In this seminar, we consider the nature of qualitative research at the nexus of social sciences, design, and humanities. Qualitative Research is not just a collection of tools and techniques, but rather an ever growing meshwork of theories, concepts, and approaches. Qualitative research puts us into direct relations with people, places, and things--with the material and ideational worlds in which we dwell. Through qualitative methods we engage communities, witness real-time events, delve into texts and images, read landscapes, and encounter people in the course of their everyday lives. While there are many approaches to qualitative research, we pay especially close attention to methods of reading, observing, listening, and documenting. Along the way, we consider the intellectual traditions from which qualitative methodologies emerge, the varied questions that they are configured to answer, and the nature and form of data that their application generates. Throughout the course we engage readings about qualitative methods across disciplines, as well as readings that exemplify the deployment of methods in specific research projects. Students will write short summative pieces, facilitate weekly discussions, complete certification for Human Subjects research, and produce a methodological statement suitable to their research interests.