- Adhere to accepted ethical and legal principals. Though there was little required of me in this area, I took care to create original materials, give credit to my sources where applicable, and to keep much of the family history research confidential, which is to say I only discussed findings within the context of the class and among my immediate family members.
- Use appropriate rhetorical tools and technologies tailored for specific audiences and purposes. For the family history project, I compiled data into a 20-page document that could be used by other family members as they continue their family history research. Also, for the graduate discussion and class facilitation portion of the class, I finally learned how to use Power Point to create a presentation for our class.
- Integrate verbal and visual elements in composing family history projects. Here is where I struggled the most in class. Without a clear structure for an 8-week project, and not nearly enough time to accomplish what I wanted to for this project, I found it difficult to compose a document with both visual and verbal elements. Though I did create charts and add photos to my final project, I did not feel successful in this aim of the course.
- Evaluate, interpret, and document archive materials. For both projects this semester, I evaluated photos, letters, and Internet artifacts for usefulness to my project, interpreted each through several lens to get more than a surface-level understanding of each, and carefully documented and labeled where and/or from whom I acquired each artifact.
- Collaborate with a non-profit organization (the LJHP) in producing something that meets their needs. For this portion of the course I have accumulated, documented, and organized a binder of research materials on Camp Pokagon.
- Keep an active research journal in which [I] reflect on the process of writing [my] own family history and of helping the LJHP write their manuscript. This entry, as well as all the following entries, illustrate the reflective practice I used throughout the entire semester.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Objectives Met
Upon the completion of Literacy and Family History, I find that acheived the six main objectives of the course.
Drafting My Lake James Project
In FieldWorking:Reading and Writing Research, 3rd Ed., authors Bonnie Stone Sunstein and Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater ask writers in the process of drafting to consider three crucial questions as they work toward their final projects. These include: What surprised me? What intrigued me? What disturbed me? As I prepare my final research binder for LJHP, I find it necessary to answer these, even though my final project is not a narrative (as I would have loved to do!).
What surprised me?
The amount of information available on Camp Pokagon for Girls came as a surprise to me. Within one day I unearthed weeks worth of artifacts perfect for the coffee table book Flaim and Jim are designing. As I scrolled through page after page, picture after picture, song after song, I found that many of the former campers had stayed in contact with each other over the three or four decades since their camping experiences on Lake James. Not only that, but they had composed a virtual scrapbook of memorabilia from their camping days that brought Lake James of the 1960s and 1970s alive for me. Even though their were very few stories shared on message boards, photos, maps, Pow Wow newsletters, recipes, and more told a story at the heart of the camping experience. The silliness, the sneeking, the singing--all the types of things I remember from my own camping experiences as a pre-adolescent were spread before me. Looking at a Crayola-crayoned drawing of the campgrounds showed me much more than what a traditional map would have. Though I did look for those "official" types of artifacts in my research, the hand-drawn map showed me where I could have found all the subversive activities of campers and counselors that never would have made it into the bi-annual Pow Wow.
What intrigued me?
What drew me into researching Camp Pokagon in the first place were my own childhood experiences camping on various lakes throughout Michigan. Since my camping experiences were always all-girl experiences, I never got to see camping from the eyes of boys. Sure I had read My Side of the Mountain and other fictional tales of adventuresome boys, but I always wondered what kinds of things boys did at camp. Did they sing songs? Did they have skit nights? What things might they have learned that girls did not?
What disturbed me?
As a full month of researching dwindled away, I became disturbed by the complete lack of information about Camp Pokagon for Boys. Though it had been in existence for at least two decades longer than Camp Pokagon for Girls, Camp Pokagon for Boys did not exist on the internet except in one tangential message board in which a former camper mentioned that the counselors used to ride their bikes down the giant slide after hours on Lake James. Oh yeah, and Google results also turned up this blog. This brings about many more questions. Is there something special about girls camp? What sorts of bonds between boys might have formed? Do bonds still exist? And if so, how do they manifest themselves outside of the Internet? Why didn't former boy campers come together in a virtual social space as the girls did? Where might the artifacts of boys' camping experiences reside? The list goes on.
