Category Archives: Ethnography of the University

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.

Sites of Investigation (Ethnography of the University 2016: Focus on Work)

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Carsten Knoch • Leave a comment

Lama El-Hanan I chose to do my research on work at the University of Toronto’s Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office (ARCDO). ARCDO is part of the University’s equity offices network and works closely with stakeholders on campus to enable the University’ academic mission and eliminate racism and systemic discrimination on campus. Doing anti-racism work at … Continue reading →

Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Work 2016 / Undergraduate Ethnography

Theoretical Perspectives (Ethnography of the University 2016: Focus on Work)

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Carsten Knoch • Leave a comment

From Kathi Weeks: The University as a Work Society By Mirae Lee In order to begin thinking and formulating questions for our individual ethnographic research, we first started by trying to understand what “work” is/means and what it means to be a “worker.” According to Kathi Weeks in The Problem with Work (2011), work is … Continue reading →

Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Work 2016 / Undergraduate Ethnography

Why study work? (Ethnography of the University 2016: Focus on Work)

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Carsten Knoch • Leave a comment

Introduction By Tania Li I proposed the topic of work for this year’s ethnographic practicum because everyone in the university is engaged in it – doing it, complaining about it, worrying about the future lack of it – yet we seldom stop to contemplate how or why work has become so central to our lives … Continue reading →

Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Work 2016 / Undergraduate Ethnography

Student Bios (Ethnography of the University 2016: Focus on Work)

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Carsten Knoch • Leave a comment

Maggie Morris Maggie is a fourth year undergraduate student studying Anthropology, Sociology and Ethics, Society & Law. She is currently a peer mentor for the ‘STEP Anthropology Program.’ She has done research in Kerala, India through the Ethnography Lab with Dalit and Adivasi caste groups on the nature of social inequality and exclusion. Neemo Isse … Continue reading →

Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Power 2015 / Undergraduate Ethnography

What’s in a Rank? Universities and Student Satisfaction: The Role of Student Services Practitioners in Creating Successful Students (Ethnography of the University 2015: Focus on Power)

Posted on April 6, 2016 by JessikaTremblay • Leave a comment

This is a research paper by Shannon McKechnie, produced as part of the Ethnography of the University 2015: Focus on Power course. Download PDF here Abstract Increasingly, students attending post-secondary education are not pursuing higher academic knowledge. Instead, the experience of University, including gaining new friends, relationships, memories, and prospective careers has become paramount. This is … Continue reading →

Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Power 2015 / Undergraduate Ethnography

Board Proposals, Bingo, and a Band: Strength in Numbers at the University of Toronto Students’ Union’s Annual General Meeting (Ethnography of the University 2015: Focus on Power)

Posted on April 6, 2016 by JessikaTremblay • Leave a comment

This is a research paper by Anna Shortly, produced as part of the Ethnography of the University 2015: Focus on Power course. Download PDF here Abstract Every year in the fall semester, the University of Toronto Students’ Union holds an Annual General Meeting where the students it represents—all undergraduate and professional faculty students across the St. … Continue reading →

Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Power 2015 / Undergraduate Ethnography

Wellness Welded: The Assemblage for Health & Wellness at the University of Toronto (Ethnography of the University 2015: Focus on Power)

Posted on April 6, 2016 by JessikaTremblay • Leave a comment

This is a research paper by Henry Lee Heinonen, produced as part of the Ethnography of the University 2015: Focus on Power course. Download PDF here My conscious engagement with wellness programs at the University of Toronto began in September, 2015 – in my fifth and final year as an undergraduate student, and only in order … Continue reading →

Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Power 2015 / Undergraduate Ethnography

The Amiable Face of Student Governance: A Look into Political Involvement within the University of Toronto (Ethnography of the University 2015: Focus on Power)

Posted on April 6, 2016 by JessikaTremblay • Leave a comment

This is a research paper by Alexandre Darveau-Morin, produced as part of the Ethnography of the University 2015: Focus on Power course. Download PDF here Context of the research This research was conducted through an ethnographic fieldwork seminar with Prof. Tania Li seeking to understand how power flows and influence the life of people inside … Continue reading →

Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Power 2015 / Undergraduate Ethnography

Fieldsite Maps (Ethnography of the University 2015: Focus on Power)

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Carsten Knoch • Leave a comment

Student Fieldsites 2015 Anna Shortly Goldring Student Centre, Victoria College Cat’s Eye in the Goldring Student Centre, Victoria College OISE Auditorium University of Toronto Students’ Union, 12 Hart House Circle University of Toronto Archives, Robarts Library Croft Chapter House, University College Henry Lee Heinonen Hart House Health and Wellness Centre (Koffler) New College Laura Beach … Continue reading →

Ethnography of the University / Ethnography of the University: Focus on Power 2015 / Undergraduate Ethnography

Useful Resources (Ethnography of the University 2015: Focus on Power)

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Carsten Knoch • Leave a comment

Allen, John. 2011. Lost geographies of power. Vol. 79. John Wiley & Sons. Althusser, L. (2006). Ideology and ideological state apparatuses (notes towards an investigation). The anthropology of the state: A reader, 86-111. Anderson, Leon. “Analytic Autoethnography.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 35, no. 4 (August 2006): 373-395. Bourdieu, P. (2003). Participant Objectivation*. Journal of the … Continue reading →