the unobservant anthropologist

A new semester at UNT started on the 16th. This semester’s line up includes Thought & Praxis II and Quantitative Methods in Anthropology. I must admit that I am a little more excited about the methods course than the theory course, but this is only because I don’t really think quantitative analysis is my strength. I hope that I can use quantitative methods in addition to quantitative methods in the future because I think the two can compliment each other in research and it gives you a wider range of data to present to the client. We’ll be learning analysis using SPSS, which will be a nice addition to our knowledge of Atlas.ti last semester. It’s neat to think that within two semesters we’ll all have a working knowledge of two programs that are widely used.

Getting back into the swing of school wasn’t too hard for me, I think in part because my winter break revolved around the computer still. Once webCT went up, I got back into my routine of checking the discussion boards a few times a day. I found this to be the easiest way to keep up with discussions last semester because each time I log in there are only five to ten new messages as oppose to twenty to fifty messages you’ll encounter at once if you log in every other day or so. I also made sure to have plenty of toner and paper on hand to start off the semester. I think one downfall to online programs is that you don’t have access to a computer lab where you can print for free

This semester we have two different professors, which means that they are still learning how to teach online and us students kind of have the hang of the online thing already. It’s off to a good start though. Both classes started off with community building exercises- post a short bio and read others’ posts so that you can get to know each other. One of my favorite parts of the program is their focus on community-building. Sadly, my buddy from last semester left our program to attend an on-campus program. I think her decision to leave was based more on the fact that the other program had more of a focus on what she wanted to study and less to do with the on-campus experience.

We did have one bump last week and it’s actually kind of funny to think about now that it’s passed. For one of the courses, the syllabus was a little confusing and the readings were not up on e-reserve yet. The discussion boards were buzzing with questions and a lot of the students were emailing each other back and forth to try to get answers. The professor didn’t really log in to webCT and answer our questions until late in the week. There were ice storms in Denton and there was a family emergency that prevented it. I was a little concerned that we weren’t getting enough feed-back from the prof and I was a little worried how the semester was going to go in that course. But- the questions were answered and everything is fine now! I say it was funny because a few of us went into panic mode and also because you would think that the Profs would be the only ones concerned with little feedback from the students

I’ll start NaBloPoMo with an update of school is going.

I’m loving my Thought & Praxis Course. It’s by far one of the most challenging courses I’ve taken because we read original works of theorists (whom all tend to write with the “jargon & intimidation mode of authority*”) and then we relate their works back to three subjects, “us vs. the other”, ethnographic authority and how the theorist might have analyzed the Chicago Heat Wave (book by Klinenberg). It really gets you thinking deeply and critically about the writings and theories.

My Qualitative Methods course is moving along nicely too. We’re working on a project to get an idea of what the general populations’ knowledge about antibiotic resistance, MRSA and C-Diff is. We collaboratively formulated an interview guide and this week we’re each working on doing two interviews. I did my first one night before last. I hadn’t done an interview in over a year and a half. I was “rusty” to say the least- but all-and-all it went well.
I’m working on transcribing it today, and while I don’t have to be as thorough as I have been in the past, it’s taking forever!

So, I’m off to transcribe…. more tomorrow (and the next day, and the next day… you get the point. NaBloPoMo)

The “jargon & intimidation mode of authority is an ethnographic mode of authority that I made up to explain the writing styles of certain theorists that use a lot of fancy language to make you think they have authority- when in fact, you cannot really question what they are saying because you cannot even begin to understand what they are saying.
I coined the term to describe James Clifford’s mode of authority in his work On Ethnographic Authority

In one of my classes the professor and the students have all started to have in-depth conversations about aspects of the program. An entertaining aspect of these conversations is that they are taking place (for the most part) on the static discussion forums. We (the students) have brought up concerns such as time spent and the flow of conversations on the discussion board and the professor has brought up concerns about the amount of posts that take place from week-to-week.
It should be noted that these conversations are only taking place in one of the two courses. I think that this is such because the professor is so anxious to make the program better and is eager to “listen” to our concerns and feelings. The other course is mandated by strict deadlines to complete a collaborative project about the general population’s knowledge about MRSA and C-Diff- so there is no time for “off-topic” discussion there.
It is interesting to see how we are all coping with being online students and still wanting/needing the community that you would have in an on campus program. Some of the conversations have turned into what could be seen as complaints and would not normally take place in front of the professor- but we don’t really have a choice.
I’ve worked to put together a chat room that is independent from the course so that the students can gather to discuss concerns and the topics at hand away from the eye of the professor– something like an after class hallway chat time. We’ll have to see how this goes and if it helps us all to cope with the courses better.

Issues about time spent have been raised on numerous occasions and by multiple students. The general consensus is that we spend any where from 12 to 15+ hours a week per course (the program says you should expect to spent 12) versus the on campus students whom claim to spend only 3-6 hours. This is a big difference and it is hard to say what the “cause” is, but I believe that it is the discussion board that takes up most of our time.
In an on campus class discussion is limited to the class period and only a few individuals get to speak on the topic. In the online program there is no “class time” and everyone has the opportunity (and is encouraged to) participate in discussions… this amounts to several hours of reading about 12 (or so) people’s opinions, rebuttals and comments!

Anyhow, I think I am getting almost as much from being a part of the program as I am from the assigned materials. It is interesting to see how the already well planned program is fleshing out and evolving now that it is finally active.

