This is the site of the Elon Project for Ethnographic Research and Community Studies, which opened in the fall of 2002.

Elon Project for Ethnographic Research and Community Studies

Ethnography is a method made distinctive by anthropologists, but it is also utilized among diverse disciplines from sociology to political science. It is the systematic collection of data through participant-observation. This methodology is grounded in the same principles behind experiential learning -- the realization that most of us learn and interpret the world as much by doing as by rational analysis. In the case of studying another culture, anthropologists came to realize that understanding depends on more than oral communication; it also comes from shared "participation" in cultural experiences.

Once underway, the Project for Ethnographic Research and Community Studies will offer a wide variety of opportunities for our students by encouraging the introduction of a research component into existing classroom courses, internship and service-learning experiences, and study abroad courses. It will also serve as a resource for learning ethnography for students studying abroad and for faculty members who wish to incorporate ethnographic research into their courses and studies abroad experiences.

The project will include software, technical resources, teaching modules and a mechanism for faculty-student collaboration on projects. It will include the development of ethnographic activities that are integrated into the sociology and anthropology curriculum, as well as training of teachers and students from all areas of Elon University in ethnographic research methods for courses and programs throughout the curriculum, including international studies.