Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Ethnography (PGDAE)

About the Course Credit Points:40 (8×5) This course is designed to immerse students in the essential methods of ethnographic research, which are vital to the social sciences and humanities. Through theoretical discussions, students will explore the philosophical underpinnings that guide ethnographic work. Engaging with significant debates, they will delve into the challenges researchers face when observing cultures from within. The curriculum promotes a comprehensive understanding of various perspectives and issues, particularly focusing on reflexivity—theory that researchers must consider their own influence on the research process and outcomes.

Ethnography serves as a vital tool for understanding the rich human cultures at specific moments in time. Ethnographers immerse themselves in the daily lives of communities, engaging in direct interactions with individuals to gather comprehensive data. This process involves exploring various aspects of life, including settlement patterns, clothing, dietary practices, economic roles, and social organization. Additionally, ethnographers delve into family structures, marriage customs, kinship ties, and the beliefs and rituals that shape cultural identity. They pay close attention to folklore, oral traditions, and intangible cultural heritage, recognizing their significance in conveying values and histories. Since its inception, ethnographic study has been a cornerstone of Social Anthropology, highlighting the importance of observing and recording the complexities of human life and relationships, thereby fostering a deeper understanding of cultures across time and geography. This holistic approach allows for a nuanced appreciation of diversity and shared human experience.

In ethnographic studies, researchers gather both quantitative and qualitative data to gain a comprehensive understanding of the communities they study. Quantitative data encompasses measurable aspects such as population metrics, male-female ratios, housing sizes, household equipment inventory, crop yields, income levels, and material usage. In contrast, qualitative data delves into the beliefs, emotions, cultural practices, and social structures that define a community. This includes exploring family networks, marriage customs, kinship ties, religious beliefs, life cycle rituals, folklore, and other elements of intangible cultural heritage. The cornerstone of ethnographic research is fieldwork, where the researcher immerses themselves in daily life alongside the community members. This immersive approach allows the ethnographer to capture the interconnectedness of various cultural dimensions, particularly in small-scale, complex societies, enabling a rich and nuanced understanding of the social fabric in which individuals live and interact.

Applied Ethnography involves the practical use of ethnographic research methods to address real-world problems by understanding cultural practices and social interactions in various communities. This qualitative approach emphasizes fieldwork, participant observation, and collaboration with stakeholders to generate actionable insights. It aims to capture the “emic” perspective, or the point of view of the people being studied, to gain a comprehensive understanding of their culture and daily life. This involves immersing oneself in the culture, observing interactions, and interpreting the meaning of practices and beliefs. Applied ethnography in cultural heritage studies leverages ethnographic research methods to understand and document the meaning, use, and social contexts of cultural heritage. This approach involves observing, participating in, and interpreting the practices and beliefs associated with heritage sites, objects, and traditions, ultimately providing insights into how these heritage elements are perceived, valued, and maintained by communities.

Course Objectives Ethnographic research is a qualitative research method that involves observing people in their natural environment and analyzing their behavior, interactions, and cultural patterns. It is a process of immersion in a particular cultural context, allowing researchers to gain insights into how people live, work, and communicate. Ethnographic research has its root in anthropology, the study of human societies and culture. Social scientists use this qualitative research methodology in health care, education, cultural studies, etc. Ethnographic research can be used to study a wide range of cultural and social phenomena. Researchers often focus on traditions, rituals, belief systems, Religious impact, language, moral values, social interactions, and how people interact with their environment. Other forms of cultural evidence can also be beneficial, such as: artifacts, oral histories, sacred groves and texts, and various art forms. Additionally, ethnography can explore social relationships, cultural norms, and the meaning-making processes within a particular group or community. Applied ethnography aims to use ethnographic methods and insights to address practical problems and inform solutions within specific contexts, rather than solely focusing on descriptive research. Objectives often include understanding how individuals interact with products or services, testing assumptions, evaluating processes, and providing practical insights for decision-making in areas like social and cultural context, natural resource management, healthcare, education, business, community development and intangible cultural heritage of tribal, rural and complex societies.