Colleen Smith
smithcs@ucsc.edu
Project: A Different Kind of House
I am graduating this spring from UCSC with a BA in Anthropology. While I find the discipline problematic in many ways, I am deeply appreciative of the perspective it has given me. Learning the tools to produce multimedia ethnographies is very different from the other tools I have learned. I am excited to continue learning about this field because it creates a space for the creative to join academia.
Reflections:
1. Disasters & Frustrations
I didn’t know what I was getting into when I enrolled in this course.
I am terrified of computers. I don’t understand them; they intimidate
me and make me feel stupid as soon as I turn them on. Their logic is not
logical to me. Now, you can imagine how challenging working on a project
that is computer based must have been for me. There was simply too much
software for me to learn.
Besides fundamental technical difficulties, the nature of the project
was challenging to me because it asked me to think in terms of visual
sequence and audio. Through visual and audio media, I was asked to tell
the story of my house. These new mediums required me to expand my academic
horizons to included creative sensibility.
Overall, I felt like the course expected too much from me. I don’t
think in audio, sequences, or movement. I was asked to learn and apply
all the technical and creative work simultaneously. That was too much.
You cannot expect someone to be able to apply material that you are still
learning. I wanted more time to consolidate my knowledge.
2. Insights
When you envelope yourself in the process, you can cope with and then
accommodate the unexpected. Because, inevitably, plans will change. It
is hard but, I find great joy in the unexpected and discovering ways to
deal with and incorporate the unexpected as it arises. Like about three
and a half weeks ago I wished I had picked a different subject. I find
my choice of study a grotesque example of liberal individualism at its
worst. I had an opportunity to learn about something completely new and
I picked one of the most familiar situations. Regardless of my desire
to switch topics, I could not. I was forced to make peace with my decision
and find ways to becomes excited about it again.
3. Pleasures
The idea of recording audio had never even entered my mind. When I first
put on those headphones, it was like hearing something for the first time.
This similar feeling of amazement at learning something new happened again
and again to me this quarter. I was able to learn computer programs that
I never would have considered before. And while I still suffer from technophobia,
I know I can learn.
I cannot stress enough the genuine learning that originates from the process.
I am really proud of all the things I learned along the way but, not so
much my end product. However, because Shelly recognizes and appreciates
that learning process, the product looses its importance.
I can’t but help but be excited about these new things I learned.
With these new tools and skills I have more ways and opportunities to
express myself. This is the most valuable tool a teacher can give a student.
Biography:
I am graduating this spring from UCSC with a BA in Anthropology. While
I find the discipline problematic in many ways, I am deeply appreciative
of the perspective it has given me. Learning the tools to produce multimedia
ethnographies is very different from the other tools I have learned. I
am excited to continue learning about this field because it creates a
space for the creative to join academia.