Workshop Description

In this workshop, participants will explore the ways in which they can employ ethnography and ethnographic methods to their own research regardless of discipline. While historically grounded in anthropology and sociology, ethnography has in recent years been used in fields as diverse as education, healthcare, women’s and gender studies, and technology studies. Drawing on their newly published volume Doing Ethnography (Guilford, 2026), the presenters will offer up an assortment of ethnographic methods and invite participants to consider how these can be employed in their own research. Time for collaborative brainstorming, group discussion, and reflective practice will be incorporated.

Learning Outcomes

1. At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:Describe how ethnographic methods can be employed in their own research and field

2. Analyze which ethnographic methods are most useful to their own research

3. Create a basic plan for employing ethnography in their own work

Susan Harper, PhD is a Student Affairs scholar-practitioner working in the Midwest US, where she oversees scholarships, leadership development programming, and co-curricular student development. She is the author of Doing Ethnography, with Jessica Gullion. Her books include Feminist Witchcraft (Moon Books, 2025), as well as the forthcoming Contemporary Pagan Ethics of Abortion in the US (Bloomsburg, forthcoming) and Nineteenth Century Occultism (Moon Books, forthcoming). She co-authors the Substack, Free Range Ethnography. In addition to her scholarly pursuits, Susan offers transformational workshops and consults on topics including spiritual wellness, LGBTQIA+ cultural competency, and controversy with civility. More information is available at www.susanharper.com

Jessica Smartt Gullion, PhD is Professor of Sociology at Texas Woman’s University, where she teaches courses in qualitative methods. She is the author of 11 books, including her recent title, Doing Ethnography, with Susan Harper. Other books include Writing Ethnography, Qualitative Research in Health and Illness, Researching With: A Decolonizing Approach to Community-Based Action Research, and Diffractive Ethnography: Social Sciences and the Ontological Turn. She has also widely published journal articles and book chapters, and co-authors the Substack, Free Range Ethnography. More information is available at www.jessicasmarttgullion.com.