Learning outcomes

Knowledge and capacity to understand
At the end of the course, the student should:
- have a basic knowledge of the fundamental epistemological and hermeneutic principles of anthropological ethnography;
- have a basic knowledge of the main cosmological models as reconstructed by ethnographic surveys;
- have a basic knowledge of the stages in the historical development of naturalistic cosmology.

Knowledge and capacity to apply understanding
At the end of the course, the student should be able to:
• consciously apply analogical reasoning in the cultural field;
- recognize the epistemological bases of an ethnographic text;
- recognize the fundamental features of the main forms of cosmology;
- cosmologically position a philosophical theory.

Independent judgment
At the end of the course, the students will have acquired:
• the capacity to critically analyze an anthropological text in relation to its ethnological bases;
• the capacity to anthropologically analyze a vision of the world (or cosmology)
• the capacity to critically analyze the cosmological foundations of a philosophical theory.

Communication skills
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
• consciously use specific terms relating to anthropological ethnography themes;
• speak precisely about the differences and similarities between the various ethnographic theories;
• speak precisely about the cosmological problems involved in the nature-culture relationship.

Capacity to learn
At the end of the course, the students should be able to:
• analyze the quality of an ethnographic research;
• identify and analyze culturally-oriented cosmological constructions.

Program

- The ethnographic method according to Malinowski;
- Participant observation;
- Ethnographic conversation;
- Ethnographic census;
- Triangulation and iteration;
- Ethnography as experience;
- The concept of resonance;
- Context observation and description;
- One-sited and multi-sited ethnography;
- Productivity of ethnographic failures;
- Self-ethnography;
- Concept of educational responsibility;
- Ethnography of educational responsibility;
- Ethnographic research initiation in the educational field.

Requirements
- basic knowledge of cultural anthropology contents;
- a good knowledge of the main educational and pedagogical theories.

Teaching methods
- Lectures with inter-active exchanges with the students;
- Attending students will have the possibility to conduct ethnographic surveys in an educational environment (both in and out of school),
which will be prepared, guided and discussed during the course.

Examination Methods

The assessment will be holistic. It will be carried out as follows:
Attending students will be able to choose between:
a) writing a report based on the ethnographic survey proposed during lessons. The structure of the report will be specific to the lessons;
b) written examination on the above-mentioned texts;
Non-attending students will sit a written examination on the above-mentioned texts.
Students must be able to demonstrate:
- to have understood the basic elements of ethnographic methods;
- to have understood how to apply ethnographic knowledge to educational contexts;
- to be able to express their own reasoning in a precise manner, identifying and selecting the essential elements;
- to be able to critically analyze the relationship between pedagogical-educational thought and ethnographic practice.