About the Florence Ethnographic Field School

The Florence Ethnographic Field School is a special kind of study abroad program for students interested in gaining fieldwork experience. Ethnographic research (aka “fieldwork”) is qualitative research based on participant-observation within a community. It is a fundamental method of social research, and is central to both anthropology and sociology.

Together with just a few other students, you will be working directly with Prof. Zachary Androus, who has lived and worked in Florence since 2006. In addition to his data and his experiences in the field, he will be sharing with you an honest, open, behind-the-scenes look at what actually goes into working as an anthropologist.  

The course is worth 3 credits in Anthropology (ANTY495 Field Experience: Urban Ethnographic Methods), for undergraduate or graduate students, with a transcript issued by the University of Montana. The course is structured around carrying out an ethnographic research project over the duration of the program:  you will learn research design; data collection through field notes, participant-observation, and interviewing; different forms of qualitative data analysis; and various approaches to writing up the results.

This is a rare opportunity to work directly with an experienced ethnographer who has been living in Italy and conducting research there continuously for fifteen years, unlike other professors who can only occasionally lead short trips to the field. 

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