Course Proposal Details for - Ethnological Fieldwork Methods (Course code not assigned)
School
School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures
Course Description
The course focuses on the practice of undertaking ethnological fieldwork as well
as on the issues and theories surrounding it. The work of Professor Carl Lindahl on
the collection of hurricane narratives in the USA will form a case study. Students
will undertake their own fieldwork as part of the course and will reflect on the
experience. Issues to be addressed include questioning techniques, recording
techniques, archiving and ethics. Concepts such as reflexivity, reciprocity, field
back and Intangible Cultural Heritage will be explored. Key texts will guide the
learning and teaching.
Normal Year Taken
Year 3 Undergraduate
Course Level (PG/UG)
UG
Visiting Student
Availability
Available to all students
SCQF Credits
20
Credit Level (SCQF)
SCQF Level 10
Home Subject Area
Scottish Ethnology
Other Subject Area
Course Organiser
Katherine Campbell
Course Secretary
Christine Lennie
% not taught by this
institution
0
Collaboration
Information (School /
Institution)
Total contact teaching
hours
20
Any costs to be met by
students
N/A
Pre-requisites
Students will normally have undertaken a level 8 course (or courses) in Scottish
Studies or Scottish Ethnology.
LLC BoS 18 January 2012
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations
Visting Student Prerequisites
Keywords
Fieldwork Ethnology Folklore Intangible Cultural Heritage
Fee Code (if invoiced at
course level)
Proposer
Katherine Campbell
Default Mode of Study
Classes & Assessment incl. centrally arranged exam
Default delivery period
Semester 2
Marking Scheme to be
employed
Common Marking Scheme - UG Honours Mark/Grade
Taught in Gaidhlig?
No
Course Type
Standard
Summary of Intended
Learning Outcomes/L01
By the end of the course students will have:
- gained increased knowledge of the place of fieldwork in understanding cultural
dynamics and practices
- gained experience of fieldwork interviewing and of critically evaluating the
results
- been given a broad overview of some of the issues and theories surrounding
fieldwork practice within ethnology and folklore
- engaged with a range of key texts which deal with these topics, including some
case-study material
- gained confidence in presenting the results of personal study and research in
oral and written form.
Learning Outcome 2
Learning Outcome 3
Learning Outcome 4
Learning Outcome 5
Special Arrangements
LLC BoS 18 January 2012
Components of
Assessment
One essay of approximately 3,000 words (35%)
One oral presentation (15%)
Degree examination (50%)
Visiting Student Variant Assessment
One essay of approximately 3,000 words (35%)
One oral presentation (15%)
Degree examination (50%)
Exam Information
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) 1:30 16 sides
Syllabus
Academic Description
Study Pattern
Transferable Skills
Study Abroad
Reading Lists
LLC BoS 18 January 2012
Key Texts for Course on Ethnological Fieldwork Methods
Course Proposer: Dr Kath Campbell, January 2012
NB This reading list will be supplemented by a weekly handout pertaining to the topic(s)
under consideration.
Fieldwork Interviewing
Bartis, Peter, et al. Folklife and Fieldwork: A Layman’s Introduction to Field Techniques
[Alternate subtitle, from 2010 edition: An Introduction to Field Techniques], 3rd edn.
Washington, DC: American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, 2002. Available
online at http://www.loc.gov/folklife/fieldwork/
Finnegan, Ruth H. Oral Traditions and the Verbal Arts: A Guide to Research Practices.
London: Routledge, 1992.
Goldstein, Kenneth S. A Guide for Field Workers in Folklore. Hatboro, Pa: Published for the
American Folklore Society by Folklore Associates, 1964.
Hesse-Biber, Sharlene and Patricia Leavy (eds) Handbook of Emergent Methods. New York:
Guilford Press, 2008.
Howarth, Ken. Oral History: A Handbook. Stroud: Sutton, 1998.
Ives, Edward D. The Tape-Recorded Interview: A Manual for Fieldworkers in Folklore and
Oral History, 2nd edn. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1995.
Leavy, Patricia. Oral History: Understanding Qualitative Research. Oxford University
Press USA, 2011 (to be ordered for the Scottish Studies Library).
Wolcott, Harry F. The Art of Fieldwork, 2nd edn. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 1995.
Perspectives on the Fieldwork Situation
Barz, Gregory F. and Timothy J. Cooley (eds). Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for
Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Neisser, Ulric (ed.) Memory Observed: Remembering in Natural Contexts. San Francisco,
Calif.: W.H. Freeman, 1982.
Nettl, Bruno. The Study of Ethnomusicology: Thirty-One Issues and Concepts. Urbana, Ill.:
University of Illinois Press, 2005.
Tyler, Stephen A. The Unspeakable: Discourse, Dialogue and Rhetoric in the Postmodern
World. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1987.
Some Studies Incorporating Fieldwork
A Outside Scotland
LLC BoS 18 January 2012
Behar, Ruth. Translated Woman: Crossing the Border with Esperanza’s Story. Boston:
Beacon Press, 1995.
Burton, Thomas G. Some Ballad Folks. Boone, N.C.: Appalachian Consortium Press, 1981.
Glassie, Henry. Passing the Time in Ballymenone: Culture and History of an Ulster
Community. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995.
Lindahl, Carl, Maida Owens, and C. Renée Harvison (eds). Swapping Stories: Folktales from
Louisiana. Jackson, Miss.: University Press of Mississippi in association with Louisiana
Division of the Arts, Baton Rouge, 1997.
B Within Scotland
Bennett, Margaret. Scottish Customs: From the Cradle to the Grave. Edinburgh: Birlinn,
1992.
Brown, Mary Ellen, and Sheila Douglas. “Some Approaches to Scottish Ballad Study”, Lore
and Language, 1981, 3/4-5:101-107.
Cooke, Peter. The Fiddle Tradition of the Shetland Isles. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1986.
Lyle, Emily (ed.) Galoshins Remembered. Edinburgh: National Museums Scotland, 2011.
MacDonald, Donald A. “Fieldwork: Collecting Oral Literature” in Richard M. Dorson,
Folklore and Folklife: An Introduction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1972 (407430).
General Handbooks on Folklore/Ethnology
Dorson, Richard M. (ed.) Folklore and Folklife: An Introduction. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1972.
Georges, Robert A. Folkloristics: An Introduction. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University
Press, 1995.
Hultkrantz, Å. International Dictionary of Regional European Ethnology and Folklore
(vol.1, General Ethnological Concepts). Copenhagen: Rosenkilde and Bagger, 1960.
Scottish Life and Society: A Compendium of Scottish Ethnology (volumes published by the
European Ethnological Research Centre, Edinburgh).
LLC BoS 18 January 2012