Barbados

Interested in studying abroad? Do you want a culturally immersive experience that will allow you to sharpen your research skills?

Spend four weeks on the island of Barbados studying and conducting anthropological research.  

Ethnographic Field Methods: Barbados (ANT298)

6 credits
June 27 to July 21
WCSU Summer Session II, 2016

Led by Dr. Christine Hegel-Cantarella
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Department of Social Sciences

What will the course entail?

Students will study both Caribbean culture and history and Ethnographic Field Research Methods. 

The Caribbean culture and history component of the course will focus on historical and anthropological scholarship on Barbados and the Caribbean in order to develop a deep sense of the colonial history and slavery, political struggles, and economic, legal, and cultural transformations that have occurred throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition to readings and coursework, students will participate in a number of field trips to historical sites and museums on the island.  Faculty-led seminars will also be complemented by guest lectures and meetings with local scholars at the University of the West Indies and others.

For the Ethnographic Field Research Methods component of the course, students will learn about different approaches to ethnographic field research and practice applying data-gathering techniques (e.g., interviewing, participant observation, mapping, conducting household censuses, collecting genealogies) in actual field settings. Each student will be expected to design and implement a small independent research project as the culmination of this course.

Where will students live during the course?

To enhance both the topical and methodological goals of the course, students will stay in the homes of local families in the rural north of the island (primarily in the parish of St. Lucy), where they will be integrated into family life.  This will enable them to build on what they are learning in the classroom through everyday observations in order to develop and carry out independent projects that respond to and investigate emergent social issues in Barbados.  After a week together at Bellairs Research Institute, affiliated with McGill University, students will spend two weeks in small villages living with host families, and then will return for a final week at Bellairs for the conclusion of the course. Bellairs is located directly on the beach in the small town of Folkstone.

What are the pre-requisites for enrolling in this course?

Students may enroll with permission of instructor; please contact Dr. Hegel-Cantarella to apply:

Office: Warner Hall 217
Department of Social Sciences, WCSU
hegelcantarellac@wcsu.educreate new email
Office tel. 203-837-3914

How much does the field course cost?

The travel fees are $2,660. This includes airfare and transport costs to and around Barbados, accommodations and partial-board (dinners and some additional meals; other meals are self-catered), field trip entrance fees, Sim cards and basic cell phone service plan.  WCSU tuition and fees for 6-credit course are additional to the travel fees. See https://www.wcsu.edu/summer/tuition/ for more information.