The annual summer ethnographic fieldschool is being created to primarily to address the absence of an ethnographic fieldschool to train anthropology majors at Northern Kentucky University (NKU). While a local archaeological fieldschool has been taught at NKU for several years, an ethnographic fieldschool either local or abroad has not. A second reason for creating an ethnographic fieldschool abroad is in response to the expressed interest of anthropology students in applying the concepts and methods they are learning in class to a non-western culture.

This program will contribute to the education of NKU students by training them in ethnographic methods and by exposing them to a non-western culture. Students are expected to gain skills that may be used in applying anthropology in their future careers (specifically in applied anthropology), gain an appreciation for cultural diversity, and further their personal growth. Field experiences such as this project can also improve the likelihood that students will be admitted to graduate school. The program will be open to all NKU students that have taken at least one course in anthropology.

The dates of the fieldschool will coincide with the first five-week summer session of 2010 (approximately May 31 to July 3). The first week of class would be held at NKU and the following four weeks will be in Belize (30 days maximum due to visa requirements).

This course is being taught as a 300 level topics course (ANT 394) in anthropology with 15 to 20 students. Students will earn three credit hours for participation in the ethnographic fieldschool. Optionally, an additional two credit hours of 300 level independent study may be taken by students who wish to write a short ethnography of their research. Students who choose to write an ethnography will be encouraged to present a paper at the Anthropologists and Sociologists of Kentucky Annual Meeting and publish in a student journal (e.g., Focus Anthropology and Imponderabilia). These courses will not fulfill general education requirements, but may be applied to the anthropology major, minor or area of concentration.

While in Belize, students will be primarily engaged in ethnographic fieldwork alone or in pairs. Students will be instructed in ethnographic methods and then practice these methods by conducting their own ethnographic project in the local community. The students will learn about the local culture by doing participant-observation and conducting ethnographic interviews. Potential research topics include, but are not limited to: economic, social, political and kinship systems as well as the cultural constructions of identity, race, gender, religion and art.

Please check back as details develop!

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 08 September 2009 06:47 )