Dr. Lather offers the following courses:

–ED P&L 800 Introduction to Qualitative Research in Education
EDPL 800 concentrates on postpositivist educational research with a focus on the design of such studies and the issues faced by researchers using qualitative methods. Central objectives include formulating criteria by which to evaluate postpositivist research in the human sciences and gaining an understanding of the socio-intellectual context within which such research is conducted. While the readings can be dense at times, students might heed French philosopher/psychoanalyst, Jacque Lacan’s advice: “…to read does not obligate one to understand. First it is necessary to read …” avoid understanding too quickly? (quoted in Gregory Ulmer, Applied Grammatology, John Hopkins Press, 1985, p 196).  800 syllabus 2009

–ED P&L 905
EDPL 905 is designed to provide an introduction to the themes and theories that undergrid the cultural foundations of education. The course analyzes the interdisciplinary nature of the cultural foundations of education with a focus on the intersections of culture, knowledge and power. Themes include: the history of cultural foundations of education, particularly its relationship to the politics of discplinarity; nationhood and global culture; colonialism and postcolonialism; race and ethnicity; gender and sexuality; identity politics; popular culture, media studies; science, culture and technology, and ethnography and cultural studies. 905 syllabus 2009

–ED P&L 966 Practicum in Qualitative Research Methods
EDPL 966 emphasizes training in qualitative fieldwork methods in educational settings, specifically observation, interviewing, collecting written documents, designing grounded surveys, and beginning data reduction and analysis. It is expected that students enroll for this practicum after completing P&L 800. In essence, the practicum is an opportunity to do field work on a very small scale. Ideally, this will be a pre-pilot study or prior ethnography for your dissertation, but at the least, the course should allow you to “practice” the major qualitative methods for generating data. 966 syllabus 09

There is a one-credit introductory  lab (pass/fail) that is a required part of this course. 692.49

–ED P&L 967 Qualitative Data Analysis
EDPL 967 rounds out work started in Ed. P&L 966 and focuses on the analysis of qualitative data and the writing of research reports. There will be an especial focus on various issues in contemporary procedures and theories of interpretation, including coding and categorizing, grounded theorizing, narrative analysis, discourse analy sis, and the politics of representation. Prerequisites: Ed. P&L 800 and 966or equivalents. A weekly lab is a required part of the course. This can be either computer assisted qualitative data analysis OR writing support group. The prerequisite for the computer lab is a one hour credit introductory course. 967 syllabus 09

–ED P&L 871 Theories of Gender in Education
EDPL 871.01 explores a number of issues that have surfaced in the recent scholarship on gender and education. Controversial questions regarding the intersections of voice, difference, the politics of identity, and scholarly responsibility have become important concerns among scholars and social, cultural activists alike. The challenges these questions pose for ”feminist theories”? in education will be addressed as a way to understand both the limits andpossibilities of extant conceptions of identity politics, “voice”? and “experience”? commonly used in theories and practices of gender and education.

It is intended to help students think themselves into their own work via an engagement with the major intellectual currents informing theories of gender that characterize feminist work in education. Issues related to gender, race, class and sexuality, curriculum, pedagogy, cultural production and policy will be addressed in an exploration of the possibilities and limits of feminist praxis in education. The course is part of the Gender and Education PhD emphasis and is open to anyone with background in feminist studies, cultural studies, and/or qualitative research literatures. Autumn syllabus 2008

–ED p&L 907 Themes and Theories in Cultural Studies
EDPL 907 is designed to provide an introduction to the themes and theories that undergird a Cultural Studies approach to the study of education. The course analyzes the interdisciplinary nature of cultural studies scholarship with a focus on the intersections of culture, knowledge and power. Themes include: the history of cultural studies, particularly its relationship to education and the politics of disciplinarity; nationhoodand global culture; colonialism and postcolonialism; race and ethnicity; gender and sexuality; identity politics; popular culture, media and sport studies; science, culture and technology; and ethnography and cultural studies. To be taught autumn 2009.

–ED P&L 925.49 Foucault, Educational Research & Policy Analysis
EDPL 925.49 examines the relationship between the thought of Michel Foucault and educational research in the context of policy analysis. Whether Foucault is read as historian or philosopher, structuralist or post-structuralist, critical or post-critical, his analysis of how power works through practices of surveillance, classification, exclusion, regulation and normalization has great implications for educational inquiry. How is the modern subject of knowledge produced by our very efforts to know it? How does a focus on the microphysics of power change our understanding of social practices? Of what use is Foucault’s theory of governmentality in educational policy analysis? What happens to the “queer Foucault”? in such matters? These and other questions will be addressed through the following readings in a seminar format where students will be expected to both co-lead class discussions and explore the implications of such questions in their emerging sense of research project. Spring 08 Syllabus

–Ed P&L and WS 760: Feminist Methodology
Ed P&L and WS 760 provides graduate students with an overview of feminist methodological issues and dilemmas and an introduction to a variety of research techniques and methods. Topics include: the historical and theoretical development of feminist approaches to research and scholarship, the ethical dilemmas of representation and the politics of feminist inquiry and the importance of research design and the strategies involved in collecting, interpreting, and analying primary materials. Spring 09 syllabus