Document Type
Article
Language
eng
Format of Original
15 p.
Publication Date
6-2015
Publisher
Elon University
Source Publication
PURM: Perspectives on Undergraduate Research and Mentoring
Source ISSN
2157-7307
Abstract
This article focuses on undergraduate research and mentoring through the lens of an “Ethnography of the University” course that engages students in writing and researching for local change. At our institution (Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin), “Ethnography of the University” is a writing-intensive English course in which students conduct semester-long, original, mixed-method research projects about some aspect of their undergraduate experience. Students move from asking questions of interest and importance to the campus community through stages of data collection and analysis and toward final reporting through multiple means: (1) article-length papers, (2) in-class presentations, and (3) research posters. Students present their final projects—with concrete proposals for change—at a campus-wide research poster fair, which students “run” each semester by bringing food, arranging the room, and publicizing the event. When students seek publication and act on their proposed changes, their projects also stretch beyond a single semester: though they begin in the course, projects often develop into extracurricular pursuits, independent studies, or advocacy work. Our article describes how this happens—with examples of student projects at the center of the piece—and advocates for the course framework of “Ethnography of the University”—with an argument for ethnographic writing research as part of undergraduate curricula across the disciplines.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Godbee, Beth; Bazan, Jessica; Glise, Megan; Gonzalez, Ariel; Quigley, Katelyn; and White, Brittany, "Stretching beyond the Semester: Undergraduate Research, Ethnography of the University, and Proposals for Local Change" (2015). English Faculty Research and Publications. 302.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/english_fac/302
Comments
Published version. PURM: Perspectives on Undergraduate Research and Mentoring, Vol. 3, No. 2 (June 2015). Publisher link. © 2015 Elon University. Used with permission. Published under Creative Commons License BY-NC-SA 3.0.