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12/90:292 Ethnographic Research Methods
Fall 2020: Undergraduate Course
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: Slot 6
Instructor: Dr. Emma Varley
Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Anthropology
CHO 207, Faculty of Arts, Brandon University
Email: varleye@brandonu.ca
Zoom Office Hours: Friday 2.30 – 3.30pm by appointment only
I. Course Description and Objectives
This course introduces students to the diverse ethnographic methods used by social scientists to
identify, explore, document and analyse complex and changing cultural and social phenomena.
Through lectures, course readings and assignments, students will be equipped with the skills required
to design and carry out a small-scale ethnographic study using theoretically informed, action-oriented,
and ethical methods. Students will gain competency with study design, developing research questions,
interviews and focus groups discussions, and participant-observation. Emphasis will be placed on the
methods used for collaborative, applied, and socially and politically engaged anthropology and
sociology. The course will also involve a special focus on the ethnographic methods and ethical
protocols best suited for research on vulnerable populations or sensitive issues in the Global North and
South.
Through active participation with lectures, in-class discussions and the timely completion of required
readings and assignments, students will be able to:
• Identify a wide range of ethnographic (qualitative) research methods, and understand the
relationship between study design, methodological, and theoretical approaches;
• Generate research questions that are relevant to the peoples, contexts, and issues studied;
• Design and write an ethnographic study design, select and develop research instruments,
and prepare for fieldwork-based data collection;
• Ensure ethnographic study designs meet the requirements of institutional ethics review
boards, navigate fieldwork ethics, and strategize to reduce research-related risks, and;
• Understand how and when to use ethnographic research methods to explore and develop
solutions for diverse scholarly and applied issues, settings, and needs.
II. Prerequisites:
Two of the following: 12:153, 90:154, 90:155, 90:156, 90:157, 68:151, or permission of Instructor.
III. Teaching Methods:
The course will incorporate online lecture and seminar approaches, the latter involving guided
discussions about assigned readings among and between students and the Instructor. Lectures and
seminars will be supplemented by documentaries shown in-class. PDFs of the lecture PowerPoints will
be posted to Moodle on a biweekly basis.

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Students are strongly encouraged to organize informal readings and study groups, especially when
preparing for the final exam. Supplementary updates concerning sociocultural anthropology research,
events and related news will also be posted to the course Facebook Group Page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/318381272601410.
Students who sign up for the Facebook page and regularly review posted content will receive a 2.5%
bonus mark. Students actively contributing with postings, discussions, and responses – especially those
that provide Canadian and especially also COVID-19 related examples of the issues, debates, concepts,
and theories detailed by our course textbook – will receive a 5% bonus mark.
IV. Course Evaluation
Your grade will be based on the following:
1. Online participation = 20%*
2. Review of a pre-assigned ethnographic article (5 pages) = 15% (October 23)
1. Response paper on one of the following feature-length documentaries (5 pages) = 15%
(November 20)
• “Love Crimes of Kabul” (2013, 1 hour 9 minutes. CW: talk of sex)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIX1-_h9WBE
• “13th” (2016, 1 hour 40 minutes: Netflix Canada. CW: racism and racist violence)
• “Alt-Right: Age of Rage” (2018, 1 hour 52 minutes: Netflix Canada. CW: racism and
racist violence)
• “Crip Camp” (2020, 1 hr 48 minutes: Netflix Canada. CW: ableism, talk of sex)
• “A Secret Love” (2020, 1 hr 23 minutes. CW: homophobia, talk of sex)
2. Individual OR group (3-4 students) ‘Ethnographic Research Proposal’ online presentation =
20% (December 2, 4, 7, and 9)
3. Individual OR group (3-4 students) ‘Ethnographic Research Proposal’ (10-12 pages) = 30%
(December 14)
TOTAL = 100%
 Students unable to regularly participate online will be offered alternative ways by which the
20% can be earned. Please contact the Instructor for further information.
Letter Grade and Marks
A+: 90.0 – 100% A: 85.0– 89.9% A-: 80.0 – 84.9% B+: 77.0 – 79.9%
B: 74.0 – 76.9% B-: 70.0 – 73.9% C+: 67.0 – 69.9% C: 64.0 – 66.9%
C-: 60.0 – 63.9% D: 50.0 – 59.9% F: 0 – 49.9%
Unless previous and/or alternative arrangements are made with the course instructor, late assignments
will be penalized 5% of the total assignment mark per day.
Academic Integrity
Students are referred to Sections 3 and 4 of Brandon University’s Academic Integrity Policy (which
can be found at https://www.brandonu.ca/senate-office/senate-policies/). Violations of this policy,
including all forms of plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Your written assignments must represent

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original work, with your use of all resources properly cited (style requirements will be discussed in-
class and posted on the course website).
Human Rights Compliance
Brandon University values diversity and inclusion, recognizing disability as an aspect of diversity. Our
shared goal is to create learning environments that are accessible, equitable, and inclusive for all
students. Student Accessibility Services (SAS) works with students who have permanent, chronic, or
temporary disabilities. SAS supports students by developing an individualized plan of accommodation,
helping students understand their learning needs, and assisting faculty with provision of
accommodations for students registered with SAS.
If you have, or think you may have, a disability (e.g. mental health, attentional, learning, vision,
hearing, physical, medical, or temporary), you are invited to contact Student Accessibility Services to
arrange a confidential discussion at (204) 727-9759 or magnussonm@brandonu.ca. Additional
information is available on the Student Accessibility Services website:
https://www.brandonu.ca/student-services/student-accessibility-services/. If you are registered with
SAS and have a letter requesting accommodations, you are encouraged to contact the instructor early
in the term to discuss the accommodations outlined in your letter.
V. Texts
Students are required to purchase the following textbooks online from the Brandon University
Bookstore:
Tilley, Susan A. (2016). Doing Respectful Research: Power, Privilege and Passion.
Toronto: Fernwood Publishing.
De León, Jason. (2015). The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant
Trail. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.
Assigned chapters from the textbooks will be complemented by a number of articles and book chapters.
These additional readings can be downloaded from the course website on Moodle. Assigned readings
must be completed prior to the start of each lecture.
Kindly note that the suggested readings (SR) indicated in the syllabus are complementary to the
assigned readings. You are not required to read the suggested readings.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Date Topics Readings and Assignments
Section I: Introducing Ethnography
Week One
September
9, 11
Introduction De León, Jason. (2015). “Introduction.” In The Land of Open Graves:
Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. Berkeley, California:
University of California Press, pp. 1-19.
Murchison, Julian M. (2010). “What is Ethnography?” In Ethnography
Essentials: Designing, Conducting and Presenting Your Research. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, pp. 4-18.

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Week Two
September
14, 16, 18
The
Fieldwork
Tradition
De León, Jason. (2015). “Prevention Through Deterrence.” In The
Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail.
Berkeley, California: University of California Press, pp. 23-37.
Sluka, Jeffrey A., Antonius C.G.M. Robben. (2012). “Fieldwork in
Cultural Anthropology: An Introduction.” In Ethnographic Fieldwork:
An Anthropological Reader. (Antonius C.G.M. Robben and Jeffrey A.
Sluka: Editors) London, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. 1-33.
Week
Three
September
21, 23, 25
Foundational
Philosophies:
Critical
Ethnography
De León, Jason. (2015). “Dangerous Ground.” In The Land of Open
Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. Berkeley, California:
University of California Press, pp. 38-61.
De León, Jason. (2015). “Necroviolence.” In The Land of Open
Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. Berkeley, California:
University of California Press, pp. 62-85.
Foley, D., and A. Valenzuela. (2005). “Critical Ethnography: The
Politics of Collaboration.” In The Sage Handbook of Qualitative
Research: Third Edition. (Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln:
Editors) London, UK: Sage Publications Ltd., pp. 217-234.
