jacobson, 1991:4).
Perhaps the hardest notion to grasp is that the purpose of an ethnography
is not to describe in the sense of deriving generalizations for behavior
- for that purpose you need other methods. The purpose is to provide a
coherent representation of human action, that is, to draw a conclusion
through interpretation based on certain descriptive facts. Thus it depends
on the selection and presentation of facts. The first selection happens
in the fieldwork - what you see while you are there, based on your own
quirky self and the theories that interest you - or what the people let
you see or what seems important to them. A second selection comes when
some record from the fieldwork provides evidence for some interpretation.
Often at this stage of the process, the researcher goes in search of enlightening
theory, since what is actually learned may well lead away from the original
purpose. "Ethnographic arguments consist of claims (conclusions, assertions,
propositions, explanations, interpretations) about people's behavior (or
about a culture or a society) and data (grounds, facts) that constitute
evidence for or against them [and what Toulmin (1979) calls] warrants,
the steps that link the conclusions and the data through the form of "If
these data, then these claims" (Jacobson 1991:7-8).
The main issues addressed in the course will include:
- The adequacy of descriptions of interaction;
- The adequacy of different representation formats;
- The accounting of human agency within institutions
and practices;
- The representation and consequences of variation;
- Cultural constructions and the resistance to these
constructions;
- The linkage of institutional practices to major
social divisions;
- The linkage of institutional practices to local
fields (particularly families).
Note that the course is, partially, a demonstration of what can be done
with ethnography to address general issues of practice in various settings.
There will be extended discussions of the validity of analytic generalizations
based on ethnographic observation.
Concurrently with our examination of the record, students will conduct
and produce an ethnography. The ethnography students will write entails
the close study of a local culture through fieldwork, which requires many
hours at the site--observing, talking with culture members, taking notes,
interviewing, and perhaps participating in the culture's activities. The
objective of this work is to produce a written account of how the people
of this culture generate and interpret social behavior, and how they use
language to make and share meaning. We will study fieldwork methods that
will help you produce this written account. Ethnography has a long tradition
in both cultural anthropology and sociology and is growing in importance
in communication. We will focus heavily on aspects of communication.
Practical note: Because of the short duration of a semester, I urge
you to conduct your ethnography in a public space, unless you are already
situated some place with permission to conduct research.
For at least the past two decades, ethnographers have been asking themselves
vital questions about graphic representations of people: Who represents
whom, to what audience and to what end? What form will narration take to
achieve this representation? What positions does the author take in so
doing? Its primary material lying in other people's lives, ethnography
offers a valuable genre for writers wishing to hone their expertise in
description, dialogue, and empirically grounded representations of social
realities.
This course is both fieldwork-intensive and writing-intensive, requiring
long hours at the site and at the computer. As you will see from the schedule,
the assignments start early and grow, building upon one another, and if
you fall behind you won't be able to catch up. Many of our class sessions
will be in workshop format, and if you come to class without having done
your work, you'll undermine the learning for others as well.
You are responsible for attending class and for taking notes on class
discussions and activities. We'll set up a phone and e-mail list early
in the semester so that if you miss class you can contact other class members
for notes and added assignments. I encourage you to meet with me during
my office hours (or to make an appointment outside of them) so that we
can discuss your work as it evolves.
Always make a copy of your homework submissions, to guard against error
in processing them. The lengths of assignments are indicated on the schedule,
and in some cases you'll be making multiple copies, so you'll need to budget
accordingly. Note that as of 2/8, you'll be compiling an extensive fieldwork
journal, which will contain jottings and notes, retrospective coding and
commentary, and transcripts of interviews. When you are asked to make multiple
copies, you are free to distribute these through email, but you should
always make sure that you give me a hard copy.
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Readings
University
of Virginia Instructional Toolkit:
Read papers by: Basso, Blom, Goffman, Heath, Phillips, Sherzer, Urban
for Nov. 14th.
Read papers by Goodwin, LePage, Myers, and Sacks for Nov. 28th.
Also read Microethnography
and Technology on-line and the McDermott chapter on hard copy.
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Assignments
Class Participation – You will be evaluated
on two aspects of participation: email submission of 2-3 integrative discussion
questions based on readings by noon of the class meeting day they are assigned
(20 points) and active and intelligent discussion of the questions and
related topics during the seminar (35 points). Strong grades here will
require attendance at all sessions and evidence that all reading assignments
have been read and thought about before the class meeting. 55 points
Critical Practice – You will be evaluated
on your ability to help your colleagues develop their research and writing
(10 points). You will be assigned two or three colleagues to (1) advise
each other about the progress of your work, provide written criticism of
each other’s drafts and assignments at least twice. You will assign these
grades to each other. Each of you will receive a grade from at least two
colleagues. 10 points
Essay – You will write an essay on a topic
of your choice related to ethnography of communication or another discourse-related
ethnography (35 points). You should clear your topic with me in advance.
Length will vary according to the topic, but 10 –pages is a good starting
idea. 35 points
Homework Assignments and Project – Your
fieldwork and writing will be evaluated in three ways: homework (50 points),
research paper (45 points), and research presentation (5 points). You will
have 5 assignments to do as homework (10 points each). All of these should
be related to a topic you are researching for the semester. a) Conduct
and write up detailed field notes from 3-4 interviews, b) write up detailed
field notes from 3-4 field observations, c) write up one detailed analysis
of language (at the word or phrase level), d) write up one analysis of
communicative interaction, e) write up one other communication analysis
derived from the reading. Then, write up an article and name the journal
for submission. You will be expected to present your work to the seminar
(5 points). You will have a strictly-timed slot of 15 minutes, with another
15 minutes for questions and discussion. To earn an A, the paper should
be at least of a high enough quality to be accepted for presentation by
the Language and Social Interaction Division of NCA. 100 points
Grades – 180-200 A, 160-179 B, 150-169 C,
145-149 D, below 144 F.
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Attendance policy
Regular attendance is required at all class meetings.
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Ethical Standards
Students at the University of Texas at Austin are expected to demonstrate
the highest ethical standards about their intellectual work and their scholarly
participation. Scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be
prosecuted
to the fullest extent. You are expected to have read and understood the
current issue of General Information Catalog, published by the Registrar's
Office, for information about procedures and about what constitutes scholastic
dishonesty.
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Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic
accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information,
contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY.
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Fall 2000
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31 August 2000
Department of Communication
Studies,
College of Communication,
University of Texas at Austin
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to Madeline Maxwell
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