Taking Ethnography to Court: Pedagogical Reflections on a Collective Field Study

Abstract

Ethnography is an exceptionally difficult subject to teach and learn in a classroom setting. This article, written by an ethnography professor and five graduate ethnography students, reflects on how a short-term and collectively executed fieldwork study can help alleviate this problem. Within three months, we logged over 100 hours of observations on district court proceedings in greater Boston. Our field notes, memos, and seminar discussions brought to life three key topics in ethnography: theorization, positionality, and intervention. While not without its challenges, we ultimately found this exercise to be an effective and efficient way to sharpen our ethnographic sensibilities. We close with a general defense of collective fieldwork as a practical method for teaching and learning ethnography.