Department of Geography hosts LSU Expert

Dr Dydia DeLyser, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Anthropology at Louisiana State University, said that using qualitative methods of ethnography in geographical research is a significant method of understanding the perspectives of research subjects.

DeLyser cited this as one of the many advantages of ethnography methodology in geographic research, January 20 at 3 p.m. in Rm. 303 of the CSA Research Center. The speech, titled “Doing Qualitative Geography,” was an open seminar hosted by the department of Geography.

”Methods of ethnography allow questions to emerge from the field itself,” she said. “The researcher thrives for the perspective of a subject.”

DyLyser explained that she has extensive ethnographic research experience, and has seen the benefits of such studies firsthand.

As a student at the University of California in Los Angeles, DeLyser said she had the opportunity to gain these qualitative skills over a decade when she worked on and off at the Bodie Park, helping to restore the abandoned town of Bodie, CA.

The town, which has been preserved in a state of “arrested decay,” as a California State Historic Park, eventually became the subject of extensive ethnographic research for DeLyser. She shared her own experiences of conducting thousands of interviews with local community members, other staff and visitors to gain a better overall understanding of how contemporary Americans view the historic American West.

“We learn what it is that our data really speaks to,” she said of her experience. “Sometimes, this is surprising.”

DeLyser cautioned that while ethnographic methods of research open new avenues of understanding subjects, they require substantial commitment, both on behalf of the researcher and the subjects.

“(Ethnographic understanding) cannot be entered into easily. Researchers must invest a significant portion of their lives to this research and often must acquire new language skills,” she said.

 Viet Bachmann, a graduate student in the Department of Geography, said he enjoyed the presentation overall and particularly appreciated the concluding Q&A session.

“I definitely liked her comments at the end. It really brought out her main point,” Bachmann said.

DeLyser ended the presentation by reinstating her endorsement of ethnography, and urged students and professors to examine it further.

“The resources are now available for those who want to teach qualitative geography or study it themselves,” she said.

DeLyser has composed several articles about Bodie and the ideas surrounding ghost towns. She hopes to convert these articles into a book. For more information on DeLyser and her research on Bodie, CA, go to http://www.lsu.edu/wgs/Faculty/delyser.htm.