For any of you that may be considering the program I think it is safe to say that the first round of students will be more than happy to offer advice about how to manage the workload, organization, etc. and I’m also confident that we will come to conclusions as to what works for the flow of discussion and the bonding of the community. What will be really neat is when the second round of students come in and add/change what we have done to fit to their needs.

I’ll give you a brief intro to the program while I finish up my break:

Most (if not all) of the students that started the online master’s program this semester are taking two courses:
Thought and Praxis 1 and Ethnographic & Qualitative Methods. By taking at least two courses a semester you are on a schedule to graduate in three years. The courses are designed to be manageable by a working person with a family and/or other priorities. At the moment, I am neither. I am taking at least the next couple of months off from working and really don’t have too many other priorities- once I get this whole moving thing out of the way of course.

Since I really can’t give someone an idea of what the program would be like if you were trying to balance a job and school, I will try to put it into perspective by sharing the amount of time and work put into the courses. And as far as I can tell, you are expected to check your email and the discussion boards everyday. There is an hour long teleconference each week for one of the courses. Both courses have around 30 or so pages of reading to do each week in addition to an assignment.

Ethnographic & Qualitative Methods is an intense course. We will be conducting a collaborative research project for a real client and are thus on a tight schedule. There is a lot of work to be done for the course. However, the professor does give you a good idea on the syllabus of what weeks will be very intensive and time consuming so that you may plan your life accordingly.

I’m going to get back to reading now. I’ll keep you updated!

Classes haven’t started for the program yet, but I already have so much information to share with you all.

I’d like to start by encouraging anyone with questions/comments to contact the department and/or myself (either through a comment or an email). The department can help you with all of the ‘formal’ info and I can help with the ‘what’s it like to be in an online applied anthro program’ info.

After the department sent out the acceptance letters this summer, they set up a listserv right away. This was our main form of communication for about a month. Our focus than moved to our “Cosmic Cafe” webCT chat room. Everyone in the program (both online and on-campus) have access to this forum. The online students used it mainly to set up rides/rooms for orientation, but the department also used it to send out such info as books being used, etc. The general consensus of the online students thus far is that we are all highly impressed by the constant and efficient communication from the faculty. If you have a question, you’ll get a response in under 24 hours- very important to all of us. The department has stressed from the get-go that a sense of community amongst the online students is very important to them- and so far, I think we’ve been successful with it.

Last Friday and Saturday were our “Orientation Days”. The fifteen online students met up on-campus with the faculty for two full days of information. We all went to the library to learn how to use our resources as online students, we also went to a computer lab to learn webCT, we listened to the faculty speak about the research experience, etc and ate a lot! Breakfast and lunch were catered everyday and Friday there was a potluck dinner party at one of the prof’s house. Food is the way to my heart by the way.

The orientation session was highly organized in that everything went smoothly and timely, but not so organized that it was uncomfortable. We all had plenty of opportunity to ask questions, meet with financial aid advisors, and get to know each other. My only complaint about the weekend would be that we didn’t get to spend too much time with all of the profs- two had to leave right away on Friday and the others were only there for our break-out sessions (when we broke out into our groups of focus; business/organizational, education, medical and migration/border studies). We certainly had a good chance to speak with everyone, but more would have been nice.

And one last thing I would like to say for now is what the department explained their hopes for the online program to be:

A strong sense of community

A practicum (in lieu of thesis) that gives the student some direction for a career post graduation

Flexibility

Strong focus in methods and theory (part of the reason I was so anxious about it)

Equal experience and quality of education as the on-campus program

Classes start next Monday! More to come…..

I arrived home from work today to find a letter from the anthropology department at UNT sitting in the mailbox.
Much to my delight, it was my offical acceptance letter! I’m officially a masters student at UNT!!

This means that I start in August! I fly out to Denton mid-August for orientation. And classes start the 28th. I am so excited!

I’ll be sure to share with you all my adventures to come, and my “synthesis of thought” will finally move on to “all things anthropological”.

Well, I am back from Vancouver and I have been busy since I got back. Vancouver was absolutely gorgeous and we had a wonderful time.

While at the conference I attended the University of North Texas reception to celebrate thier launch of An Online Applied Antrho Masters Program. I found out about the progam from one of their grad students on a smoke break (I did however end up speaking to a few people at the conference while not on smoke breaks). So, I went to the reception and met some of the grad students and facultuy. I have to start off by saying it was a really nice set up. I learned a lot about the program and really enjoyed talking to everyone. I ended up hanging out with them a little bit at a bar after the event- my kind of people.

The group was great, everyone was so friendly and interesting. After careful consideration after coming home, I have decided to apply to their program for Fall 2006. This means that I have to get everything ready by May 1st. I work at a college bookstore, so things at work are really busy right now as we approach the end of the semester. This is all very rushed, but I have been thinking about grad school a lot and I think I can get it done.

The idea of an applied anthro program online sounds a little weird, but you do fly out to the campus twice, there is an online community and the dept is striving to give the students the same experience online that one would get on campus. Also, it works great for me because my boyfriend can’t move out of the south and keep his job- which limits my options.

If I were to get accepted I would either continue my smokers as a subculture work or do organziational anthro.

Wish me luck. I have a ton of work a head for me, so things might get slow here.