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Lee-Beng Chua
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Harvard University

Course Description
This course, with its fieldwork component, takes gradual and small steps in grappling with the constituent parts of culture. Taking the notion of self as a center of relationship, we adopt a bottom-up approach in tracing how culture dialectically implicates individual mind and selfhood. Forming several research teams, each group will undertake an empirical studies in designated field sites: Graham & Parks Alternative School, the St. Augustine Inner City Ministries, Intel Computer Clubhouse, Oxford Street Day Care, the Josiah Quincy School, the Shackleton School, Cambridge Co-Housing, and Cornerstone Village Co-Housing. Each team will investigate researchable question(s) such as: how is the cultivation of individual heart and mind nurtured within the larger contexts of family, community, or school?, what are the discernible processes in particular interpersonal, family, educational, and communal contexts that highlight the interplay between culture and self?, what cognitive/socio-emotional traits and culturally sanctioned values are held as paramount?, how are those traits socialized, transmitted, and acquired?

Each team, using methodological tools available in visual anthropology and video ethnography (with support from the teaching and technical staff), will be required to relate their research findings to one or more theoretical themes covered in this course. Through this field exercise, course participants will collectively abstract educational and psychosocial traits that are culture- and context-specific within that field setting. The above preliminary activities will then allow us to revisit the esoteric issues of culture-mind-self and the educational claims and promises made by cultural psychology. Half Course (Spring): Monday 2-4 and a 2-hour weekly session. (Permission of the instructor required. L&T doctoral students taking this course fulfill the qualitative research method requirement.)

Course Requirements
Introductory Statement: A one-page, single-spaced introductory statement, including your background and expectation of this course. Due 2 p.m. Sunday, February 11.

Weekly Class/Section Preparation and Briefs: Theoretical Foundation: Each week's assignments include: 1) reading and critiquing a selection of background materials, 2) starting in the 3rd week, writing a 1-3 page, team-produced brief. The brief is an informal "graphic" statement of the team's reflection on the readings and how these readings might be incorporated as both conceptual and methodological resources for the team project. Each of these briefs is to be presented either in the form of graphic/concept maps or conceptual cartography (details of these exercises will be addressed in the second week). The weekly brief is to be electronically submitted to the teaching staff by 2 p.m. every Sunday. The timing of the submission will provide the teaching staff a view of the students' grasp of the reading, and will allow us to structure the next day's discussion, possibly using these ideas directly as teaching materials. The weekly briefs will constitute 15% of the final grade.

Attendance and Classroom participation: We encourage you to participate actively in discussions. You will not, however, be evaluated on the basis of the number or length of comments in class. Participation will be based on 1) your contribution to other students' learning and 2) your willingness to assume responsibility for making the class discussion work. Students who prefer emailing their remarks to the teaching staffs are equally welcome.

Section: A two-hour weekly research team meeting (section) begins in the second week of the course (the week of Feb. 12). Time and location to be arranged by research teams.

Teamwork: Group discussion, mutual support, division of labor, recognizing and amassing each individual member's strength, and coalescing into an organic unit striving for a well-focused project are just few, among many other benefits afforded by a healthy group. We urge, therefore, that you take full advantage of group collaboration and actively contribute to the learning climate of the team. Abstruse and voluminous reading materials become manageable through in-depth group discussion, if, and only if, the group is committed in making it work. Collaboration in the field, likewise, is also critical. Teamwork constitutes 15% of the final grade. Each student is asked to assess other co-workers' participation in, and contribution to, the team. The criteria of evaluation is based on the individual's quality of input and participation leading to: 1) the agreed upon researchable question(s), 2) the fine-tuning of a realistic, semester-long project, 3) the willingness to fulfill and to excel in the designated tasks**, 4) the management of group conflict and dynamics, and 5) the discernible attempt to strive for collective learning experience.

** Please note that each group will need to arrange technical training with the Media Center before the week of March 5th for using video/ photography equipment in the field and before April 8th for editing training for the final class project. (Media Center Policy: A training session is required before using the editing equipment. Also, teams will need to reserve video/photographic equipment accordingly.)

Consultation: The week before your group settles on a final project, you are asked to invite the teaching staff to attend your section and brief them on your intended project. We expect this visitation to take place in the week of February 26. Tentatively, you will be asked to defend the preliminary relationship between your theoretical framework and your research strategies. Bring your questions to this session, and the teaching staff will explore feasible solutions with the group. However, please be reminded that as your search for a defensible methodological framework is an evolving and inductive process, a spirit of experimentation and tentativeness is advisable. Real and challenging issues often arise in the field.

Presentations of Final Project: During our final class meetings on April 30th and May 7th each team will be expected to present their final analysis to the rest of the class. Presentations might include excerpts of video, photographs, audio recordings, and/or readings. Teams may also want to invite members from the field sight to participate in these discussions.

Final Product: A final product representing each team's analysis will be due May 7th in class.

