Field methods in Ethnomusicology (Winter 2008)

Music 666: Field Methods in Ethnomusicology

Classes: Tuesday 14:00-16:50 Music Library 2-109A

Instructor: Prof Federico Spinetti

Office: 3-65 Fine Arts Building; office hours: Tuesday 10:00-12:00am, or by appointment. Tel. 492-7534; spinetti@ualberta.ca

Course Description

This course is an introduction to ethnographic fieldwork in Ethnomusicology. It aims at providing students with the theoretical and practical instruments to undertake field research and ethnographic writing in preparation for their graduate theses. The course entails the exploration of fieldwork techniques and technologies, and active engagement with theoretical debates and critical perspectives on fieldwork and ethnographic representation involving Ethnomusicology, Anthropology, Sociology and Cultural Studies.

Prerequisites: this course is for graduate students only.

Aims and Objectives

- To become acquainted with a variety of practical fieldwork methods and develop or refine skills in participant observation, taking fieldnotes, interviewing, data organization and analysis.

- To develop familiarity with the possibilities offered by a variety of multimedia technologies and introduce basic principles of use.

- To develop an understanding of fieldwork as a crucial site of both practical and theoretical concerns, and to develop familiarity with and critical interest in theoretical issues, the ethics and politics of the ethnographic enterprise, reflexivity and advocacy.

- To carry out a small fieldwork project as part of a larger ethnographic project design which, where possible, should be related to the students' graduate research proposal.

- To regularly monitor and report on the methodological and practical steps taken during your fieldwork project, and to produce a final short piece of ethnographic writing.

Course Requirements

- Regular class attendance

- Presentation and discussion of readings in class. As a general rule, you will need to do reference readings as well as report on one or two assigned readings per week, leading a critical discussion.

- Mid-term & End-of-term short papers (maximum 2000 words each): critique of a chosen ethnographic study in Ethnomusicology (due Week 9) & critique of a chosen ethnographic film (due Week 13).

- Fieldwork project, including:

1) Submission of a provisional field-research proposal (due Week 3).

2) Conducting fieldwork with individuals or a community of your choice in Edmonton or surrounding areas.

3) Short presentations of step-by-step fieldwork results, including design and planning, budget, interviews, fieldnotes, audio-visual rough edits, etc, for discussion and feedback in class. These need to be submitted to me as well.

4) Oral presentation in class (around 30 min) on the final results of your fieldwork enterprise.

5) Submission of final ethnographic piece, due April 18th, including text and audio-visual materials. The text should not exceed 5000 words.

NB: You should be familiar with the Code of Student Behavior as published in Section 26 of the 2007-2008 Calendar and available online at http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/secretariat/.

“Policy about course outlines can be found in section 23.4(2) of the University Calendar”. (GFC 29 SEP 2003)

“The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of th University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves the the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.” (GFC 29 SEP 2003).

Assessment

Each assignment will be marked according to the numeric scale of evaluation given below. Individual assignment marks will be combined to obtain a final numeric grade, which will be translated into the correspondent final letter grade.

A 4.0

A- 3.7

B+ 3.3

B 3.0

B- 2.7

C+ 2.3

C 2.0

C- 1.7

D+ 1.3

D 1.0

D- 0.7

F 0.0

The relative weight of each assignment on the overall grade is as follows:

- Attendance, participation in class discussions and presentation of readings: 20%

- Presentation and submission of partial fieldwork results: 25%

- Mid-term paper (critique of a chosen ethnography): 10%

- End-of-term paper (critique of a chosen ethnographic movie): 10%

- Class presentation of fieldwork project: 10%

- Final ethnographic report: 25%

Provisional field-research proposals will not be assessed. However, it is essential that you work carefully on your proposal and submit it on time. This will help you to carry out your fieldwork project and prepare for your final report.

Resources

- There are no required textbooks for this course. All class readings will be on reserve at the Music Library. Some of the readings required for this course are available online as well through the UofA Library database. Relevant bibliographic or audio-visual materials that may not be available in University Libraries will be handed out in class, included in the course mediawiki page(http://www.fwalive.ualberta.ca/mediawiki/) or made accessible in my office.

- The course mediawiki page (http://www.fwalive.ualberta.ca/mediawiki/) will be an important resource for reading assignments, bibliography, media and other materials. I will use it also to communicate changes of schedule, further assignment details or other messages to the class.

- Audio and video equipment at the Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology / Folkways Alive!