December 6, 2004

Seminars shine light on the study of business, community and government organizations

The Institute for Information Technology and Culture (IITC) and the Graduate School of Wayne State University will present three seminars this year, Inside Insights, on anthropological fieldwork in business, community and government organizations.

The first seminar, on fieldwork in businesses, is from 12-1:30 pm, Thurs., Dec. 9, 2004, in the Anthropology Museum's library, Rm. 1224, in the Old Main Building on the Wayne State University Campus at Warren and Cass Avenues.

Fieldwork is critical to gathering qualitative data, for those in the social sciences, and for individuals in areas from computer science to communication. Gaining experience by working inside organizations is invaluable for students and professionals alike. There are challenges and obstacles that one must face when performing fieldwork, ranging from gaining access, to ethical considerations. These seminars will build upon the organizational research experiences of faculty and graduate students.

Dr. Pamela Crespin and Christine Miller will begin the series with presentations addressing the challenge of fieldwork in business organizations. The presentations will be followed by a discussion moderated by Dr. Julia Gluesing, a visiting professor in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Wayne State University. Gluesing has over 20 years of fieldwork experience in business organizations.

Crespin, assistant professor of Business and Organizational Anthropology at Wayne State, focuses her international research on the NAFTA trading bloc. Her primary research interests are the anthropology of work, modern organizations and the process of globalization. In one of her main ethnographic studies, Crespin conducted fieldwork in an American steel-manufacturing plant that was part of an international joint venture. Christine Miller is a lecturer in Management and PhD candidate in Management & Organizational Studies and Organizational Anthropology at Wayne State.

IITC is a multidisciplinary group of medical and organizational anthropologists, psychologists, engineers, nurses, social workers, computer experts and doctors collaborating to understand the cultural aspects of technology use.

For further information regarding this seminar series or IITC, please contact Dr. Allen W. Batteau, Director, 313.874.7010 or a.batteau@wayne.edu, or visit http://www.iitc.wayne.edu.