Critical Social Inquiry 0249 - Critical Ethnography

In this course, we will use the method of critical ethnography to explore food as a system that connects individuals and communities, locally and globally. Students will carry out a multi-sited ethnographic research project that begins with a question about food, whether about production and consumption, identity and belonging, health and environment, memory and desire, community and activism. Students will "follow the food" wherever their questions take them-from table to market to factory to farm-and be guided through the process of posing ethnographic questions, conducting fieldwork and interviews, writing fieldnotes and other forms of ethnographic documentation, and engaging throughout in the critical, reflexive act of interpretation and writing. As part of the Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment, this year we will focus as a class on following the "Chinese food" as it connects consumers and producers, individuals and communities, from Western Mass to Boston to China.

Power, Community and Social Justice Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research Prerequisite: Students should enter this course with a viable research project in mind and ready to begin fieldwork by the third week. In this course, students are expected to spend 8-10 hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time. In addition to reading assignments, this time includes weekly fieldwork, conducting and transcribing interviews, and writing fieldnotes, memos, and other forms of ethnographic documentation.