Module Code - Title:
DA6021
-
DANCE ETHNOGRAPHY
Year Last Offered:
2025/6
Hours Per Week:
Grading Type:
N
Prerequisite Modules:
Rationale and Purpose of the Module:
The rationale for this module is to train students in appropriate methods and techniques in dance ethnography and to critically engage them in ethnographic documentation, representation and reflexive writing.
Syllabus:
The objective of this module is to critically engage students in discourses surrounding ethnographic research methodologies in the field of ethnochoreology. These include issues relating to ethnography and ethnographic inquiry; cultural representation; documentation skills; and reflexive writing. Using appropriate ethnographic tools, students will produce a context-rich portfolio based on a firsthand experience in the field and subsequent critical reflection on the process.
Learning Outcomes:
Cognitive (Knowledge, Understanding, Application, Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis)
1. Critique and evaluate relevant theoretical and methodological issues relating to ethnographic research and practice.
2. Demonstrate a competence and understanding of documentation skills for dance ethnography.
Affective (Attitudes and Values)
1. Challenge ethnocentricity in field research.
2. Illustrate competencies in communication and inter-personal skills in field research.
3. Display a professional commitment to ethical practice.
Psychomotor (Physical Skills)
1. Use appropriate documentation tools and technical equipment as research methods.
2. Demonstrate competence in performance as research tool.
How the Module will be Taught and what will be the Learning Experiences of the Students:
The module is taught in seminar and laboratory settings. These contribute to students' more holistic understanding - theory and practice informing each other.
Research Findings Incorporated in to the Syllabus (If Relevant):
Prime Texts:
Buckland, Theresa Jill (Ed.) (1999)
Dance in the Field: Theory, Methods and Issues in Dance Ethnography
, London: MacMillan
Barz, Gregory F. and Timothy Cooley (Eds.) (2008)
Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology
, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Emmerson, Robert M., Rachel Fretz, and Inda Shaw (Eds.) (2011)
Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes
, Chicago: Chicago University Press
Dankworth, Linda E. & Ann R. David (Eds.) (2014)
Dance Ethnography and Global Perspectives: Identity, Embodiment and Culture
, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Ness, Sally Anne (1992)
Body, Movement, and Culture: Kinesthetic and Visual Symbolism in a Philippine Community
, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press
Foley, Catherine E. (2014)
Step Dancing in Ireland: Culture and History
, Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
Other Relevant Texts:
Denzin, Norman K. and Yvonna Lincoln (2011)
The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research
, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications
Programme(s) in which this Module is Offered:
MAETCHTFA - ETHNOCHOREOLOGY
Semester(s) Module is Offered:
Autumn
Module Leader:
orfhlaith.nibhriain@ul.ie