[URBANTH-L]Ethnographic Field School in Buenos Aires

[Angela Jancius]

 From: "Marta E. Savigliano" <martasa at arts.ucla.edu>


ETHNOGRAPHIC FIELD SCHOOL:
CULTURE AND PERFORMANCE IN BUENOS AIRES - June 25-August 4, 2006

The University of Hawai'i-Manoa Study Abroad Center and the Department of
Anthropology have developed a 6-week intensive course in ethnographic
methods in Buenos Aires. The course focuses on current approaches to the
study of culture and performance in a complex urban setting.  Undergraduate
and graduate students are welcome to apply.

Buenos Aires offers opportunities to conduct sociocultural research on the
intersection of local and global trends; class, gender and ethnic identities
in motion; and a uniquely vibrant cultural production.  Marta E. Savigliano
(UCLA) and Jeffrey Tobin (Occidental College), professors and scholars
specializing in the anthropology of Argentina will be teaching the course.

Students will be trained in techniques of participation, observation, and
interpretation in a city known for its tango practitioners, soccer fans,
lavish beef-eaters, proud intellecctual and artistic producers, creative and
effective social movements, and conflicted memories of state terrorism.
Fieldwork exercises will take students to tango dance clubs and practice
sessions, soccer games and sports bars, city markets and asados (grilled
meat feasts) in the countryside, the neo-bohemian district of Palermo Viejo,
the museum and gravesite of Eva Peron, and the Plaza de Mayo (to walk with
the Madres).  Classroom discussions, based on fieldwork and readings, will
address methodological issues such as: defining a "field" in a complex,
urban setting; identifying and approaching participants; planning and
conducting interviews; recording meaningful observations; accounting for
competing viewpoints; participating in order to access an insider's
perspectiva without intruding; representing research findings through
writing and other media; and the use of scholarly sources to interpret
fieldwork.

Facilities: Library, computer lab (with broadband access), offices, and
classroom located in a cultural center, downtown Buenos Aires, two blocks
away from the national Congress building and its Library.

Costs: Approximately $3,800 including study abroad for 6 credits, room and
board, field trips/excursions, local transportation, laundry facilities and
internet access.  Airfare and personal expenses are not included.  Housing
is provided in centrally-located residential hotel, ten minutes subway ride
from the cultural center.

For admissions requirements and applications go to:
www.studyabroad.hawaii.edu
For additional information contact Michael Graves (mgraves at hawaii.edu),
Valerie Chong (vchong at hawaii.edu), Jeff Tobin (tobin at oxy.edu) and Marta
Savigliano (martasa at arts.ucla.edu).


--

Marta E. Savigliano, Ph.D.
Professor, World Arts and Cultures
University of California, Los Angeles