Grading:

• Class Preparation (weekly brief and cartography) 20%
• Class Preparation (weekly brief and cartography) 20%
• Team work 15%
• In-class presentation of final project 30%
• Product(s) of final project 35%

Required Course Packet: Available at Gnomen Copy.

12 Class Meetings:

February 5 - Meeting 1 - Introduction and Course Overview

• Mapping the Landscape vs Capturing the Background, Foreground, and High-ground
• Highlighting the Theoretical-Methodological-Empirical Triad
• Previewing the Core Themes and Variations
• Introducing Cartography: Ways of Conceptual Representation

Cartography: Ways of Recognizing Conceptual Patterns

• Social Cartography: A New Metaphor/Tool For Comparative Studies. Paulston, Rolland G. & Liebman, Martin (1996). Social Cartography: Mapping Ways of Seeing Social and Educational Change (ed. Rolland G. Paulston). New York: Garland Publishing, Inc.
• The Timely Emergence of Social Cartography. Mouat IV, Thomas W. (1996). Social Cartography: Mapping Ways of Seeing Social and Educational Change (ed. Rolland G. Paulston). New York: Garland Publishing, Inc.
• Social Mapping. Liebman, Martin (1996). Social Cartography: Mapping Ways of Seeing Social and Educational Change (ed. Rolland G. Paulston). New York: Garland Publishing, Inc.

Concept Mapping: Processing Information and Constructing Knowledge

• Chapter 4: Seeing Patterns of Knowledge, Learning, and Performance. Verna Allee (1997). The Knowledge Evolution: Expanding Organizational Intelligence. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
• Chapter 5: Knowledge Archetypes in Action. Verna Allee (1997). The Knowledge Evolution: Expanding Organizational Intelligence. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
• Chapter 6: Knowledge, Learning, and Organization. Verna Allee (1997). The Knowledge Evolution: Expanding Organizational Intelligence. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.

I. Background

February 12 - Meeting 2
Self, Cognitive and Psychosocial Development: Concept of Socialization and Culturally Desired Competence

• Bruner, Jerome (1990). The Culture of Education. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp. 44-85.
• Bruner, Jerome (1990). Acts of Meaning. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp. 33-65.
• Cole, Michael (1996). Cultural Psychology. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp. 116-145.
• Gardner, H (1984). The development of competence in culturally defined domains. Culture Theory: Essays on Mind, Self, and Emotion. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press: pp. 257-275.
• Colby, Anne. & Damon, William (1992). Chapter 11: The Uniting of Self and Morality. Some Do Care: Contemporary Lives of Moral Commitment. New York: The Free Press. pp. 293-311.
• A video showcase (to be presented in class).

February 26 - Meeting 3 - Family

• Levine, R. L. and M. I. White Revolution in Parenthood (1991). Growing Up in a Changing Society. M. Woodhead, P. Light and R. Carr. New York, Routledge. v. 3.: pp. 5-25.
• Baldwin, Alfred (1982). Socialization and the Parent-Child Relationship. In Damon, W (ed). Ed. Social and Personal Development. New York, W. W. Norton & Company. pp.111-120.
• Baumrind, Diana (1982).Socialization and Instrumental Competence in Young Children.
• Damon, W (1982). Social and Personal Development. New York, W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 121-138.
• Kagitcibasi, C. (1996). Family and Human Development Across Cultures. Mahwah, New Jersey, Lawrence Erlbaum Asssociates, Publisher. pp. 1-97.

March 5 - Meeting 4 - Schooling
Cultural Showcases: Fear of Learning in Hoover Elementary School (L.A., California); Long Jump (Reggio Emilia, Italy)

• Goodnow, J. J. The socialization of cognition. What's involved? Cultural Psychology: Essays on Comparative Human Development. J. W. Stigler, R. A. Shweder and G. Herdt. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press: pp. 259-286.
• Bidwell Charles E (1992). Families, Childrearing, and Education. Social Theory for a Changing Society. New York: Westview Press. pp. 189-197.
• Stigler, James (1992). Individual, Institutions, and Academic Achievement. Social Theory for a Changing Society. New York: Westview Press. pp. 198-205.
• Harber, C. and L. Davies (1997). School Management and Effectiveness in Developing Countries. The Post-Bureaucratic School. London: Cassell. Chapter 5, 6, & 7.
• Meyer, John (1987). Chapter 7: Implication of an Institutional View of Education for the Study of Educational Effects. In Hallinan, M. T. (editor). The Social Organization of Schools. New Conceptualizations of the Learning Process. New York, Plenum Press.
• Coleman, James (1987) Chapter 8: The Relations between School and Social Structure. In Hallinan, M. T. (editor). The Social Organization of Schools. New Conceptualizations of the Learning Process. New York, Plenum Press. 177-204.
• Chapter 4. Community Group and the School. Crowson, R. L. School-Community Relations, Under Reform. Berkeley, CA, McCutchan Publishing Corporation.
• Chapter 8. Strategic Planning. Crowson, R. L. School-Community Relations, Under Reform. Berkeley, CA, McCutchan Publishing Corporation.
• Chapter 9. Parental Involvement. Crowson, R. L. School-Community Relations, Under Reform. Berkeley, CA, McCutchan Publishing Corporation.
• Chapter 11. School Outreach. Crowson, R. L. School-Community Relations, Under Reform. Berkeley, CA, McCutchan Publishing Corporation.
• Chapter 6. Milton Academy. Lightfoot, S. L (1983). The Good High School. Portraits of Character and Culture. New York: BasicBooks. Pp. 246-305.
• Powell, A. G. (1996). Lessons from Priviledge: The American Prep School Tradition. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press. pp. 37-59.
• Bryk, A. S., V. E. Lee, et al. (1994). Catholic Schools and the Common Good. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press. pp. 81-147.
• Grant, G. (1988). The World We Created at Hamilton High. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press.pp. 117-201.

