SANTH4030 – The Craft of Etnography: Advanced Research Methods, transitional course
Course description
Course content
This course takes fieldwork as a central practice in the production of anthropological knowledge, considering its ethics, politics, and methodologies in diverse research contexts. It considers questions about the way we produce evidence, the spaces and places where our research occurs, our relationships to the people with whom we work, and "method" itself. We ask: What does it mean to be present in the field? How do we navigate power, positionality, and collaboration? What counts as knowledge, and who decides? Through engagement with contemporary ethnographies, the course takes the present as a starting point for reflecting on how our research practices are shaped by the past and how they inform our possible futures.
We will ground our discussions in students’ own projects and lived experiences as we explore key methodological concerns including participant observation, conducting interviews, data management and ethical decision-making—while critically reflecting on issues of representation, scale, and positionality in relation to gender, class, race, and nationality. While centered in anthropology, the course also draws from neighboring disciplines to consider how ethnographic methods intersect with broader forms of knowledge production and diverse ways of understanding the world.
Learning outcome
Knowledge
- Advanced level overview of key methodological approaches in contemporary anthropology and their relevance for students’ own research.
- Appreciation of the ethical challenges raised by different methodological approaches.
- Understanding of how ethnographic research can address the pressing questions of our age.
Skills
- Ability to design an ethically feasible methodological design.
- Ability to use creative methods and forms of expression for communicating research designs.
- Ability to assess the methodological merit and ethical soundness of qualitative research projects.
General competence
- Capacity for critically engaging with the methodological and ethical challenges of ethnographic research within contemporary social science.
- Capacity for intellectual cooperation and teamwork through group discussions and group presentations.
- Ability to cultivate ethics, responsibility, and respect in the production of knowledge.
Admission to the course
Students must be enrolled in the master’s programme in Social Anthropology.
This transitional course is available only to students enrolled in the master’s program in Social Anthropology prior to autumn 2025, and who have already completed ANTH4020, but not ANTH4030. Please contact the administration to apply: info-master@sai.uio.no
Formal prerequisite knowledge
It is a prerequisite that you have completed ANTH4020 – Academic Writing and Project Development.
Overlapping courses
- 7.5 credits overlap with ANTH4030 – Advanced Anthropological Methods.
- 7.5 credits overlap with ANTH4125 – Advanced Anthropological Methods and Project Development.
Teaching
Twelve 3-hour teaching blocks with a combination of lectures and seminars. You?follow the teaching of ANTH4125 – Advanced Anthropological Methods and Project Development.
Compulsory activities:
- 2-page draft research methods proposal with oral presentation.
- Creative project that students will build throughout the course, and which will be part of a collective exhibit at the end of the semester.
Draft proposals and oral presentations will be assessed as Approved/Not approved. All compulsory activities must be approved to take the SANTH4030 exam.
In the event of illness or other valid reasons, you can apply for a valid absence or postponement of compulsory activity.?Apply for valid absence from or need for postponement of compulsory activity
Examination
- Short description (up to 300 words) in which students explain what inspired and guided their final creative project, including a picture of it, a file with it or a link to it. The creative project must be accepted by the lecturer beforehand.
All compulsory activities must be approved, and the exam passed in the same semester.
Examination support material
All exam support materials are allowed during this exam. Generating all or part of the exam answer using AI tools such as Chat GPT or similar is not allowed. If AI is used as part of the creative project, this will need to be clearly outlined.
Language of examination
You may submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about?the grading system.
Also see?Grading guidelines in social anthropology
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.