Masterclass in Ethnography: Towards a Pedagogy of Care

Masterclass, comprising a special short duration session, has historically been associated with performing arts. It has become an important mode of instruction in colleges that specialize in inter-disciplinary or skill-based and industry-facing education that aim to equip students with a range of practical and professional skills, and research tools. In this article, I draw on my experience of teaching in an art and design higher education college, to deliberate and build on the idea of pedagogy of care that lies at the juncture of teaching ethnography as a masterclass. In this direction of design pedagogy, the masterclass format which necessitates familiarity with skills, especially research methods that are rooted in the social sciences and humanities, has become a mainstay. How do ethnography and masterclass come together to inform design research? How can pedagogy of care be understood at the intersection of ethnography and design? Situating pedagogy of care in the ethics of ethnographic research, I argue that it is at the intersection of the triad of teaching, learning, and researching, where the notion of care for all three is articulated and addressed.