Women's Health & Community Well-Being: A Collaborative Ethnography in Del Carmen, Philippines

Catalog description

In this course, students will be an active part of an ongoing research study that includes implementing interactive workshops and leading focus and discussion groups on women's health and resilience, reproductive health, domestic violence, and community economic development, among other issues. Students will be trained to work with local residents, conduct qualitative interviews, collect data, lead discussion groups using a curriculum, and fully engage with the community. Students will acquire basic knowledge and skills for conducting community evaluations and community needs assessments using community-based participatory action and collaborative ethnographic techniques. The first two weeks of the course will be classroom-based and dedicated to learning a curriculum focused on qualitative data collection in multiple forms, facilitation, and community engagement. Then the class will travel to the Philippines, where they will be grouped into teams with locals, using a participant-observer strategy to gain intimate familiarity with people in their natural environment. The final sessions will include students and community members in an analysis and goal priority setting process. Other strategies involved will be writing field notes, conducting one-on-one interviews, and qualitative data analysis.