6 ECTS credits
150 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 1021435CER for all students in the 1st semester at a (C) Bachelor - specialised level.

Semester
1st semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Possible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Enrollment Requirements
Students who want to enroll for this course, must have passed ‘Qualitative Research Methods’ and must have obtained at least 30 ECTS-credits on bachelor level.
Taught in
English
Partnership Agreement
Under interuniversity agreement for degree program
Faculty
Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool
Department
Political Science
External partners
Universiteit Gent
Educational team
Karen Büscher (course titular)
External teachers
Karen Büscher
Activities and contact hours
22 contact hours Lecture
2 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
126 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

This is an introductory course to Political Ethnography. Through a series of lectures, practical exercises and case-studies, ethnography will be presented to the students as not only a scientific method, but also an epistemology and a way of social and political engagement.

This course introduces students to ethnography as an analytical and epistemological lens, methodological tool to investigate political processes and a political engagement. Through a series of lectures, practical exercises and case-studies, students will learn how to approach political concepts such as the state, governance, nationalism, conflict and democracy in an ethnographic way.

In a first, introductory part, a general introduction to ethnography is presented and how it has been applied in political science.
In a second part, students will be introduced to a number of practical ethnographic research tools (participatory observation, visual methods).
In a third part, a number of political concepts (such as the state, violence, democracy, development, nationalism, exile, policy-making) will be analysed in class, comparing a ‘classic’ political science approach to an ethnographic approach. These classes combine a theoretical part with a case-based illustration. Using specific ethnographic case studies, the added value of the ethnographic method for an understanding of politics will be discussed.
To familiarize students with ethnographic writing and reading, micro-teaching sessions will be organised, during which students will have to work in small groups to critically analyse ethnographic texts, step by step.
Finally, through an individual ethnographic observation exercise, students will also learn to apply the ethnographic research method themselves.

Course material
Digital course material (Required) : All course material (readings, slides and course recording will be provided through the Ufora (UGent digital Digital course platform)., UGent digital Digital course platform
Additional info

Description of expected study load:

  • 11 lectures, combination of ex-cathedra + discussion 11x 2 hours = 22
  • Processing notes after class: 1h/class: 12 h
  • 1 micro-teaching seminar: 1 x 2 hours = 2 h
  • Preparing presentation for micro-teaching seminar: 1 day (8 h)
  • Reading in preparation of the classes: 2 hours x 11 = 22 h
  • Ethnographic exercise: 4h observation, + 3 days processing notes + 2 days writing ethnographic vignette =  44h independent work.
  • Preparing exam: 5 days (40 hours)
Learning Outcomes

General Competences

General Competences:

  • Have insight in the key concepts and theories in political ethnography
  • Understanding the added value of ethnography as an epistemological, analytical and methodological approach.  
  • Situating concepts like state, power, democracy and nationalism within the ethnographic tradition
  • Familiarize with ethnographic academic writing
  • Reading and critically analysing political ethnographic texts.
  • Discussing ethnographic arguments.
  • Apply ethnographic techniques of participatory observation and ethnographic writing.

In terms of the learning outcomes of the BSc in Social Sciences:

LO7: possesses the methodological knowledge and practical skills of data selection and data processing that prevail within the domains of the social sciences.
LO16: can report, independently, on his/her research in both oral and written form.
LO: has awareness of the social role and function of social scientists.
LO5: knows and can explain the multilayered and complex character of social, political and media-related facts and phenomena.
LO15: can, with limited supervision, perform the necessary methodological steps (data selection, processing and management, and analysis) to answer a research question on a social sciences research topic.

 

 

 

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 50% of the final mark.
Other Exam determines 50% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Written Exam with a relative weight of 100 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Participatory Observation with a relative weight of 70 which comprises 35% of the final mark.

    Note: Individual Participatory Observation + Paper
  • Micro-teaching with a relative weight of 30 which comprises 15% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Written Exam: 10/20

Individual Participatory Observation + Paper: 7/20

Micro-teaching: 3/20

Only the written exam and the individual observation + paper can be performed again during the second examination session.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Bachelor of Social Sciences: Communication Studies
Bachelor of Social Sciences: Political Sciences
Bachelor of Social Sciences: Sociology