More specifically it will examine how realist, feminist, postcolonial and postmodern thinking have influenced the ethnographic endeavour. It will sidestep the conventional dichotomies of theory and methods in the construction of cultures and concentrate on the knowledges evoked for the creation of ethnographic texts, by recently developed intellectual discourses and by the imperatives raised by recent critical thinkers. Through our discussion of contemporary scholarship in this exciting area, and our participation in a range of cyberspace communities and locations, we will consider the ways in which we might envisage these sites as curricula for a postmodern citizenry. Seminar will focus on current topics, such as contemporary curriculum theories, identity and community, activist uses of the internet, hypertexts, gender, race and class online, critical theory, performance theory, technology assessment, postmodernisms, e-zines, and virtual worlds such as MUDs and MOOs. Instruction in WWW-authoring, netiquette, and multimedia tools will be provided to support critical analyses of related cyberspace artifacts and to permit course assignments to be done using new tools.
Participants require only basic computer familiarity in order to participate effectively.
The seminar is devoted to examining the principles and practices of curriculum scholarship, with emphasis on a number of key issues in educational research methodology, especially in light of post-structuralist thinking about representation, power and knowledge. Evolving questions of research and method will be discussed within the context of the students' own research project, with an opportunity provided to share their thinking about design and intention, as it raises specific issues of research methodology and scholarship in education. The existence of a curriculum that speaks directly to issues of Teacher Education is not new but until recently many aspects of the field were distributed across a variety of domains within academia. A concerted effort by some researchers to bring some coherence to this area has resulted in Teacher Education becoming a mature field of study in its own right. As the Master's Seminar is not being offered during the current academic year, Master's students interested in Teacher Education should contact Gaalen Erickson or Tony Clarke for potential arrangements that would allow them to attend the doctoral class.