PhD Course: 'Media Ethnography - Theory and Practice'
Co-directors: Dr. Debra Spitulnik Vidali (Emory University) and Dr.
Thomas Tufte (Roskilde University)
Date: 7-9 June 2011
The course will take place at Roskilde University, Denmark.
Application deadline: 30 April
Points given: 3 ECTS (with presentation). 2 ECTS without presentation.
Speakers:
Dr. Jo Helle Valle, Senior Researcher, Nat'l Institute for Consumer
Research, Oslo, Norway
Dr. John Postill, C3 Research Institute, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
Dr. Debra Spitulnik Vidali, Associate Professor, Emory University, USA
Dr. Thomas Tufte, Professor, Roskilde University, Denmark
Description:
This short course is designed to introduce Ph.D. students to the
theory and practice of media ethnography. We explore how media
ethnography applies to both media production and media reception,
and how it is fundamentally both a theory and a method for
investigating everyday practices and lived experiences as they are
shaped by culturally-specific ways of being-in-the world. Media to
be considered include: television, film, radio, newspapers, and new
media. The course will begin with a brief overview of the history
of ethnographic approaches within media studies and cultural
studies, which dates back to the mid 1980s. We then engage more
recent scholarship within media anthropology, focusing specifically
on three dimensions of ethnography: (a) as fieldwork method; (b) as
anthropological lens, and (c) as a method of writing and re-presentation.
While all 4 speakers will speak, so will the participating Ph.D.
students. All students are encouraged to present a media
ethnography dimension of their Ph.D project reflecting on one or
more of the three above mentioned approaches to media ethnography.
The students will furthermore have the opportunity to conduct small
exercises in which they practice doing participant-observation
fieldwork, field note-taking, and working with the writing of
ethnographic textures.
Participant Requirements:
A course package of required readings will be compiled and
circulated to participants 3-4 weeks prior to the course. The
participants are required to read the full package of scholarly
texts and to take an active part in discussing them, under the
direction of the course leaders. Participants who wish to present
some of their work on the seminar must hand in a 7-10 page essay and
stating its relation to the course area. The deadline for this is May 20th.
Maximum number of participants will be 12.
Price:
The tuition fee is 3000 DKK (this fee is waivered if you are a
member of RUC Doctoral School)
In addition you must budget for travel, food and accommodation.
Roskilde University will assist you in recommending accommodation.
On this issue or if you have other practical inquiries, please
contact Chris Holmsted (<mailto:(holmsted /at/ ruc.dk)>(holmsted /at/ ruc.dk)).
To Apply:
Send a 1000 word application statement by April 30th to Chris
Holmsted (<mailto:(holmsted /at/ ruc.dk)>(holmsted /at/ ruc.dk)). In your
application statement, describe:
* your Ph.D. project, and its relation to media ethnography
* your current status in your Ph.D. program (e.g. before
fieldwork, after fieldwork)
* what you hope to gain from a course on the theory and practice
of media ethnography
* any previous work in ethnography or media studies
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