Rethinking Educational Ethnography 2019: Ethnography in Higher Education
Graz, June 6-7, 2019Organised by the Lifeworld, Learning and Higher Education Research Group at the Department of Education, University of Graz, in collaboration with the Danish School of Education, University of Aarhus, and the European Educational Research Association EERA Network 19 Ethnography.
Photo: Konstantinos Tzivanopoulos, University of Graz
Conference culture and history
At ECER 2010 in Helsinki, researchers from the Ethnography Network discussed emerging concerns about virtual ethnography and discovered a shared interest. This shared interest started the first Rethinking Educational Ethnography conference. Since then, seven international conferences were organized in Boras, Helsinki, Porto, Barcelona, Napoli, Copenhagen, Klaipeda, and Budapest. Each year, participants discuss topics related to ethnographic epistemology, methodology, and practice. It is a small conference with a maximum of 20 paper sessions, where papers are distributed prior to the conference. Every paper session provides 40 minutes, 10 minutes for the author(s) to emphasise main points and arguments, and the remaining 30 minutes for a common conversation and discussion of the paper. There is a regular wide range of experienced and inexperienced participants from all parts of Europe.
The eighth conference builds on the spirit of previous Rethinking Educational Ethnography conferences, and is organised by the Department of Education, University of Graz, in collaboration with the Danish School of Education, University of Aarhus, and the European Educational Research Association EERA, Network 19 Ethnography.
Conference theme: Ethnography in Higher Education
The conference theme highlights two issues for discussion: Ethnography as an methodology for research on higher education, and ethnography as a methodology that engages students in research. With respect to research on higher education, ethnography provides an elaborated methodology that emphasises the significance of meanings students and researchers attribute to higher education. Ethnography investigates the everyday life in higher education from classroom interactions to informal meetings, and employs a range of data collection methods to document what is going on in universities. The methodology thus seems particularly appropriate to address experiences and challenges of students and researchers in higher education. With respect to ethnography as a methodology that engages students in research, we can illustrate benefits of acquiring ethnographic skills: Ethnographic skills enable students to gain inside knowledge into educational contexts, knowledge that is particularly relevant for professional and community development. Such inside knowledge yields the possibility to connect people and make positions and experiences visible. These issues reflect in the call for papers.
Call for papers
We specifically invite papers that address one or several of the following issues:- Ethnographic studies on higher education contexts: Teaching and learning processes in higher education, curriculum and university development, student engagement and drop-out, inequality in higher education, student cultures and diversity
- Teaching ethnography in higher education: Approaches, benefits and challenges in acquiring a dynamic methodology
- Innovation in ethnographic methods: Auto-ethnography, approaches to virtual ethnography, and approaches to the analysis of diverse ethnographic data
More generally, the Rethinking Educational Ethnography Conference invites papers that reflect and build on the current discussion of ethnographic epistemology, methodology, and practice.
Abstract submission
The Rethinking Educational Ethnography Conference enables and encourages active participation of both experienced and inexperienced researchers. Abstracts may refer to completed studies, field work, or work in progress. Your abstract should relate to the call and typically includes sections on main points, fieldwork methods, analytical methods, and conclusions. It should not exceed 400 words (excluding references) and should be submitted in English. Please submit to ree2019@uni-graz.at using the REE 2019 Abstract Template.Papers are invited from submitted abstracts and have to include a minimum of 2000 words. All papers are shared among conference participants to spend less time on presentations, and focus on conversation and discussion of papers during the sessions. The conference links to the Journal Ethnography and Education, which welcomes submissions of papers that have been developed from the conference.
The REE 2019 conference organisers:
