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2020/2021

Research Epistemology, Methods and Techniques

Code: 43142 ECTS Credits: 9
Degree Type Year Semester
4313769 Anthropology: Advanced Research and Social Intervention OT 0 1
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Jorge Grau Rebollo
Email:
Jordi.Grau@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
spanish (spa)

Teachers

Aurora González Echevarria
Carles Feixa Pampols

External teachers

William Christian Jr.

Prerequisites

There are no previous requirements.

Objectives and Contextualisation

  • To know advanced epistemological and methodological debates.
  • To combine different methodologies in order to obtain relational and interpretative explanations which may allow an in-depth comprehension of our study object.
  • To obtain a profound knowledge of various relational data collection and organization techniques.
  • To obtain basic knowledge of the use of audiovisual techniques for the collection and analysis of data.
  • To know how audiovisual devices and productions may be used as ethnographic documents.
  • To be able to combine quantitative and qualitative techniques in specific ethnographic approaches.

Competences

  • Carry out ground-breaking, flexible research in anthropology by applying theories and methodologies and using appropriate data collection and analysis techniques.
  • Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously
  • Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
  • Know the methodological and epistemological developments in the fields of anthropology research and social intervention in contexts of cultural diversity.
  • Make cross-cultural comparisons using the various procedures in anthropology.
  • Make interpretations and relational explanations to assist in understanding specific ethnographic contexts.
  • Systematically link up concepts, and theories within the discipline so as to analyse specific ethnographic contexts.
  • Use acquired knowledge as a basis for originality in the application of ideas, often in a research context.
  • Use information and communication technologies efficiently to acquire, create and spread knowledge.
  • Work in teams, generating synergies in work environments where different people need to collaborate and coordinate themselves.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Apply critical procedures to the correction of interpretative schema.
  2. Critically analyse audiovisual documents as ethnographic documents.
  3. Differentiate between theoretical concepts, concepts belonging to the culture of the anthropologist and those belonging to the culture under study.
  4. Find original ways to combine ideas, based on the knowledge acquired, within research work on anthropology and social intervention.
  5. Identify important elements in an interview, or in a particular ethnographic observation, that help to formulate judgments and reflect on social and ethical responsibilities in anthropology.
  6. Identify the forms of cross-cultural comparison used in the formulation and development of anthropological theories.
  7. Identify the most appropriate information-compiling techniques for drawing up life histories and biographies and in order to reconstruct social events through witness accounts.
  8. Modify and amplify categories of analysis in context by applying a theoretically-oriented abductive contrastive logic.
  9. Under the supervision of tutors, carry out all the stages of a research project and/or an intervention (documentation, reflection, analysis of data and writing) in the context of the anthropology master's dissertation.
  10. Understand and use information and communication technologies in accordance with the ethnographic context chosen for study and/or intervention.
  11. When comparing two theories, differentiate between comprehension of underlying cultural content and assessment of empirical appropriateness.
  12. Work in coordination with other team members on the analysis of anthropological studies and on compiling and analysing ethnographic data.

Content

The module is divided into four "blocks":

1. Methodological and epistemological orientations in Anthropology.

2. Life Histories.

3. The Use of photography in anthropological documentation. Personal and familial images as ethnographic and historical source.

4. Audiovisual Anthropology.


 

Methodology

  • Lectures and master classes
  • Reading and analysis of academic articles / reports
  • Presentation / oral expositions
  • Personal study
  • Tutoring
  • Essay preparation and writing.

 

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lectures and master classes 56.25 2.25 2, 3, 11, 5, 6, 8, 10
Reading and analysis of academic articles / reports 25.5 1.02 5, 7
Type: Supervised      
Presentation / oral expositions 26.25 1.05 2, 1, 12, 10
Tutoring 30 1.2 9, 5
Type: Autonomous      
Essay preparation and writing 38 1.52 1, 4, 12, 10
Persponal Study 49 1.96 3, 11, 6, 8

Assessment

This section of the Study Guide contains all information related to the process of evaluation of the module.

