96439 - Research Methods in Cultural Studies (1)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the student: is provided with a toolbox (made of concepts, methods and techniques) related to cultural studies; has developed basic skills for designing, conducting, and evaluating empirical researches in the field of cultural studies, with special reference to arts, music, and entertainment.

Course contents

What are cultural studies? Is it possible to study culture? How do we use the various resources that art gives us (film, music, theater, dance, video, photos, etc.) to conduct research with scientific rigor? What sources are considered valid or legitimate? How to conduct an interview? What is participant observation? What are statistics, graphs, tables for? These and other questions will be explored during the course through texts by authors such as Stuart Hall, Clifford Geertz, Sara Ahmed and Erving Goffman.

Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Research in the field of cultural studies seeks to investigate how cultural practices relate to broader systems of power associated with social categories such as class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, religion, age, etc. Cultural studies does not view culture as a fixed, bounded and stable entity, but rather as a set of practices and processes in constant interaction and change. Cultural studies encompasses a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives and practices that allow for the exploration of extremely diverse phenomena: from love affairs on the Internet, to music in big city suburbs, from drinks at the bar to the Latin American telenovela.

The main objectivel of the course is to create a space for discussion, exploration and analysis in which students have the opportunity to delve into local and global cultural and socio-political contexts, as well as to combine artistic and/or media resources (theater, dance, film, video, photography, etc.) with different approaches and methods: postcolonial studies, Marxism, feminist theory, political theory, history, philosophy, literary theory, narrative analysis, media theory, film/video studies, communication studies, political economy, museum studies and art history/criticism.

The course will be divided into three parts. In the first part, the student will acquire the basics of cultural studies as an interdisciplinary field and learn the plurality of methods that characterizes it. The distinction between qualitative and quantitative research methods will be analyzed, followed by a series of case studies on everyday experience, discourse, images, producers and consumers of culture, digital objects and memory.

The second part of the course will focus on ethnography as one of the main methods of study in cultural studies that involves meticulous fieldwork including recording life histories, documenting social landscapes, living with local hosts and conducting interviews. During this part of the course, we will have the opportunity to learn more about what ethnography is and dialogue with both some classic texts and researchers currently conducting fieldwork. Students will be able to ask questions and discuss different research methods, think about how to choose a topic, make a research design, think about the researcher-informant relationship, etc.

The third and last part of the course will be practical. Students will present a short research project proposal, with an emphasis on design and methodology. In this presentation, they will have to think about which research method(s) would be the most appropriate to address the proposed research question(s). The idea is that, during the latter part of the course, students will be able to carry out the proposed research in small groups to practice the concepts learned in class and apply different methods and techniques to investigate cultural phenomenons. 

 

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Readings/Bibliography

Mandatory texts:

Gobo, G. (2001). Descrivere il mondo. Teoria e pratica del metodo etnografico in sociologia. Roma: Carocci.

Supplementary texts:

Clifford, J., & Marcus, E. G. (Eds.). (2005). Scrivere le culture. Poetiche e politiche dell'etnografia (Vol. 10). Roma: Meltemi.

Dal Lago, A. (2016) Gli usi del corpo in etnografia, in "Etnografia e ricerca qualitativa, Rivista quadrimestrale" 3/2016, pp. 387-392, doi: 10.3240/85149

Geertz, C., Bona, E., & Gaion, R. (1998). Interpretazione di culture. Bologna: Il Mulino.

Hall, S. (2006). Il soggetto e la differenza: per un'archeologia degli studi culturali e postcoloniali (Vol. 67). Roma: Meltemi.

Horkheimer, M. & Adorno, T. (1982). L'industria culturale: quando l'Illuminismo diventa mistificazione di massa. Torino: Einaudi.

Ingold, T. (2014). That’s enough about ethnography!. Hau: journal of ethnographic theory, 4(1), 383-395.

Hall, S. (2015). Cultural Identity and Diaspora. In Colonial discourse and post-colonial theory (pp. 392-403). London: Routledge.

Ethnoraphic texts:

Barnao, C. (2008). " No alcol? No party!" Etnografia dei giovani bevitori. Etnografia e ricerca qualitativa, 1(2), 249-276.

Becker, H. S. (2017). Outsiders: studi di sociologia della devianza. Milano: Mimesis. (Chapter Three: "Becoming a Marijuana User" and Chapter Five: "The Culture of a Deviant Group.
The Dance Musician")

Bourgois, P. (2005). Cercando rispetto: drug economy e cultura di strada. Roma: DeriveApprodi.

Magaudda, P., & Santoro, M. (2013). Dalla popular music ai sound studies: lo studio delle culture sonore. Studi culturali, 10(1), 3-12.

Nardini, D. (2021). Il senso del mare. Fenomenologia del surf sulla Gold Coast australiana. Antropologia, 8(2 NS), 127-146.

Teaching methods

Seminar activities. There will also be sessions with guest speakers (active researchers and professors from other universities) who will share their research related to cultural studies.

Assessment methods

The exam will be oral. For those who are taking the exam as regular FREQUENTERS, you will need to prepare 2 TEXTS and the research project developed during the course:


1. Mandatory text
2. Second text (1 ethnographic or 1 complementary text of your choice)
3. Research project

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS should prepare 3 TEXTS:

1. Mandatory text
2. Supplementary text (of your choice)
3. Ethnographic text (of your choice)

FOR REGULAR FREQUENTERS: The research will be presented in the form of a term paper presenting the case study, research questions, techniques and methods used to obtain the data, results and conclusions. NOTE: More precise details about the final paper will be provided during the course. The term paper will be handed in before the exam.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

PDF reading material will be shared with students. Videos and PPT slides will be used during lectures.

Office hours

See the website of Paulina Sabugal Paz