Field Methods in Ethnomusicology (Winter 2011)

Classes: Mon 9:00-11:50 Arts Building A403

Instructor: Federico Spinetti www.ualberta.ca/~spinetti

Office: 3-34A Arts & Convocation Hall; office hours: Tuesday 11:00AM – 1:00PM; tel. 492-7534; email: spinetti@ualberta.ca

Course description

This course is an introduction to ethnographic fieldwork in ethnomusicology. It aims to provide students with theoretical and practical tools 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 critical theory.

Prerequisites: the 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, 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 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 may or may not 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

• Participation in discussions and presentation of readings. You will be asked to do weekly readings and discuss them in class and, occasionally, to present on one or more individually assigned readings.

• End-of-term paper (2,000-2,500 words): critique of an ethnographic book of your choice. The book to be chosen must be relevant to ethnomusicology (due on Week 13).

• Fieldwork project, including:

1) Submitting a field-research proposal (due on Week 3).

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

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

4) Final, oral class presentation of your fieldwork enterprise (Week 14).

5) Submission of final ethnographic piece, due April 20th, including text and audio-visual materials. The text should not exceed 5,000 words.