Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in ANT473 and ANT 6200 Ethnographic Practicum: The University, together with other members of the Ethnography Lab have been investigating various aspects of life at the University of Toronto. The purpose of the course is for students to learn how to conduct an independent ethnographic inquiry, analyse data, and write it up as an original contribution to knowledge. Data comes from observations, archives, interviews, photos and other methods, as students spend time in field sites in a range of venues across campus. They use weekly meetings for brainstorming, sharing insights, coming up with provisional analysis, and allocating tasks for individuals or sub-groups to work on in the week ahead. The resulting blog posts and final papers are archived here.
The word “diversity” is everywhere in universities these days, but what does diversity mean, and what does it do? How does “diversity” shape the life of the university? Is diversity something you embody, or something you do? How exactly do faculty, staff and students “do” diversity and what becomes of their efforts? Continue reading
This final paper was part of the coursework for the Ethnographic Practicum course, “Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity.” Do We Let the Club Go? It was approaching the middle of May, and I had yet to find someone to replace me as the president of the Afro Dance and Culture Club (ADC). … Continue reading
This final paper was part of the coursework for the Ethnographic Practicum course, “Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity.” Near the end of term I was talking to my mother on Zoom about my ethnographic data, hoping that by talking out loud to someone, I would work out how to write about … Continue reading
This final paper was part of the coursework for the Ethnographic Practicum course, “Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity.” Introduction I am participating in a pre-COVID Zumba class in Hart House. There is a huge well-lit space, packed with people of different genders working out together while standing in long lines of ten … Continue reading
This final paper was part of the coursework for the Ethnographic Practicum course, “Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity.” When we talk about “diversity issues”, the first thing that comes up would be the diversity of social groups, characterized by gender, race, belief, culture, language, etc. Diversity issues appear when some groups are … Continue reading
This final paper was part of the coursework for the Ethnographic Practicum course, “Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity.” When I first walked into the Audrey Taylor dining hall at New College the cluttered layout felt overwhelming. There was no designated route and students can enter from Wetmore or Wilson Hall depending on … Continue reading
This final paper was part of the coursework for the Ethnographic Practicum course, “Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity.” Introduction In early October a notification popped up on my phone screen; my midterm grade for a sociology course had been posted. Nervous but optimistic, I opened Quercus. Immediately, my heart sank. I scored … Continue reading
This final paper was part of the coursework for the Ethnographic Practicum course, “Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity.” Rows and rows full of books. Table after table full of people. A place stretched against time, spanning from the most fathomable past to the most unfathomable futures. A place where the loudest revolutions … Continue reading
This blog post was part of the coursework for the Ethnographic Practicum course, “Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity.” It was originally posted in the category “Confronting Walls and Normalizing Practices.” In class brainstorming we conceptualized the modular student as the student whose qualities characterize the ideal student body. The University mobilizes this … Continue reading
This blog post was part of the coursework for the Ethnographic Practicum course, “Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity.” It was originally posted in the category “Confronting Walls and Normalizing Practices.” The phrase “toxic culture” is a familiar one to most University of Toronto students, one that is thrown around in casual conversations, … Continue reading
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