Statement of Intent
Hello! My name is Rachel Rueckert, and I welcome you to my India blog. I am an undergraduate student at Brigham Young University studying English and anthropology, and I am also a field study student. Field studies is a unique international study program at BYU that encourages meaningful cultural immersion. It is learner owned, inquiry based, and very individual, since students are able to design and conduct their own projects within their own disciplines. This blog will document my learning journey for my field study experience this year in Mcleod Ganj, India. It is a continuation of the field study project I conducted in Ghana last year, and there are several things I am looking to further explore.
There are many aims I want to meet through this blog. As part of my Digital Civilization course, are three “C’s” I would like to explore.
Three C's
Three C's
CONSUME- As a field study student, there will plenty of consuming going on. I may even feel like I am taking a drink from an exploding fire hydrant. I plan to learn as much about the culture and people—to absorb as much as I can. This, coupled with personal reflection, was something I think I was fairly successful with in Ghana. However, this time I would like to try and incorporate a bit more consumption on what others have contributed. I hope to do more responses on the books I read and what others have written and experienced to enhance my own understanding.
CREATE- This aim was perhaps my most successful endeavor with my Ghana blog. It is also an incredibly rewarding part of blogging. I want to continue to practice my creative writing skills and post my photography as I go along. Since this project will be where I generate my material to write my creative writing honors thesis, I hope to do a lot with this aim this time around. I would also like to expand "create" to include increase my online presence and identity, explore opportunity media (figure out how to publish things in a way that makes them available for others), and find collaborations. The best kind of creating will be the kind that is directed towards "connect," the next aim.
CONNECT- This is something I am most looking forward to improving this time in the field. I hope to explore other blogs, meet new people, and create a professional network with people with similar interests. I look forward to learning more about what others have out there, and I know my blogging will be more meaningful if I can share my own findings and reach outside of just my own undergraduate purposes. This is going to be hard. It will require a lot more research, reflection, and interaction, which will be hard work. However, this is what will make my learning more meaningful, especially if I am able to give back in some way or reach beyond my own experience. Given the creative writing component of my project, feedback will be very important as well.
In addition to these aims, I have a few personal goals I want to address.
Digital Culture- As part of my Digital cultural class, I want to learn more about emerging technology and practice the skills necessary to benefit from it. As an English major, this is undoubtedly where the future will be, and I need to understand and embrace it. In addition to this blog, I hope to look into other digital avenues such as Facebook, flickr, youtube, etc.
Home Front- This time in the field, I want everyone back home to be able to be a part of my learning experience. Instead of just sending home weekly emails, I want to do this directly on my blog so that they can be included in what it is I am doing on here. This will also help my aim to connect more. In general, it would be better to have it all in one place.
BYU Representative- Since this year I am field facilitating for the program, I am hoping to be an ambassador for my university and promote awareness for the Field Study program. I also hope to establish meaningful relationships in Mcleod Ganj so that the program can continue.
Avatars- Avatars, or the different lenses of my personality that I choose to document my experience through, is a unique method that my faculty mentor and I developed last year for Ghana. It was a great learning experience that helped me with both my "consume" and "create" aims, and I look forward to discovering more about it. This year I will document my experience with three avatars, all based off avatars I explored in Ghana:
Myra- the photographer avatar (same as Myra in Ghana)
Adela- the romantic anthropologist (variation of Ava)
Virginia- postmodern travel writer (variation of Gipsy)
