Students Study Up the University

Pedagogy Jan 2012

Gina Hunter

Abstract

College students often use the campus as a venue for their course-based research activities. More often than not, however, the university is simply a locus of research, not a subject of student inquiry. In this article, I consider what can be gained when students “study up” the university as an institution. I draw on data from my undergraduate students' research process in an ethnographic methods course at Illinois State University. I argue that an institutional focus provides an especially effective approach for teaching ethnographic methods — one that differs from standard introductory textbook instruction in ethnography and that helps students avoid routine pitfalls of beginning ethnographic research. In particular, I argue that the university focus enables novice students to analyze fine-grained ethnographic data within a middle-range institutional context without macrosocial theories and frameworks that are likely beyond the scope of their semester-long projects. I also argue that an institutional focus can help students become more engaged, critical stakeholders in the university community.

Journal: Pedagogy
Published: 2012-01-01
DOI: 10.1215/15314200-1302750
Open Access: Closed
Topics: graduate education qualitative research

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

Allan (2018)

“Real Research” or “Just for a Grade”?

Pedagogy

Cites in this index (0)

No references match articles in this index.

Also cites 7 works outside this index ↓

Clifford (1986)

Introduction: Partial Truths

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Edwards (2007)

An Ethics for Working Up? Japanese Corporate Scandals and Rethinking Lessons about Fieldwork

Critical Asian Studies ↗
Emerson (1995)

Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes

↗
Heyman (2004)

Anthropology of Power-Wielding Bureaucracies

Human Organization ↗
Hunter (2008)

Interrogating the University, One (Archival) Entry at a Time

Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning ↗
Jordan (2008)

Beyond the University: Teaching Ethnographic Methods in the Corporation

Anthropology News ↗
Sprecher (2008)

Perceptions of Sources of Sex Education and Targets of Sex Communication: Socio-demograph…

Journal of Sex Research ↗

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