EDUC 510

Purpose

This course is an advanced level course in qualitative research methodology for graduate students. It will assist those students who are designing video-based studies by giving them the theoretical and practical background required to gather and interpret video data. It will also provide a vehicle for discussing the implications of using new tools and techniques when conducting ethnographic research. This course will also be of interest to educators involved in using video as a research tool in their classrooms. Discussions will be held about the ethical concerns regarding the use of video-based technologies as tools for observing, analyzing, and reaching conclusions. Assignments permit students to relate the use of video technologies to their own research paradigms.

Goals

1) Theory: The first goal is to analyze the theoretical issues in ethnographic research with an emphasis on uses of video technologies as research tools. Issues to be covered range from how theories about gender affect the design of ethnographic research environments to how methods of cultural ethnography are embedded in what M. C. Bateson and F. Erickson refer to as "disciplined subjectivity."

2) Practice: The second goal is to guide students through an ethnographic video-based exploration. Working in small groups, students will (1) gain a working knowledge of observational techniques using video and audio recording and (2) learn about video analysis tools. Discussions will focus on discussing how knowledge and research about knowledge are constructed.

3) E/value/ation: The third goal is to evaluate the products of ethnographic accounts and the implications of forming research production teams. We will use concepts such as Geertz's commensureability and thick descriptions, and Hammersley and Atkinson's reflexive thinking as tools to e/VALUE/ate ethnographic accounts.

Topics

(see bibliography for full references)

1. Defining Video Ethnography: Video Meets Ethnographic Theory

2. Validity of Video Reporting

3. Purpose of Using Video Technology in Research: The Thick Description

4. Epistemological Perspective: Ways of Knowing; Ways of Representing Knowledge

5.a) Tools and Techniques: The Medium Meets the Message (McLuhan Revisited)

b) "Putting it Together" to Make Meaning: Data to Theory

6. Ethical Implications and Objectives:

7. The Case Study: Oral and Video Histories; Portraits of a Culture

8. Methods of Recording Data: Video recording, Tape Recording and Note taking

9. Interpreting Cultures and Commensureability: The Particular Meets the General

Major Texts

Clifford, J. & G. Marcus (Eds.) (1986).Writing Culture: the Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Barrett, E. (1992). Sociomedia: Multimedia, Hypermedia and the Social Construction of Knowledge. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures. Basic Books: New York.

Hammersley, M. & P. Atkinson. (1983). Ethnography: Principles in Practice. London and New York: Routledge Publishers.

Hochings, P. (1975). Principles of Visual Anthropology. The Hague, Paris: Mouton Publishers.

Illich, I. and B. Sanders. (1989). ABC, The Alphabetization of the Popular Mind. New York: Vintage Books.

Readings Related to Topics

Anderson, G.L. (1989). Critical ethnology in education. Review of Educational Research , American Educational Research Journal, 59 (3), pp 249-270.

Anderson, K. and D.C. Jack. (1991). Learning to listen. Women’s Words. Routledge.

Ayers, W. (1989). Saying lives: Being and teaching. The Good Preschool Teacher. Teachers College Press.

Collier, J. Jr. (1986). Ethnographic film. Visual Anthropology, University of New Mexico Press, pp. 151-173.

Doland, V.M. (1989). Hypermedia as an interpretive act. Hypermedia: Cognitive Issues, 1 ( 1).

Etter-Lewis, G. (1991). Black women’s life stories. Women’s Words, Routledge, pp. 43-58 .

Gardner, H. (1985). Anthropology. Beyond the Individual Case. The Mind’s New Science, New York: Basic Books, pp. 223-259.

Geertz, C. (1973). Thick description: Towards an Interpretive Theory of Culture. The Interpretation of Cultures, Basic Books: New York, pp. 1-16.

Gerstein, R. and Sasnett, R. (1987). Marital fracture. Optical information systems, Meckler Publishers, pp. 120-124.

Goldman-Segall, R. (1989). Thick description: A language for articulating ethnographic media technology. Unpublished manuscript. Cambridge, MA: MIT Media Lab.

Goldman-Segall, R. (1991). Three children, three styles. In I. Harel (Ed.), Constructionism , Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishers, pp. 235-268.

Goldman-Segall, R. (1991). Learning Constellations: A multi-media ethnographic research tool. In I. Harel (Ed.), Constructionism, Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishers, pp. 467-496.

Goldman-Segall, R. (Winter, 1994). Whose story is it, anyway? IEEE Multimedia, 1, (4.)

Goldman-Segall, R. (in press). Configurational Validity: A Proposal for Analyzing Multimedia Narratives. Journal for Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia.

Heider, K. G. (1976). Truth in film and ethnography. Ethnographic Film, pp. 16-18.

Hockings, P. (1975). Educational uses of videotape. In P. Hocking (Ed.). Principals of Visual Anthropology, The Hague, Paris: Mouton Publishers, pp. 383-384.

Lather, P. (1991). Issues of validity. Interchange Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 17 (4), pp. 63-84. .

Leacock, R. (1975). Ethnographic observation. In P. Hockings (Ed.). Principles of Visual Anthropology, The Hague, Paris: Mouton Publishers, pp. 147-149.

Mead, M. (1975). Visual anthropology. In P. Hockings (Ed.). Principles of Visual Anthropology, The Hague, Paris: Mouton Publishers, pp. 3-10.

