qualitative methods
This is a class about asking and answering questions with qualitative methods. Qualitative methods provide important tools for Geographers exploring human-environmental relationships, the socio-political production of space and place, and the spatial production of the social world. In this quarter you'll learn how to develop research questions and explore a variety of approaches to qualitative research such as interviews, oral histories, participatory and community engaged research, participant observation, ethnography, and archival research. You'll develop a research topic and question, practice different methods, and interpret, analyze, and present your findings. Throughout the course we'll center a politics of knowledge, asking what “counts” as knowledge and who is empowered to produce it? We will draw out connections between theory and method, through a focus on feminist, political, and Black geographies.
a sample of scholars we'll engage this semester from left to right: Ruth Wilson Gilmore, W.E.B. DuBois, Laura Pulido
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
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Expand and deepen your knowledge of qualitative research methods;
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Examine the politics of knowledge and knowledge production;
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Explore case studies of qualitative research in human geography;
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Discuss contemporary issues in qualitative methods, including power, ethics, and positionality;
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Develop a working research topic and question(s);
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Put these methods into practice (to the best of our ability);
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Interpret, analyze, and present your findings;
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Reflect and share with each other on the experiences, challenges, and insights of using qualitative methods.