Training course "Ethnographic Fieldwork Practice: Between Participation and Observation"

The instructors participating in the training were Prof. Andrea Lauser (Acting Director of the Institute of Cultural and Social Anthropology) and Dr. Jovan Maud (Director of the Internationalization Project for Training Programs, Institute of Cultural and Social Anthropology).

The participants are lecturers, young researchers, postgraduate students, and doctoral candidates from various disciplines including History, Culture, Linguistics, International Studies, etc., from within and outside the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Professor Andrea Lauser

The training content focuses on one of the most important methods in ethnographic research: participatory observation. This is considered the foundational method of ethnographic fieldwork. The course introduces participants to this method, both in terms of key theoretical issues and its application to exercises and practical reflections. The main goal is to help integrate participatory observation into the participants' set of research techniques, specifically addressing core concepts: the conflict between participation and observation; the nature of "fieldwork"; research relationships and social obligations; methodological orientations, etc.

Dr. Jovan Maud

Students will participate in field trips to observe and perform shamanic rituals at Lanh Temple and Dai Lo Temple (Ha Nam province), discuss with instructors, and write a final report.

The training course is part of a cooperation program between the Faculty of Anthropology and the Institute of Cultural and Social Anthropology, which has been implemented since 2017. The program has sent several students from the Faculty of Anthropology to study at the University of Goettingen; two lecturers from the Institute have also come to teach at the Faculty of Anthropology.

This year, the cooperation between the two sides continues to focus on faculty exchange; selecting students to study in Germany; and connecting students and faculty members of the Faculty with international teaching methods and materials. Young faculty members of the Faculty have the opportunity to learn from German experts about the most modern teaching methods in Anthropology. At the same time, German lecturers have the opportunity to learn more about research, teaching in Anthropology, and the need for innovation in Anthropology teaching methods in Vietnam.

Students observe a spirit medium ritual.