Spring 2015
CI 552 Qualitative (Analysis and) Writing
CRN: 57745
Mark Dressman, Instructor
Wednesdays, 4:00-6:50 pm, Education 22
Overview
This course will focus on the analysis and “writing up” of qualitative research data from a wide variety of social science areas (social work; communications; writing studies; library information science, and other fields) and from multiple theoretical, methodological, and rhetorical perspectives. Topics will include:
- the history and development of multiple approaches to qualitative writing over the last century;
- four approaches to the analysis and interpretation of multiple forms of data (semiotic/structural/poststructural analysis; coding; conversation analysis; text and document analysis);
- different styles of qualitative narrative (realist, autoethnographic [including action research], confessional, impressionist) and their rhetorical implications;
- the use of social theory as a framing device;
- the process of writing for publication in peer-reviewed journals
The course is designed for advanced masters and mid-stage doctoral students in education and a range of applied social sciences interested in writing qualitatively for academic publication across a range of research and practitioner journals. Assignments will include weekly readings, an analytical project, three short writing assignments, and a more substantial writing project.
Texts
Rapley, T. (2008). Doing conversation, discourse, and document analysis. London: Sage.
Dressman, M. (2008). Using social theory in educational research: A practical guide. London: Routledge.
Selected book chapters and journal articles, to be announced.
The Instructor
Mark Dressman is a Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. He is a qualitative ethnographic researcher of school literacy, former co-editor of Research in the Teaching of English, and the author of multiple books, chapters, and journal articles on the theory and practice of qualitative and ethnographic research, including Using Social Theory in Educational Research (Routledge, 2008).
For a copy of the preliminary syllabus, contact Mark Dressman at mdressma@illinois.edu
