Join the FVSU Social Justice Taskforce for an engaging, hands-on Ethnographic Research Workshop designed for students, faculty, and community scholars interested in using qualitative methods to explore social justice issues across the rural South and beyond.

Ethnographic research helps us understand the world through the eyes, voices, and lived experiences of real people. Whether you’re studying health inequities, education access, food insecurity, or cultural traditions, this workshop will equip you with tools to listen deeply, document ethically, and analyze with integrity.

What You’ll Learn

Participants will be introduced to:

• Principles of ethnographic fieldwork

• Techniques for conducting in-depth interviews and oral histories

• Approaches to community-based and participatory research

• Fieldnote writing and observation strategies

• Ethical practices when working with vulnerable or marginalized groups

• Using ethnographic insights for policy change and advocacy

Why It Matters

In a time of growing inequality, policy violence, and cultural erasure, ethnographic research provides a path to truth-telling and transformative justice. This workshop is grounded in the belief that people closest to the pain should be closest to the power—and that documenting their stories is a radical and necessary act.

Who Should Attend

• Students in social sciences, public health, education, and agriculture

• Faculty and staff engaged in community-based research

• Nonprofit leaders, activists, and community historians

• THRIVE MPH Fellows, SISTAHS Study team members, and Social Justice Grant participants

Facilitated by

Members of the Social Justice Taskforce at Fort Valley State University
In partnership with THRIVE MPH Fellows Program and SISTAHS Research Collective