Course Description
Introduces graduate students in education and related disciplines to video ethnographic research methods. Students will also carry out mini-video ethnographic research methods. Students will also carry out mini-video ethnographies. The course mixes reading and discussion of papers based on video ethnographies and on film theory and ethnography with hands-on experiences shooting and editing video and using video as a cue for interviews on issues of teaching and learning in and out of schools.
Athena Title
Video Ethnography of Education
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
a. Students will know the basics of video making, including how to plan, shoot, and edit video. b. Students will become familiar with key issues of the epistemology, aesthetics, and ethics of video ethnography. c. Students will become familiar with major genres and exemplars of video ethnography
Topical Outline
a. The history of video ethnography (Rouch, Flannery, Mead, Asch, MacDougall, etc.) b. What makes video ethnographies ethnographic? How can culture be captured on film? c. The use of video for studying techniques of the body and embodiment d. The mechanics and techniques of shooting video e. Issues in video editing: continuity, shot length, and rhythm f. Narrated vs. unnarrated ethnographic videos g. Language issues h. The grammar of videos and film aesthetics i. Filming in classrooms: Technical, logistical, aesthetic, and ethical considerations j. Video stimulated recall and the use of videos as cues for ethnographic interviewing k. Micro-analysis of video for studying teachers and students and their interactions l. The use of videos in teacher preparation and student and teacher assessment