Ethnography and the university: current trends and future directions

Abstract

This article utilizes anthropological theory to examine the existing body of ethnographic research in colleges and universities, which remains underdeveloped compared to K-12 ethnographies. I identify two parallel developments in this field: a micro-level ethnography of college and university sub-cultures and a macro-level ethnography of structural transformations in higher education. What has largely been missing is a meso-level or institutional ethnography of colleges and universities that centers institutional relations as objects of ethnographic inquiry. After surveying relevant ethnographic traditions that might inform this meso-level approach, I offer an illustrative example from an ethnography of diversity policy and practice at a public research university attempting to transform itself into a more diverse institution. The article highlights the benefits and possibilities of an ethnography of colleges and universities rather than ethnography in colleges and universities.

Keywords:

• Ethnography
• higher education
• culture
• institutional change

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (1999, 2004), Anthropology & Education Quarterly (2000), Social Anthropology (2010), and the European Journal of Higher Education (2014) have published issues showcasing anthropological and ethnographic work conducted in colleges and universities.

2 The wording of publicly available quotes has been modified to obscure the field site while attempting to maintain the original meaning and tone.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

R. Kirk Anderson

R. Kirk Anderson is an Assistant Professor of Educational Studies at Dickinson College.