(SR) Creswell, J.W. (2007). “Philosophical, Paradigm, and Interpretive
Frameworks.” In Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design. London, UK:
Sage Publications, pp. 15-34.
Section II: Research Design, Methods, Ethics, and Risks
Week Four
September
28, 30,
October 2
Designing an
Ethnographic
Study
De León, Jason. (2015). “Memo and Lucho.” In The Land of Open
Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. Berkeley, California:
University of California Press, pp. 89-106.
Tilley, Susan A. (2016). “Setting the Parameters.” In Doing Respectful
Research: Power, Privilege and Passion. Toronto: Fernwood
Publishing, pp. 26-69.
(SR) Murchison, Julian M. (2010). “Choosing an Ethnographic Topic.”
In Ethnography Essentials: Designing, Conducting and Presenting
Your Research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, pp. 19-36.
Week Five
October 5,
7, 9
Data
Collection
De León, Jason. (2015). “Technological Warfare.” In The Land of
Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. Berkeley,
California: University of California Press, pp. 145-166.
Tilley, Susan A. (2016). “Transitioning into the Field and Collecting
Data.” In Doing Respectful Research: Power, Privilege and Passion.
Toronto: Fernwood Publishing, pp. 100-130.
(SR) Beverley, J. (2005). “Testimonio, Subalternity, and Narrative
Authority.” In The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research: Third
Edition. (Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln: Editors) London,
UK: Sage Publications, pp. 547-557.
(SR) Slim, H., and H. Thompson, (1995). “Ways of Listening: The Art
of Collecting Testimony.” In Listening for a Change: Oral Testimony

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and Community Development. Philadelphia, PA: New Society
Publishers, pp. 61-94.
Week Six
October 14,
16
Research
Ethics
October 12: Thanksgiving – No Class
De León, Jason. (2015). “The Crossing.” In The Land of Open Graves:
Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. Berkeley, California:
University of California Press, pp. 167-201.
Tilley, Susan A. (2016). “Research Ethics and Qualitative Research.”
In Doing Respectful Research: Power, Privilege and Passion. Toronto:
Fernwood Publishing, pp. 70-99.
(SR) De Laine, Marlene. (2000). “Ethical dilemmas: the demands and
expectations of various audiences.” In Fieldwork Participation and
Practice: Ethics and Dilemmas in Qualitative Research. London: Sage
Publications, pp. 120-145.
(SR) Coleman, Gabriella. (2015). “The anthropological trickster.”
Hau: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, 5 (2): 399–407.
Week
Seven
October 19,
21, 23
Reflexivity
and Risk
Davies, Charlotte Aull. (1999). “Reflexivity and Ethnographic
Research.” In Reflexive Ethnography: A Guide to Researching Selves
and Others. London, UK: Routledge, pp. 3-25.
De León, Jason. (2015). “Exposure.” In The Land of Open Graves:
Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. Berkeley, California:
University of California Press, pp. 205-219.
Assignment: Ethnographic article review due October 23.
Documentary: “Immigrant Nation: Prevention Through Deterrence”
(1 hr 4 minutes: Netflix Canada)
(SR) Hedican, Edward J. (2006). “Understanding Emotional
Experience in Fieldwork: Responding to Grief in a Northern
Aboriginal Village.” International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5
(1): 1-8.
(SR) Kovats-Bernat, J.C. (2002). “Negotiating Dangerous Fields:
Pragmatic Strategies for Fieldwork Amid Violence and Terror.”
American Anthropologist, 104 (1): 208-222.
(SR) Mahmood, C.K. (2008). “Anthropology from the Bones: A
Memoir of Fieldwork, Survival, and Commitment.” Anthropology and
Humanism, 33 (1/2): 1-11.
(SR) Scheper-Hughes, Nancy. (2004). “Parts unknown: Undercover
ethnography of the organs-trafficking underworld.” Ethnography, 5:
29-67.
Week
Eight
October 26,
28, 30
Activist
Ethnography
Dyrness, A. (2008). “Research for Change versus Research as Change:
Lessons from a Mujerista Participatory Research Team.” Anthropology
& Education Quarterly, 39 (1): 23-44.
Juris, Jeffrey. (2007). “Practicing Militant Ethnography with the
Movement for Global Resistance in Barcelona.” In Constituent
Imagination: Militant Investigations / Collective Theorization.

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(Stevphen Shukaitis and David Graeber: Editors) Oakland, CA: AK
Press, pp. 164-178.
Week Nine
November
2, 4, 6
Visual
Ethnography
De León, Jason. (2015). “Deported.” In The Land of Open Graves:
Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. Berkeley, California:
University of California Press, pp. 107-144.
Flores, C.Y. (2004). “Indigenous Video, Development and Shared
Anthropology: A Collaborative Experience with Maya Q’eqchi
Filmmakers in Post-War Guatemala.” Visual Anthropology Review, 20
(1): 31-44.
Welch, Rhiannon. "Time Out of Joint: Larsen’s End of Dreams and
Italy’s Colonial Unconscious." Hot Spots, Cultural Anthropology
website, June 28, 2016. https://culanth.org/fieldsights/time-out-of-
joint-larsens-end-of-dreams-and-italys-colonial-unconscious (1 page).
Documentary: “Remote Area Medical” (2013, 1 hour 20 minutes) or
“Destierros” (2018, 1 hr 33 minutes) – Your vote!
(SR) Pink, Sarah. (2006). “Planning and practising visual methods:
Appropriate uses and ethical issues.” In Doing Visual Ethnography:
Images, Media and Representation in Research. London, UK: Sage
Publications, pp. 30-46.
Week Ten
November
9, 11, 13
Reading
Break
Reading Break and Remembrance Day – No Classes
Section III: Analyzing, Representing and Applying
Week
Eleven
November
16, 18, 20
Data
Management
and Analysis
Tilley, Susan A. (2016). “Transcription: Constructing Representations
of Qualitative Data.” In Doing Respectful Research: Power, Privilege
and Passion. Toronto: Fernwood Publishing, pp. 131-151.
Tilley, Susan A. (2016). “Data Analysis.” In Doing Respectful
Research: Power, Privilege and Passion. Toronto: Fernwood
Publishing, pp. 152-175.
Assignment: Documentary response paper due November 20.
(SR) Creswell, J.W. (2007). “Standards of Validation and Evaluation.”
In Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among Five
Approaches. London, UK: Sage Publications Ltd., pp. 201-221.
(SR) Hammersley, M., Atkinson, P. (1995). “The Process of Analysis.”
In Ethnography: Principles in Practice. London, UK: Routledge, pp.
205-238.
Week
Twelve
November
23, 25, 27
Writing
Ethnography
Tilley, Susan A. (2016). “Representation: Writing Up/Down.” In
Doing Respectful Research: Power, Privilege and Passion. Toronto:
Fernwood Publishing, pp. 176-201.
De León, Jason. (2015). “You Can’t Leave Them Behind.” In The Land
of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. Berkeley,
California: University of California Press, pp. 220-237.

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Week
Thirteen
November
30;
December
2, 4
Sharing,
Representing,
and Applying
Ethnography
De León, Jason. (2015). “Maricela.” In The Land of Open Graves:
Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. Berkeley, California:
University of California Press, pp. 238-264.
Tilley, Susan A. (2016). “Dissemination: Moving into the Public
Domain.” In Doing Respectful Research: Power, Privilege and Passion.
Toronto: Fernwood Publishing, pp. 202-225 [read only 202-214].
Research Proposal Presentations: December 2, 4
Week
Fourteen
December
7, 9
Conclusion De León, Jason. (2015). “We Will Wait Until You Get Here.” In The
Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail.
Berkeley, California: University of California Press, pp. 265-279.
De León, Jason. (2015). “Epilogue.” In The Land of Open Graves:
Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. Berkeley, California:
University of California Press, pp. 280-287.
Research Proposal Presentations: December 7, 9
Research Proposal Submission: December 14