“This course will provide a foundational training in the core qualitative research methods, with an emphasis on applying those techniques to environmental questions. Methods covered in this course include classic social science method such as participant-observation and interviewing along with environmentally-focused methods including soundscape research and collaborative mapping. We will explore how those methods can be adapted to include considerations for nonhumans like animals, plants, mountains, and spirits. Course materials will include case studies drawn from across the social sciences and humanities. Students will have an opportunity to use these techniques through ethnographic research exercises that addresses nonhumans in the local environment.”
Music and the Environment in Northeast Asia Syllabus, Fall 2020
“This course introduces students to a survey of musical practices connected to the environment across Mongolia, Japan, Northern China, South Korea, and eastern Siberia. The goals of this course are to give students a broad knowledge of musical cultures in the region as well as an understanding of the ways people engage with the environment musically. We will take a multi-media approach, combining relevant scholarly or secondary literature with critical listening examples.”
This version of the syllabus is adapted to the particular constraints of Fall 2020’s ongoing pandemic and is meant to be flexible for this reason.