Sociology 453 - Feminist and Queer Ethnography

(Offered as SWAG 453, ANTH 453, and SOCI-453) How have feminist and queer approaches shaped the questions, methods, and ethics of ethnographic research? This course highlights key questions and dominant paradigms of the field as well as emphasizing qualitative ethnographic research including interviewing and fieldwork. As such, we will engage the practical question of how to research, observe, describe, record, and present material about feminist and queer politics and activism.

Required: At least two courses dealing substantively with gender/sexuality. Open to junior and seniors; sophomores require permission from the professor; not open to first-year students. Limited to 20 students. Fall semester. Professor Karkazis.

How to handle overenrollment: Priority given to SWAGS seniors and juniors, then to Anthropology and Sociology seniors and juniors, then to a balance of seniors and juniors from other Amherst departments and 5-college students, and finally to sophomores.

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Emphasis on readings, oral presentations, independent research, written work.