MacDougal, D. (1975). Beyond observational cinema. In P. Hockings (Ed.). In P. Hockings (Ed.), Principles of Visual Anthropology, (pp. 109-124). The Hague, Paris: Mouton Publishers.

Miller, A. (1990). Kathe Kollowitz. In A. Miller. The Untouched Key, Anchor Books, pp. 19-35.

Prell, R. E. (1989). Double frame of life history. In R.E. Prell. Interpreting Women’s lives, Indiana University Press, pp. 242-258.

Rogers, D.L. et al. (1987). Learning more about what makes a good teacher. Young Children, 42(2), 34-39.

Rouch, J. (1988). Culture and representation. Undercut (17), pp. 3-8.

Sacks, K.B. (1989). What’s a life story got to do with it? Interpreting Women’s Lives, pp. 85-95.

Shulman, J.H. (1990). Now you see them now you don’t. Educational Researcher 19 (5).

Tang, J.C. and Minneman, S.L. (1990). Videodraw. Europarc Technical Support Series, Palo Alto, CA: Europarc, pp. 1-8.

Tobin, J. and Davidson, D. (1990). Ethics of polyvocal ethnography. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 3 (3), pp. 271-283.

Tobin, J. et al (1989). Introduction. Preschool in three cultures. Yale University Press, pp. 2-11.

Tom, A.R. (1991). Women’s lives complete. Women, work and coping, Montreal: Mc-Gill: Queen’s University Press, pp. 1-28.

Films Related to Topics

Gardner, R. Dead Birds. [Film].

Goldman Segall, R. (1987a). The Growth of a Culture: a video of Project Headlight at the Hennigan School. Cambridge, MA: MIT Media Lab.

Goldman Segall, R. (1987b). April Showers Bring May Flowers video portrait of homeless man outside of the Capitol, Washington, D.C., Cambridge, MA: MIT Media Lab.

Leacock, R. (1933). Canary Bananas. [Film].

Leacock, R., R. Drew, D. Pennebaker, A. Maysles, and T. Macartney-Filgate. (1960). Primary [Film]. edited with R. Farren.

Leacock, R. and N. Parmentel. (1964). Young Republicans: A New Breed. [Film]. Drew Associates.

Leacock, R. and J. Lipscomb, D. Pennebaker, H. Ryden. (1963). Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment . [Film].

Leacock, R. and J. Chopra. (1963). Happy Mothers Day (originally titled Quint City, U.S.A. [Film]. edited with J. Chopra and N. Sen.

Leacock, R. (1964). A Stravinsky Portrait. [Film].

Leacock, R. and M. Silver. (1982). Community of Praise. [Film]. Produced by P. Davis as one part of the "Middletown" series.

McElwee, R. (1984). Backyard.[Film].

McElwee, R. (1987). Sherman’s March. [Film].

Moore, M. (1989). Roger and Me. [Film].

Parry, D. (1979) Premature. [Film].

Supplementary Reading Books

Austin-Broos, D.J. (1987). Creating Culture. Sidney, London, and Boston: Allen & Unwin.

Bateson, M. C. (1984).With A Daughter’s Eye. New York: Pocket Books.

Bateson, M. C. and G. Bateson. (1988). Angels Fear, Towards and Epistemology of the Sacred Toronto, New York, London, Sydney, Auckland: Bantam Books.

Bateson, M. C. (1989). Composing a Life. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press.

Becker, H. (1970). Sociological Work: Method and Substance. Transaction Books.

Bogdan, R. C. and S.K. Biklen. (1982). Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theory and Methods. Allyn and Bacon.

Bruner, J. (1986). Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Cambridge, MA, and London, England: Harvard University Press.

Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of Meaning. Cambridge, MA and London, England: Harvard University Press.

Bruner, J. (1966). Towards a Theory of Instruction . Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Bruner, J. (1979). On Knowing. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Goetz, J. P. & LeCompte, M. Diane. (1984). Ethnography and Qualitative Design in Educational Research. Academic Press.

Gorden, R.L. (1973). Interviewing, Strategy, Techniques and Tactics. Dorsey.

McCall, G. J. & J.L. Simmons. (1969). Issues in Participant Observation: A Text and Reader. New York: Random House.

Mills, C.W. (1959). The Sociological Imagination. England: Oxford University Press.

Spindler, G. (Ed.) (1982). Doing the Ethnography of Schooling. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Spradley, J. P. (1979). The Ethnographic Interviews. Holt, Reinhart and Winston.

Articles in Journals and Books

Bar-On, D. 1991. Trying to understand what one is afraid to learn about. In D. Shon (Ed.)The Reflective Turn. New York and London: Teachers College, Columbia University.

Gaver, W.W., et al. (1991). Working together in media space. CSWW, Cambridge: Europarc, pp. 1-15.

Leacock, R. (1973). Technology and reality at the movies. Technological Review, 75(4), pp. 2-7.

Rouch, J. (1975). The Camera and Man. In Paul Hockings. (Ed.). Principles of Visual Anthropology, The Hague, Paris: Mouton Publishers.

Wolcott, H.F. (1983). Adequate schools and inadequate education. Anthropology and Education Quarterly 14 (1), 3-32. Council on Anthropology and Education.

Journals

Journal for Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia

Anthropology and Education

Journal of Visual Literacy

Cultural Anthropology

International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education,

Visual Anthropology Review

Leonardo

Journal of Curriculum Theorizing