The Public Ethnography Lab was founded with the guiding theory that ethnographic practice is a critical tool in the pursuit of meaningful societal change.

Background

For the last twenty-plus years, ethnography has remained a trusted, versatile and necessary tool for the founder of the Public Ethnography Lab, Thurka Sangaramoorthy. Throughout her careers in both the academy, government, and industry, ethnography has been a core element of her approach, regardless of the context. Yet Sangaramoorthy assessed that the resources and recognition for ethnographic practice and other qualitative research did not reflect what her decades of experience proved true: that ethnography has a central role to play in bettering policy and practice across government, non-profit, and research spaces and that ethnography should not be confined to the academy. Within this gap, she saw an opportunity to cultivate, support, and expand ethnographic practice.

Mission

The Public Ethnography Lab (PEL) seeks to build interest, support, and resources for qualitative and ethnographic research in academic, government, non-profit, and other sectors. Using ethnographic approaches and orientations that illustrate the interdependence of knowledge and action, PEL promotes ethnographic praxis and collaborative action-oriented scholarship to understand and alleviate contemporary social challenges. PEL creates spaces for deep community engagement with practical research tools and skills to gather timely information on emerging problems, accompany communities in problem-solving, foster new collaborations, and inform institutional and policy changes.

Strategic Vision

The Public Ethnography Lab seeks to:

[1]

Foster, promote, and increase the use and appreciation of ethnographic methods

  • Hosting trainings and workshops on ethnographic methods

  • Creating accessible educational materials and opportunities for people inside and outside of the academy

  • Connecting ethnographic practice within the current job market

[2]

Support students, practitioners, and organizations in their ethnographic practice

  • Connecting students and practitioners to job, research, and training opportunities

  • Designing experiential learning opportunities such as alternative breaks and field schools

  • Creating a support network for ethnographic practitioners

[3]

Create ethnographic collaboration in order to advance community-driven social change

  • Developing and running participatory research projects

  • Creating opportunities for engagement and knowledge exchange between researchers and broader publics

  • Funding ethnographic research

Ongoing Work

We are working to design and implement a range of resources, programs, and offerings in service of all those interested in ethnographic practice — students, ethnographic practitioners, non-profits, policymakers, researchers, and more. Learn more about our successes so far, as well as a sample of our upcoming plans and projects.

Year 1: 2024-2025

  • Physically established of the lab in the Department of Anthropology at American University

  • Hosted a workshop series, Life After Graduation, to assist students in translating their ethnographic skills in resumes and job applications

  • Prepared students for conference presentations with trainings on abstract writing and hands-on feedback for presentations

  • Earned grant funding for the Department of Anthropology to revitalize the annual Public Anthropology Conference

Year 2: 2025-2026

  • Launch Everyday Inquiry, the lab’s podcast

  • Fostering a network of ethnographic practitioners through the monthly Ethnography Coffee Hour

  • Creating mechanisms for connecting students to work, training, and research opportunities, such as the Summer 2025 Anthropology Salon

  • Support and run sessions at the 2025 Public Anthropology Conference

  • Launch an online, open-access publication, Semi-Structured, on applied ethnography through the lab website

  • Launch the Job Hub

Year 3 & Beyond

  • Foster community-based projects for alternative breaks and field schools

  • Pursue additional funding for longer, more expansive workshops

  • Create Student Fellowships in the lab

  • Provide seed funding for ethnographic projects

  • Host short courses and trainings on methods, ethnographic theory, ethics, data management, and software

  • Grow the Job Hub and increase connection opportunities between employers and students

Want to be a part of our growth? See how to get involved.

What We Are Working On

Recording the first season of our lab’s podcast, Everyday Inquiry

Hosting in-person events (lecture series, coffee hour) locally in D.C.

Assisting the coordination for the 2025 Public Anthropology Conference