Ethnographic Research Methods: A Workshop for Stanford Graduate Students

Call for Workshop Participants

Key Dates

01/09/2020                 Applications open

01/31/2020                 Applications due (8:00 PM)

02/28/2020                 Workshop (9:30 AM to 3:00 PM)

Ethnography has become a critical method for scholars situated across the social sciences and humanities studying complex social issues and problems throughout the globe. The Center for Global Ethnography works to bring together faculty and graduate students from across the Stanford campus with an interest in empirical research involving long-term immersion in the social lives of people. As a collaboration between the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRiSS) and the Department of Anthropology, the Center showcases interdisciplinary conversations and collaborations of ethnographic research and supports the training of graduate students and those interested in linking ethnography with other research methods. The Center’s aim is to foster rigorous, meaningful, and ethical ethnographic fieldwork across the disciplines.

This day-long workshop will focus on three areas:

• Research design – how to frame ethnographic research questions, select sites, develop methods, and identify interlocutors
• The temporal process of research across fieldwork – how to plan and adapt practices and methods
• Fieldwork ethics – how to confront issues raised in fieldwork, including both relations with interlocutors and among researchers in teams.

Participation in the workshop is limited  to 12 Stanford graduate students and is by application only. It is intended for graduate students new to ethnographic research methods, or those who have not embarked on dissertation fieldwork. We welcome graduate students from any discipline or interdiscipline.

Applications are limited to 400 words and should include:

• a brief statement of dissertation research
• your reasons for applying, and how you hope the session will support your research
• what previous training you have had (if any) in ethnographic methods (none is fine).

 To submit your application, please fill out this form by January 31st, 2020, by 8:00 PM (PST).