What surprised me?
The amount of information available on Camp Pokagon for Girls came as a surprise to me. Within one day I unearthed weeks worth of artifacts perfect for the coffee table book Flaim and Jim are designing. As I scrolled through page after page, picture after picture, song after song, I found that many of the former campers had stayed in contact with each other over the three or four decades since their camping experiences on Lake James. Not only that, but they had composed a virtual scrapbook of memorabilia from their camping days that brought Lake James of the 1960s and 1970s alive for me. Even though their were very few stories shared on message boards, photos, maps, Pow Wow newsletters, recipes, and more told a story at the heart of the camping experience. The silliness, the sneeking, the singing--all the types of things I remember from my own camping experiences as a pre-adolescent were spread before me. Looking at a Crayola-crayoned drawing of the campgrounds showed me much more than what a traditional map would have. Though I did look for those "official" types of artifacts in my research, the hand-drawn map showed me where I could have found all the subversive activities of campers and counselors that never would have made it into the bi-annual Pow Wow.
What intrigued me?
What drew me into researching Camp Pokagon in the first place were my own childhood experiences camping on various lakes throughout Michigan. Since my camping experiences were always all-girl experiences, I never got to see camping from the eyes of boys. Sure I had read My Side of the Mountain and other fictional tales of adventuresome boys, but I always wondered what kinds of things boys did at camp. Did they sing songs? Did they have skit nights? What things might they have learned that girls did not?
What disturbed me?
As a full month of researching dwindled away, I became disturbed by the complete lack of information about Camp Pokagon for Boys. Though it had been in existence for at least two decades longer than Camp Pokagon for Girls, Camp Pokagon for Boys did not exist on the internet except in one tangential message board in which a former camper mentioned that the counselors used to ride their bikes down the giant slide after hours on Lake James. Oh yeah, and Google results also turned up this blog. This brings about many more questions. Is there something special about girls camp? What sorts of bonds between boys might have formed? Do bonds still exist? And if so, how do they manifest themselves outside of the Internet? Why didn't former boy campers come together in a virtual social space as the girls did? Where might the artifacts of boys' camping experiences reside? The list goes on.
The US Supports Family History Research!
Early this week a man came to the front door of my house, explained that he worked for the US Census, asked a few questions about the type of residence I live in, and then proceeded next door to do the same. He left me with a handout that read:
"Your answers are confidential and protected by law. All U.S. Census Bureau employees have taken an oath and are subject to jail term, a fine, or both if they disclose ANY infomration that could identify you or your household. Your answers will only be used for statistical purposes, and no other purpose. As allowed by law, your census data becomes public after 72 years. This information can be used for family history and other types of historical research. ..."
All semester we've struggled with answering the question, Is family history research a legitimate type of research within the academy? Here, we have the government suggesting it! Not only that, but they group it together within the spectrum of historical research, which suggests a place for it among history classes. Wouldn't it be great to offer a 16-week family history composition class crosslisted as a history course?! I think this would be a great fit and bring many types of researchers together on campus.
"Your answers are confidential and protected by law. All U.S. Census Bureau employees have taken an oath and are subject to jail term, a fine, or both if they disclose ANY infomration that could identify you or your household. Your answers will only be used for statistical purposes, and no other purpose. As allowed by law, your census data becomes public after 72 years. This information can be used for family history and other types of historical research. ..."
All semester we've struggled with answering the question, Is family history research a legitimate type of research within the academy? Here, we have the government suggesting it! Not only that, but they group it together within the spectrum of historical research, which suggests a place for it among history classes. Wouldn't it be great to offer a 16-week family history composition class crosslisted as a history course?! I think this would be a great fit and bring many types of researchers together on campus.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)