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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

Print Price: $44.99

Format:
Spiral Bound
176 pp.
7 illustrations, 6.125" x 9.25"

ISBN-13:
9780190642198

Copyright Year:
2017

Imprint: OUP US


Field Notes

A Guided Journal for Doing Anthropology

Luis A. Vivanco

Are you looking for more opportunities to integrate active learning into your cultural anthropology courses? Do you believe that anthropological fieldwork skills - listening, asking good questions, and being observant - are useful life skills? This unique book addresses both of these concerns, integrating an introduction to fieldwork methods, guidance, and practice into one book. Field Notes: A Guided Journal for Doing Anthropology provides more than fifty activities to help students learn and practice common ethnographic research techniques, to reflect on their experiences doing these things, and to examine the ethical dimensions of ethnographic research.

As they work through the book, students can fill the journal with lists, field notes, visual materials, and rough writings for use in specific class projects, as a record of skill development, or to think about future work. Each chapter includes four to six guided exercises; some are reflections or thought experiments, while others require students to practice skills by involving themselves directly in their social worlds. In order to cultivate an awareness of research ethics, a number of exercises focus on ethical dilemmas and issues.

Readership : This is a fieldwork introduction and workbook for undergraduate college students of anthropology.

Reviews

  • "This is the text I've been waiting for! I love the idea of a text/field journal that offers practical and thoughtful suggestions for students as they gain experience in ethnographic methods. I like that the exercises are feasible and modest, yet encourage students to tackle some of the big ethical questions of our day. This is precisely what I hope students gain as they take my course, and this book would also ensure that students undertake similar exercises that we can discuss as a class. I definitely would adopt."
    --Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz, Loyola University

  • "I like that the activities appear to be comprehensive and well thought out and I appreciate that each section dedicates discussion to the ethical aspects of fieldwork. The sample exercises are creative, thoughtful, and purposeful. They go beyond the typical exercises usually offered in most textbooks. I like that the exercises include listening, mapping (my personal favorite!), and digital methodologies. This guide has the potential to really introduce students to fieldwork."
    --Kimberly Cavanagh, USC-Beaufort

  • "This gives students a great guide for how ethnography is actually done, from preparatory phases to fieldwork to analyzing and writing up. The book is well-designed and approachable to undergraduates and it makes cultural anthropology's methods relatable and understandable. It shows how knowledge gained from such methods is scientific and systematic and not just a bunch of hunches or predetermined ideas."
    --Laura M. Tilghman, Plymouth State University

Introduction
1. Anthropology Beyond "Just Go Do It"
Part 1: Preparing for Fieldwork
2. Fieldwork: A Concise and Practical Overview
3. Fieldwork Values and Ethics
Part 2: Doing Fieldwork
4. Note-Taking
5. Observing
6. Listening
7. Asking Questions
8. Mapping
9. Visualizing
10. Experiencing
11. Going Digital
Part 3: Working with Fieldwork Data
12. Processing Field Notes
13. Crafting an Ethnographic Account
Acknowledgments
References

Companion Website
Instructor Resources:
Links and further reading
Student activities
Student quizzes
Bibiolography of resources

Luis A. Vivanco is Professor of Anthropology and Co-Director of the Humanities Center at the University of Vermont.

Making Sense in the Social Sciences - Margot Northey, Lorne Tepperman and Patrizia Albanese

Special Features

  • Over fifty activities help students learn and practice common ethnographic research techniques, reflect on their experiences doing these things, and examine the ethical dimensions of ethnographic research.
  • A fill-in journal allows students to record lists, field notes, visual materials, and rough writings for use in specific class projects, as a record of skill development, and to think about future work.
  • A variety of guided exercises in each chapter include reflections or thought experiments and hands-on skills application. Many focus on ethical dilemmas and issues to help students cultivate an awareness of research ethics.