Ethnography as Epistemology: An International Dialogue on Challenges Facing Ethnographers Studying Knowledge Construction Across Disciplines, Time Scales, Actors, Institutions, and Countries

Session Submission Type: Working Group Roundtable

Abstract

This Working Group Roundtable explores ethnography as epistemology, that is, ethnography as a way of knowing about the everyday lives, knowledge and meanings of members of particular social groups or communities. Each participant in this international group of ethnographers is conducting research in multi-generational contexts, multiple sites, multi-years, and/or multiple countries. Each has written on issues in epistemology based on research in their specific ethnographic contexts. Through the discussions among this international group of ethnographers, we seek to identify how challenges addressed in one study can inform issues of design, conduct and reporting of ethnographic research across studies when ethnography is viewed as a non-linear system.

Sub Unit

• Division D - Measurement and Research Methodologies / Section 3: Qualitative Research Methods

Chair

• Ginger Weade, Ohio University

Papers

• Ethnography as a Logic of Inquiry - Judith L. Green, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Where to Look for “Global” and “National” Cultures - Kathryn M. Anderson-Levitt, University of California - Los Angeles

• Reading Comprehension As Intertextual Practice: An Ethnographic Perspective - David M. Bloome, The Ohio State University

• (Re)Entering a Field 20 Years Later: Challenges of (Re)Learning to Research Literacy Practices - Maria L. Castanheira, Federal University of Minas Gerais

• Researching Continuities and Discontinuities Within Teacher Education Programs - Laurie Joy Katz, The Ohio State University

• Cross-Case Analysis of Academic Literacies Across Disciplines in High School and University Settings - Brian V. Street, King's College London