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 “Concepts and Methods.” How does one conduct ethnographic research when you cannot get within 6 feet of each other because of government regulations? COVID 19 restrictions make … Continue reading
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.
Taking Photos as an Ethnographer, By Charlotte Millar (Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity)
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 “Concepts and Methods.” The place I want to photograph is filled with students. But the people there are unwelcoming. They are clearly busy with their work. I … Continue reading
Encountering Walls, and Finding Something Unexpected, By Charlotte Millar (Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity)
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 “Concepts and Methods.” When you encounter your first ethnographic wall [a blockage, a dead end], it feels like you are stuck in your research and will not … Continue reading
The Consequences of Not Belonging, By Mason Lorch (Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity)
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 “On Being Included.” In my research into diversity work at the University of Toronto, I ended up thinking a lot about the phenomenon of belonging and how diversity workers … Continue reading
Digestible Diversity, By Isabella Gillard (Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity)
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 “On Being Included.” A common theme that arose from my interviews was a discrepancy between the campus food presented and labelled as ethnic food and the original … Continue reading
Questioning Complacency: Why do Students Accept poor food choices on Campus? By Isabella Gillard (Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity)
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 “On Being Included.” When I began the interview with Viv, she admitted that she wasn’t sure how helpful she would be because she had “never thought about” … Continue reading
Seeking Diverse Food Beyond the Dining Hall: Take-Out & Food-Trucks, By Isabella Gillard (Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity)
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 “On Being Included.” To cope with the dissatisfactory cultural food at the dining hall, many international students turn to sources outside of the dining halls to reduce … Continue reading
The Work We Do Is Not for the University, By Nana Koomson (Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity)
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 “Doing Diversity Work.” While doing ethnographic research on how students perform diversity work at the University of Toronto, I discovered that students see themselves as diversity workers. … Continue reading
Does Your Diversity Work Make a Difference, By Nana Koomson (Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity)
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 “Doing Diversity Work.” While doing some ethnographic research on how Black students imagined themselves to be Diversity workers within the University of Toronto, I discovered that students … Continue reading
Diversity Work: Student-Led Student Groups vs Administrator-led Student Groups, By Nana Koomson (Ethnography of the University 2021: Focus on Diversity)
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 “Doing Diversity Work.” Diversity is a diversion from what is normal. One student leader described the University of Toronto to be a very “white space”. As such, diversity … Continue reading