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My Freshman Year: what a professor learned by becoming a student
By Rebekah Nathan
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This assignment provides you with an opportunity to deepen your anthropological understanding of cultural anthropology, ethnography, and the participant-observation method. Some of the questions below will help you begin to think cross-culturally and comparatively--skills that will help you with your cross-cultural comparative research. My Freshman Year is also a fascinating and fun book to read that will deepen your understanding of (and perhaps influence) your undergraduate life.
Please answer the following questions:
1. Nathan investigates "community" and "diversity" at AnyU. If Nathan were a student at CC, what would she observe and conclude about community and diversity here? In your response, please compare and contrast some specific observations Nathan makes about community and diversity at AnyU to CC.
2. Talk with an international student at CC. Ask them about Nathan's observations (be specific!). What did you learn from your discussion? Please consider multiple aspects of an international student's experience at CC and before you conclude your discussion, ask the student if there is anything they want to talk about that you did ask. Apply some of the key anthropological concepts/terms you have learned.
3. Please answer the question Nathan posed in her book: "What percentage of your college learning comes from classes, or from the readings, films, group work, and papers related to classes, versus what percentage is from outside of classes?" After you state the percentages, please explain your answer and write a response to the question: "what is college for?"
4. Nathan describes how students at AnyU "negotiate their lives at college..." Among the domains she considered (e.g., time management, schedule selection, interactions with professors, cheating, and freshman to senior changes) select several that interest you and describe specifically how students at CC negotiate these domains.
5. In Nathan's final chapter she describes the lessons she learned and how these lessons will impact her future behavior. What have your learned from this ethnography and your reflections on life at CC? Will your behavior change as a result of reading this ethnography and thinking about your life at CC? If so, why/how? If not, why not? Take time to reflect on the issue before you construct your answer. We don't learn from experience; we learn from thinking about experience.
6. Spend some time reading about the ethical issues raised by Nathan's methods (start here; also consider what Barrett would say). What's the issue and what is your reaction to her methods?
Please respond to the questions above in no more than 5 and no less than 3 single-spaced pages. Please number your answers but use a paragraph structure to organize your thoughts. Upload your submission to Canvas before the due date and time. Late submissions will be accepted with a 10% point deduction each day.
Recommendations for maximizing learning (and points):
Please answer the following questions:
1. Nathan investigates "community" and "diversity" at AnyU. If Nathan were a student at CC, what would she observe and conclude about community and diversity here? In your response, please compare and contrast some specific observations Nathan makes about community and diversity at AnyU to CC.
2. Talk with an international student at CC. Ask them about Nathan's observations (be specific!). What did you learn from your discussion? Please consider multiple aspects of an international student's experience at CC and before you conclude your discussion, ask the student if there is anything they want to talk about that you did ask. Apply some of the key anthropological concepts/terms you have learned.
3. Please answer the question Nathan posed in her book: "What percentage of your college learning comes from classes, or from the readings, films, group work, and papers related to classes, versus what percentage is from outside of classes?" After you state the percentages, please explain your answer and write a response to the question: "what is college for?"
4. Nathan describes how students at AnyU "negotiate their lives at college..." Among the domains she considered (e.g., time management, schedule selection, interactions with professors, cheating, and freshman to senior changes) select several that interest you and describe specifically how students at CC negotiate these domains.
5. In Nathan's final chapter she describes the lessons she learned and how these lessons will impact her future behavior. What have your learned from this ethnography and your reflections on life at CC? Will your behavior change as a result of reading this ethnography and thinking about your life at CC? If so, why/how? If not, why not? Take time to reflect on the issue before you construct your answer. We don't learn from experience; we learn from thinking about experience.
6. Spend some time reading about the ethical issues raised by Nathan's methods (start here; also consider what Barrett would say). What's the issue and what is your reaction to her methods?
Please respond to the questions above in no more than 5 and no less than 3 single-spaced pages. Please number your answers but use a paragraph structure to organize your thoughts. Upload your submission to Canvas before the due date and time. Late submissions will be accepted with a 10% point deduction each day.
Recommendations for maximizing learning (and points):
- Read through the questions above before you start reading the book. Copy and paste the questions into a Word document.
- Pause at the end of each chapter and write a few notes on what the chapter was about. Look at the questions that pertain to specific chapters and write a quick, draft response to the question.
- Read the book during multiple session, not all at once. Before you begin a new reading session, skim what you have previously read to strengthen your memory and understanding of what you read previously. If you read the book in one or two sessions you will forget much of what you read.
- Re-read the question after you think you've finished your answer. Make sure you've answered each part of the question and your answer is free of grammatical errors.
- Answers that are written as a single block of text are difficult to read and usually contain topics and ideas that should be in separate paragraphs. Does each paragraph begin with a topic sentence and do the sentences that follow the topic sentence support, clarify, and provide examples to support your topic sentence? If not, you have written a response that will frustrate a reader because it will be difficult to follow the scattered thoughts.
- Finish the assignment at least one day before it is due. Re-read the questions and your answers to make sure what you have written makes sense and you would want to read your responses.
