NEIU 241 Skills for Inquiry
Tentative Syllabus
JUST 241
NEIU JUSTICE STUDIES
SKILLS FOR INQUIRY
Fall 2008
DR. JUNE TERPSTRA
Course Description
Development of analytic and writing skills. Introduction to the methodology of the social sciences. Students develop research designs and initiate studies on justice studies topics Should be taken immediately after JUST 101 or JUST 201. Prereq: JUST-101
This class focuses on inquiry skills in conducting ethnographies. Ethnographic studies focus on how people practice their cultural, spiritual, economic and organizational values and beliefs in everyday life. These research projects are concerned with documenting the effects of economic, political, and social constructions of power as they manifest in class, race and gender relations. Ethnographic data is typically gathered at the "grass roots" or local level. In this case, it will be our class--up close in a familiar field. Our studies will capture your experiences of the realms of the familiar and biographical as you examine your concepts and practices of justice.
The ethnographic research question we pose asks what is the praxis of Justice Studies students. Does praxis (theory informed action and action informed by theory) as defined facilitate the production of knowledge necessary for students to engage in work for social justice?
An autoethnography is:
- An analytical/objective personal account
- About the self/writer as part of a group or culture
- Often a description of a conflict of cultures
- Often an analysis of being different or an outsider
- Usually written to an audience not a part of the group
- An attempt to see self as others might
- An opportunity to explain differences from the inside
- Always an attempt to explain one element of self to other
- An explanation of how one is
Course Objective:
Students will learn and practice the skills of sociological research design, interviewing, surveying, and reflexive journaling with a focus on ethnographic and auto-ethnographic methods.
Course Requirements
Class attendance and participation=200
Field Note and observation Journal=300 points, 150 each
Mid-term = self studies surveys and peer questionnaires= 2 required =200
Final Research Project = You may choose either a 15-20 minute power point presentation of findings or a 10-15 page research report of findings. = 300
Total= 1000
Tentative Syllabus
Week 1 8/26 Conducting Engaged Research in a Familiar Field
Read and respond:
1. An Auto-ethnography on Learning About Autoethnography
http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/backissues/5_2/HTML/wall.htm
- 2. Field Notes by John Ishaq at http://juneterpstra.com/about_1.html
3. Through the looking glass: being a critical ethnographic researcher in a familiar nursing context By Heather Cudmore and Juliet Sondermeyer
http://juneterpstra.com/about_1.html
Week 2 Ethnographies and auto-ethnographies
Read and respond:
Engaged Research Methods for Social Justice, Part I by Dr. June Terpstra
Do We Practice What We Preach? By Wayne Nguyen at http://juneterpstra.com/custom_4.html
Week 3 Designing interviews, surveys and questionnaires
Choose your topic and construct your thesis statement
Designing interviews, surveys and questionnaires
Read and respond:
Design your surveys and questionaires --http://www.statpac.com/surveys/
Week 4 Producing Dangerous Knowledge
Read and Respond
Rich White Girls by Sally Galman at http://juneterpstra.com/custom_4.html
Week 5 Revolutionary Research
Read and Respond:
Sharing Power with Students by Isabel Moreno-Lopez
http://radicalpedagogy.icaap.org/content/issue7_2/moreno.html
Weeks 6&7 PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH DESIGNS
Weeks 7& 8 Action Research
Where do you stand and what will you do?
Weeks 9-11 Conducting Your research
Weeks 12-14
FINAL PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS
EXAMS WEEK
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