Assessment of the module:

In order to pass the module, the following aspects must be considered:

  • Regular assistance and participation: First, to ensure that the expected learning results are obtained, we consider it fundamental that students regularly attend lectures and participate actively in them. For this reason, students are required to assist at least 80% of each course ("block"). Furthermore, the extent to which they participate in presentations, discussions, training sessions is evaluated. This participation is considered in the final grade for each course.
  • Continued assessment of the blocks: Second, each course or block proposes one or multiple activities that allow a continued assessment of the learning process. The activities can vary from a written test to a presentation in class, computer lab assignments, a review of a few articles or chapters, or a short essay, among others. Jointly, the evaluations for the different courses that make up the module (30%) and the participation in these courses (20%) constitute 50% of the final grade of the module. The deadlines for these activities are indicated by the lecturers.
  • Evaluation of the final paper for the module: Last, the grade obtained on a final paper constitutes the remaining 50% of the final grade for the module. In the case of the modules that make up the specializations (in particular, E1.1, E1.2, E2.1, E2.2 and E3.1), each student selects the course that is of major interest for his or her master thesis, from the set of courses that make up the module. The evaluation will be based on this course. The evaluation can consist of a larger essay of approximately 3,000 / 4,000 words, possibly in the format of an article, a review of a state of the art of aspecific theme, or a paper that addresses a specific issue in the discipline on the basis of readings recommended by the lecturer of the course that the student has chosen for evaluation. The deadline for the submission of the final paper is the 10 February 2020. 

It is essential to respect the deadlines.

Each lecturer determines the way in which papers are to be submitted (through the Campus Virtual, by e-mail or in printed form, in the mailbox of the lecturer). The lecturers communicate the results of the evaluation through the established ways and establish a period of consultation before they communicate the grades to the coordinator of the module. The student can request a tutorial with their lecturers throughout the course if they wish to clarify some point of the contents of the course.

Within the "Life Histories" block a fieldwork stay is planned in Bonansa between January 18 and 20. Check the course Moodle to get more information about it.

In general, not submitting the documents that are to be evaluated results in the qualification "Not assessable". In exceptional, well justified cases, the Committee of the Master Program may propose an alternative procedure for the evaluation.

General criteria

Assessment is understood as a continued process throughout the term.

The qualifications are made on a scale from 0-10 with one decimal. To pass the subject, a minimum final grade of 5.0 is needed, as a result of the assessment procedure explained above. Once the subject is passed, it cannot be subjected to a new evaluation.

The programming of assessment activities cannot be modified unless an exceptional and well justified reason exists for this, in which case a new program is proposed during the term.

When a student performs an irregularity that can lead to a significant variation of the qualification of an assessable activity, the activity will be qualified with a 0, independently of the disciplinary process that might follow. Inthe  case that various irregularities in the assessable activities are found within the same module, the qualification of the module will be 0.

The qualification "not assessable" in the final records of evaluation implies the exhaustion of rights inherent in the enrolment to the module, although the "not assessable" module will not figure in the academic transcript.

In the event that the student commits any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment act, this assessment act will be graded with 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be instructed. In the event of several irregularities in the evaluation acts of the same module, the final grade for this subject will be 0.

In the event that the evaluation activities cannot be done in situ, their format will be adapted (maintaining their weighting) to the possibilities offered by the UAB’s virtual tools. Homework, activities and participation in class will be done through forums, wikis and / or discussions of exercises through Teams, ensuring that all students can access

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Attendance and active participation in the classroom. 20% 0 0 2, 3, 11, 6, 8
Individual essay / video-essay 50% 0 0 4, 9, 7, 10
Submissions 30% 0 0 1, 4, 5, 12, 10

Bibliography

Broad listy of references. Detailed blog listings will be available at the module's Moodle.

 

ABEL, T. (1947). The Nature and Use of Biograms. American Journal of Sociology, 53, 111-8.

AGAR, M. (1982). Hacia un lenguaje etnográfico, en Reynoso, comp. 1992, El surgimiento de  La Antropología postmoderna.Barcelona: Gedisa: 117-137.

AGAR, M. (2006). An Ethnography by Any Other Name… Forum Qualitative Socialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Research: 7(4), Art. 36, http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/177/396

ANDERSON, B. (2006). Imagined communities. London, New York: Verso.

BÁN, Szófia; HEDVIG Turai (2010). Exposed Memories: Family Pictures in Private and Collective Memory. Budapest: International Association of Art Critics. Budapest: CEU Press.

BANKS, Marcus; RUBY, Jay (2011). Introduction: Made to be seen. Historical Perspectives on Visual Anthropology. In M. Banks & J. Ruby  (eds.)  Made to be seen. Historical Perspectives on the History of Visual Anthropology. Chicago: Chicago University Press, pp. 1-18.

BARTH; f. (1969), Los grupos étnicos y sus fronteras. México: Fondo de Cultura Económica.

BAUMAN, Z. (1990) “Modernity and Ambivalence”, en Theory, Culture & Society, London: Newbury Park and New Deli: Sage, vol.7, pp:143-169

BECKER Howard. (2002). Visual Evidence: A Seventh Man, the Specified Generalization, and the Work of the Reader. Visual Studies, 17 (1): 3-11. In: http://home.earthlink.net/~hsbecker/articles/evidence.html

BERTAUX, D. (1993). De la perspectiva de la historia de vida a la transformación de la práctica sociológica. In J.M. MARINAS, & C. SANTAMARÍA (Eds.). La historia oral. Métodos y experiencias (pp. 19-34). Madrid: Debate. PUJADAS, J. J. (1992). Elaboración de una historia de vida. El método biográfico (pp. 61-84). Madrid: CIS.

BOURDIEU, P. (1989). La ilusión biográfica. Historia y FuenteOral, 2, 27-33.

BRUBAKER, R. & COOPER, F. (2000). Beyond “identity”. Theory and Society. 29: 1-47.

BUXÓ Mª Jesus, DEMIGUEL Jesús M. (1999). De la investigación audiovisual: Fotografía, cine, vídeo, televisión. Barcelona: Proyecto*a Ediciones.

CLOT, Y. (1989). La otra ilusión biográfica. Historia y Fuente Oral, 2, 35-39.

CLUA I FAINÉ, M. &  Sánchez García, J. (2004). “Més enllà de la identitat: noves conceptualitzacions per a vells problemes?”, introducció a Quaderns-e de l’Institut Català d’Antropologia, 19 (2), Barcelona: ICA, pp. 1-9.

CHRISTIAN Jr., William A. (2017). Presence, Absence and the Supernatural in Postcards and Family Photographs, Europe 1895-1920, in The Stranger, the Tears, the Photograph, the Touch; Divine Presence in Spain and Europe since 1500. Budapest, Central European University Press, 2017, pp. 65-200.

EDWARDS, Elizabeth. (1999). Photographs as Objects of Memories. In M. KWINT, C. BREWARD and J. AYNSLEY, Material Memories; Design and Evocation. Oxford: Berg, 1999, pp. 221-236

FEIXA, C. (2018). La imaginación autobiográfica. Las historias de vida como herramienta de investigación. Barcelona: Gedisa.

FALZON, M.-A. (2016). Multi-sited ethnography: Theory, praxis and locality in contemporary research. Routledge

FLECK, L.(1986 [1935]). La génesis y el desarrollo de un hecho científico. Introducción a la teoría del estilo de pensamiento y del colectivo de pensamiento. Madrid: Alianza Editorial

GONZÁLEZ ECHEVARRÍA, Aurora. (2014). Estilos de pensamiento y adecuación etnográfica. Las epistemologías de Pike, Fleck y Agar, en M. Cátedra y M. J. Devillard (eds). Saberes culturales. Homenaje a Jose Luis Garcia , Barcelona, Bellaterra: 297-318.

GONZÁLEZ ECHEVARRÍA, Aurora.  (2009). La dicotomía emic/etic. Historia de una confusion. Barcelona: Anthropos.

