Fieldwork: Rural Diversity
SOCY 67
Fall 1998
Course meets: Tuesday, Thursday 10:25-11:40 AM
Room 14 Davis House
Professor: Howard L. Sacks
Department of Anthropology/Sociology
Room 106 Palme House
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:00-11:00 AM
Tuesday 1:00-3:00 PM
and by appointment (ext. 5850; e-mail SACKSH)
Research Room: 15 Davis House, ext. 5507
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course provides an introduction to fieldwork techniques and to the ethical and political issues raised by
our purposeful involvement in other people's lives. Students will spend considerable time conducting original field
research throughout Knox County, with the results to be presented publicly. Our research will focus on rural diversity.
Although commonly associated with metropolitan areas, diversity is also characteristic of small towns and rural
communities. Knox County, for example, includes Amish, Jewish, African American, Greek American, and other ethnic
and religious communities in its midst. We will examine the character and extent of rural diversity, its relevance
for identity, and the relationships among groups. What lessons can we learn about pluralism in this distinctive
setting? This course satisfies the senior seminar requirement in American Studies. Prerequisites: SOCY 10, 11,
or 12 and one additional sociology course or permission of instructor.
REQUIRED READINGS
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Colored People: A Memoir (New York: Vintage Books, 1995).
Bruce Jackson, Fieldwork (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987).
GOALS OF THE COURSE
I've constructed this course with several goals in mind; two of these are evident from the course title. Fieldwork
will introduce you to several of the methods associated with field research that facilitate the systematic collection
of observations about our surroundings. In my experience, research methods are best understood by actively doing
research, so the majority of your time will be spent in the field conducting original research.
The subject of our collective research efforts will be rural diversity. We live in a pluralist society, and diversity constitutes a central issue in our nation today. Yet the discussion of American diversity centers almost exclusively on life in urban areas; little attention is paid to the considerable diversity that exists in rural settings. What new understandings might we gain from the consideration of rural diversity?
By examining Knox County's diversity we participate in the life of the surrounding
community. Sociologists have long identified radical individualism as a hallmark of modern life. While the cybernetic
revolution extends our networks to include the entire planet, internet access may only further separate us from
a sense of place and the significance of face-to-face relationships.
Our research into this subject will generate new knowledge that has significance both within and beyond the surrounding
community. Creating a public project enables us to share our understandings with others. At the same time, this
community work raises important questions for us to consider about the relationship of academic life to the broader
world and our social responsibility to others.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
This course emphasizes collaborative learning involving students as active participants in the creation of knowledge,
and the various assignments reflect this approach. I will provide detailed handouts describing particular assignments
in class.
My evaluation of your work (and your final grade) will be based on your demonstrated ability in four areas, each
of which will constitute one-quarter of your grade in the course:
Journal. Each
student will maintain a journal including research documentation, responses to course readings, and discussions
of class activities.
Research Assignments.
Students will conduct original research, including both focused assignments and self-directed work toward completion
of a course project.
Course Project. Students will develop and implement a significant project for public presentation in the spring.
Class Participation. Students are expected to contribute actively to class meetings through both formal presentations
and general discussion.
If you have a disability and therefore may have need for some type of accommodation(s) in order to participate
fully in this class, please feel free to discuss your concerns in private with me AND be sure to contact Dean Jane
Martindell at PBX 5145 or via email at MARTINDELLJ.
A TENTATIVE OUTLINE FOR THE SEMESTER
[NOTE: Dates listed in bold are special events at times other than our regularly scheduled meetings. Readings listed
with an asterisk (*) are on reserve in Palme House.]
I. Understanding Fieldwork
8/27 A. Introduction to the Course
course syllabus
9/1 B. Fieldwork: Issues and Approaches
Bruce Jackson, Fieldwork, pp. 1-52.
Recommended:
Colin Bell and Howard Newby, Community Studies: An Introduction to the Sociology of the Local Community (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1974).
James Clifford and George E. Marcus, eds., Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986).
Robert M. Emerson, ed. Contemporary Field Research: A Collection of Readings (Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 1988).
Don D. Fowler and Donald L. Hardesty, Others Knowing Others: Perspectives on Ethnographic Careers (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994).
Charles C. Ragin and Howard S. Becker, What is a Case?: Exploring the Foundations of Sociological Inquiry (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992).
9/3 C. Ethical and Political Issues in Fieldwork
Bruce Jackson, Fieldwork, pp. 259-279.
II. Understanding Diversity
9/8 A. Defining Diversity
* Frederik Barth, "Ethnic Groups and Boundaries." Pp. 294-324 in Werner Sollors, ed., Theories of Ethnicity: A Classical Reader (Washington Square, NY: New York University Press, 1996).
* Herbert Gans, "Symbolic Ethnicity: The Future of Ethnic Groups and Cultures in America." Pp. 425-459 in Sollors, Theories of Ethnicity.
9/10 B. Rural Diversity
The Community Within: Black Experience in Knox County, Ohio, Kenyon American Studies Exhibit, 1993. Olin Library, 3rd floor.
III. Conducting Fieldwork
9/15 A. Fieldwork Techniques
Bruce Jackson, Fieldwork, pp. 63-78.
9/17 B. Discussion of Field Visits
IV. Diversity in Historical Perspective
9/22 A. Diversity in Historical Perspective
* Milton M. Gordon, "Assimilation in America: Theory and Reality." PP. 248-61 in Norman R. Yetman (ed.), Majority and Minority: The dynamics of Race and Ethnicity in American Life, 5th. ed. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1991).
9/24 B. Searching the Historical Record
N. N. Hill, Jr., History of Knox County, Ohio (Mt. Vernon, OH: A. A. Graham & Co., 1881)
Frederick N. Lorey, History of Knox County, OH, 1876-1976 (Mt. Vernon, OH: Knox County Historical Society, 1976)
A. Banning Norton, A History of Knox County, Ohio, from 1799 to 18562 Inclusive (Columbus, OH: Richard Nevins, 1862)
H. G. H. Wilhelm, The Origin and Distribution of Settlement Groups: Ohio 1850 (Athens, OH: Privately printed, 1982)
Albert B. Williams, Past and Present of Knox County, Ohio, 2 vols. (Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen & Co., 1912)
9/29 Trip to Knox County Historical Society
10/1 & 10/ 6 C. Discussion of Historical Research
10/8-9 October Break
V. Diversity, Community, and Identity
10/13 A. Diversity and Community
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Colored people: A Memoir, pp. xi.-123
10/15 B. Diversity and Identity
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Colored People: A Memoir, pp. 125-216
VI. Interviewing
10/20 A. Issues and Approaches to Interviewing
Bruce Jackson, Fieldwork, pp. 79-106
10/22 B. Interviewing Techniques
Bruce Jackson, Fieldwork, pp. 128-193
VII. Conducting Field Research
10/27 No class: Conduct field research
10/29 Discussion of Interviews
11/3 No class: Conduct field research
11/5 Discussion of interviews
11/10 No class: Conduct field research
VIII. Implementing Public Project
11/12 Discuss class project
11/17 No class: Complete field research
11/19 Discuss class project
11/21-29 Thanksgiving Vacation
12/1 Project implementation
12/3 Project implementation
12/8 Project implementation
12/10 Project/course review
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