Qualitative Research Methods
CJT 667 -- Fall 2005
Name: Alan D. DeSantis, Ph. D.
Address: 234 Grehan Building
Work Phone: 257-1975
E-mail: desantis@uky.edu
CJT 667 is designed to give students an introduction to the qualitative methods used in
the communication discipline. The course will have two major “content” areas:
Rhetorical/Historical/Textual Criticism: The analysis of cultural artifacts (books,
movies, architecture, videos, magazines, etc.).
Ethnographic (naturalistic) Analysis: The study of speech communities and the
discourse they produce within their natural settings.
The “form” of the course will utilize a seminar-learning format (also referred to as the
dialectic/Platonic format) in which students actively engage the readings and each other.
In my role as professor, I will not lecture; I will serve as a facilitator and a resource for
discussions. As a result, students must read ALL the assigned material and be prepared to
discuss, debate, and question the readings if the class is going to most effectively meet
the course’s goals.
The courses “specifically goals” are as follows:
1) Detail the major theoretical assumptions and debates surrounding qualitative
research.
2) Supply an understanding of the criteria, tools, and approaches that drive
qualitative research.
3) Prepare students to conduct their own research using ethnographic methods of
analysis.
4) Prepare students to conduct their own research using rhetorical/textual/critical
methods of analysis.
Required Books
Eckert, P. (1989). Jocks and burnouts: Social categories and identity in the high school.
New York: Teachers College Press.
Ehrenreich, B. (2001). Nickel and dimed: On (not) getting by in America. New York:
Metropolitan Books.
Foss, S. K. (2004). Rhetorical criticism: Exploration and practice (3rd ed.). Long Grove,
IL: Waveland Press, Inc.
Lindlof, T. R. & Taylor, B. C. (2002). Qualitative communication research methods (2nd
ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Reading packet (found in black box in front of my office door).
Assignments
I. Qualitative Research Paper (60%):
After you have read about the theory and practice of qualitative research and
honed your skills through our weekly assignments, you will be asked to write
your own original, data driven paper. This paper can utilize either rhetorical or
ethnographic approaches and can focus on any topic that sparks your passion—
except cars!
II. Weekly Quizzes (40%)
To both reward you for your class preparation and to assess your developing
understanding of qualitative methods, weekly quizzes will be given at the start of
each class.
Additional Notes
1) You will be expected to attend every class.
2) There will be no incompletes given for this class.
3) Arrive on time.
4) Don’t leave early.
Weekly Schedule
August 29--Course Introduction
Read before first day of class (e-mailed to students):
 An Ethnographic Approach to Communication Studies by Philipsen
 Homeboys and Hoods by Conquergood
September 5—No Class (Labor Day)
September 12—Theoretical and Epistemological Assumptions of
Ethnographic Research
Readings:
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Three Epistemological Stances by Schwandt (RP)
Hans-Georg Gadamer by Outhwaite (RP)
Ten Lies of Ethnography by Fine (RP)
Hidden Transcripts of Flight Attendant Resistance by Murphy (RP)
September 19—Ethnographic Analysis
Readings:
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Chapter 3—Design I: Planning--in Qualitative Communication
Research Methods by Lindlof & Taylor
More than refuge by Dordick (RP)
Chapters 1, 3, & 7 of Rushing to Stand Still by DeSantis (RP)
September 26—Ethnographic Analysis
Readings:
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Chapter 4—Design II: Getting Started--in Qualitative Communication
Research Methods by Lindlof & Taylor
For whom? by Fine (RP)
Smoke screen by DeSantis (RP)
Murderers’ relatives by May (RP)
October 3—Ethnographic Analysis
Readings:
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Chapter 5—Observing--in Qualitative Communication Research
Methods by Lindlof & Taylor
Qualitatively different by Kleinman (RP)
Stronger than dirt by Lankenau (RP)
Intersections of Eros and Ethnography by Nelson (RP)
October 10--Ethnographic Analysis
Readings:

Nickel and dimed: On (not) getting by in America by Barbar Ehrenreich
October 17—Auto-Ethnographic Analysis
Readings:
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Chapter 6—Asking--in Qualitative Communication Research Methods by
Lindlof & Taylor
Autoethnography, personal narrative, reflexivity by Ellis and Bochner
(RP)
Creating Criteria by Ellis (RP)
A Night in the Life of an Erotic Dancer by Ronzi (RP)
In Search of Naunny’s Grave by Trujillo (RP)
October 24—Ethnographic Analysis
Readings:
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Chapters 7—Analysis and Interpretation--in Qualitative Communication
Research Methods by Lindlof & Taylor
Performance ethnography by McCall (RP)
Working in the fantasy factory by Wood (RP)
Working the Hyphens by Fine (RP)
Publishing Perils by Morris (RP)
October 31--Ethnographic Analysis
Readings:
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Jocks and Burnouts: Social Categories and Identity in the High School by
Eckert
November 7— Rhetorical/Textual Criticism
Readings:
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Chapter 1--The Nature of Rhetorical Criticism—in Foss
Chapter 2--Doing Rhetorical Criticism—in Foss
Chapter 5--Fantasy-Theme Criticism (skip student papers)—in Foss
Rhetorical Visions of Unmarried Mothers by Endres (RP)
November 14— Rhetorical/Feminist and Generic Criticism
Readings:
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Chapter 6--Feminist Criticism (skip student papers)—in Foss
Constructions of Reality on MTVs The Real World by Orbe (RP)
Disciplining the Feminine by Blair, Brown and Baxter (RP)
Chapter 7--Generic Criticism (skip student papers)—in Foss
They Spoke In Defense of Themselves by Ware and Linkugel (RP)
November 21— Rhetorical/Ideological and Metaphorical Criticism
Readings:
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Chapter 8--Ideological Criticism (skip student papers)—in Foss
The Rhetoric of the American Western Myth by Rusing(RP)
Chapter 9--Metaphor Criticism(skip student papers)—in Foss
Archetypal Metaphor in Rhetoric: The Light-Dark Family by Osborn (RP)
November 28— Rhetorical/Narrative & Generative Criticism
Readings:
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Chapter 10--Narrative Criticism(skip student papers)—in Foss
The Persuasive Appeal of Mediated Terrorism by Brown (RP)
Chapter 12-Generative Criticism(skip student papers)—in Foss
Caught between two worlds by DeSantis (RP)
Hegemonic masculinity on the mound by Trujillo (RP)
December 5— Rhetorical/Social Movement Criticism (Final Class)
Readings:
 The Rhetoric of Black Power by Burgess (RP)
 The Rhetoric of Women’s Liberation by Campbell (RP)
 The Contemporary American Abortion Controversy by Railsback (RP)
 From Gay is Good to the Scourge of AIDS by Darsey (RP)