GONZÁLEZ ECHEVARRÍA, Aurora. (2003). La concepción estructural de las teorías, Las etnografías como predicados de estructura, y La crítica no empírica de conceptos, en Crítica de la singularidad cultural, Barcelona/ México, Anthropos y Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana,: 426-430, 446-455, 465-472.

GONZÁLEZ ECHEVARRÍA, Aurora. (2006). Del utillaje conceptual de la antropología: los usos del término “inductivismo” y los usos del término “hermeneútica”. Dos propuestas  de clarificación”, Revista de Antropología Social, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 15, 2006: 327-372.

GRAU REBOLLO, J. (2012). Antropología Audiovisual. Reflexiones teóricas, Alteridades. 43: 155-169. UAM, Mexico D.F.

GRAU REBOLLO, J. (2005). Antropología, cine y refracción: Los textos fílmicos como documentos etnográficos, en Gazeta de Antropología. 21. Publicación electrónica: Htpp://www.ugr.es/~pwlac/Welcome.html. ISSN 0214-7564. Texto 21-03

GRIMSHAW, Anna; RAVETZ, Amanda. (Eds.) (2005). Visualizing Anthropology. Bristol: Intellect Books.

KESSELS, Erik (2001). In almost every picture. Amsterdam, Artimo/Gijs Stork.

HAGE, G. (2005). A not so multi-sited ethnography of a not so imagined community. Anthropological Theory, 5(4), 463–475. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463499605059232

HINE, C. (2007). Multi-sited ethnography as a middle range methodology for contemporary STS. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 32(6), 652–671.

LÉVI-STRAUSS, C. (1996 [1952]). Raza y cultura, Madrid: Cátedra.

MACDOUGALL, David. (2011). Anthropological Filmmaking: An empirical Art. In Margolis, Eric & Pauwels, Luc (Eds.) (2011) The SAGE Handbook of Visual Research Methods. London: SAGE, pp.  99-113.

MARCUS, G. E. (1995). Ethnography in/of the World System: The Emergence of Multi-Sited Ethnography. Annual Review of Anthropology, 24(95), 117.

MARCUS, G. E. (2009). Multi-sited ethnography: Notes and queries. Multi-Sited Ethnography: Theory, Praxis, and Locality in Contemporary Research, 181–196.

MARCUS, G. E. (2012). Multi-sited ethnography: Five or six things I know about it now. In Multi-sited ethnography (pp. 24–40). Routledge.

MARINAS, Miguel., & SANTAMARÍA, Cristina. (Eds.). (1993). La historia oral. Madrid: Debate.

MILLER, Daniel, ed. (2001). Home Possessions: Material Culture behind closed doors. Oxford: Berg.

NARANJO Juan (ed.) (2006). Fotografía, antropología y colonialismo (1845-2006). Ed. Gustavo Gili, S.L., Barcelona, 2006 [introducción].

ORTIZ GARCÍA, Carmen; SÁNCHEZ-CARRETERO, Cristina; CEA GUTIÉRREZ, Antonio (2005) Maneras de Mirar: Lecturas antropológicas de la fotografía. Madrid: CSIC.

PIAULT, Marc Henry. (2002). Antropología y cine. Madrid: Cátedra.

PIKE, K.L. (1971). Language in Relation to a Unified Theory of the Structure of Human Behavior.2ªimpresión de la 2ª edición revisada de 1967. La Haya, Mouton (1ª edición 1964, ediciones preliminares 1954-55-60).

PINK, Sarah. (2007 [2001]). Doing Visual Ethnography. London: Sage.

ROBINSON ACHUTTI Luiz Eduardo. (2004). L‘homme sur la photo; manuel de photoethnographie. Paris : Téraèdre.

SAN ROMÁN, Teresa. (2009). Sobre la investigación etnográfica, Revista de Antropología Social, 18. 235-260. Comentario: 261-263, Comentario al comentario: 265-266.

STOLCKE, Verena. (1995). Talking Culture. New Boundaries, New Rhetorics of Exclusion in Europe, Current Anthropology, 36:1-24

THOMAS, W. I., & ZNANIECKI, F. ([1918-20] 1984). The Polish Peasant in Europe and America. New York: Dover.