March 12 - Meeting 5 - Community
Showcases: Cambridge Co-housing & Cornerstone Village Co-Housing

• Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1993). Contexts of Optimal Growth in Childhood. Daedalus v.122. n.1.: pp. 31-56.
• Lancy, David (1996). Playing on the Mother Group: Cultural Routines for Children's Development. New York: Guilford. Pp. 1-30.
• Whiting, Beatrice (1988). Children of Different Worlds. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp. 18-84; 159-197.
• Bellah, R. N., R. Madsen, et al. (1985). Habits of the Heart. Individualism and Commitment in American Life. New York, Harper & Row. pp. vi-xii.
• Chapter 1. The Pursuit of Happiness. Bellah, R. N., R. Madsen, et al. (1985). Habits of the Heart. Individualism and Commitment in American Life. New York, Harper & Row.
• Chapter 2. Culture and Character. Bellah, R. N., R. Madsen, et al. (1985). Habits of the Heart. Individualism and Commitment in American Life. New York, Harper & Row.
• Chapter 3. Finding One Self. Bellah, R. N., R. Madsen, et al. (1985). Habits of the Heart. Individualism and Commitment in American Life. New York, Harper & Row.
• Chapter 11. Transforming American Culture. Bellah, R. N., R. Madsen, et al. (1985). Habits of the Heart. Individualism and Commitment in American Life. New York, Harper & Row.
• Chapter 14: Burbules, N. C. (2000). Does the Internet Constitute a Global Educational Community. Globalization and Education. Critical Perspectives. N. C. Burbules and C. A. Torres. New York, Routledge: pp. 323-355.

II. Foreground: Learning in/from the Field

March 19 - Meeting 6
Visual Anthropology (video/photography) - Conducting Fieldwork Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method

• Chapter 14: Principles of Visual Research. Collier, John Jr., and Malcolm Collier (1986). Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
• Chapter 15: Analysis of Still and Moving Images. Collier, John Jr., and Malcolm Collier (1986). Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
• Chapter 16: Practical Procedures in Analysis. Collier, John Jr., and Malcolm Collier (1986). Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
• Chapter 17: Finding Patterns and Meaning. Collier, John Jr., and Malcolm Collier (1986). Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
• Chapter 18: Making Conclusions. Collier, John Jr., and Malcolm Collier (1986). Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.

Digital Ethnography

• Chapter 1: Looking Through Layers: Views of Digital Video. Goldman-Segall, Ricki (1998). Points of Viewing Children's Thinking. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
• Chapter 3: Gatekeepers of a Horseless Barn: Teachers in Transition. Goldman-Segall, Ricki (1998). Points of Viewing Children's Thinking. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
• Chapter 4: ReViewing Knowledge as a Video Ethnographyer. Goldman-Segall, Ricki (1998). Points of Viewing Children's Thinking. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
• Chapter 6: Minding Machines. Goldman-Segall, Ricki (1998). Points of Viewing Children's Thinking. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.

April 2 - Meeting 7

• Cross-cultural Showcase - The Cloud of Yunan: An Evolving Community
• Updating Field Progress: Cartography 1

April 9 - Meeting 8

• Cross-Cultural Showcase - The Lion City: From Surviving and Thriving
• Updating Field Progress Cartography 2

April 16 - Meeting 9

• Cross-cultural Showcase - The Italian (Reggio Emilia) School
• Updating Field Progress Cartography 3

April 23 - Meeting 10

• Cross-Cultural Showcases Zhabei School, Shanghai, China; Alamo Middle School, The Rio Grande Valley, Texas; Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
• Updating Field Progress: Cartography 4

III. High Ground: Theoretical-Methodological-Empirical Synthesis

April 30 - Meeting 11

• T462 Showcase I: Presenting Final Project

May 7 - Meeting 12

• T462 Showcase and Conclusion of the Course