Video

I have mostly interviews within my video. I have two images I consider to be major and that is of the belltowers of each university. I will show those images at the beginning of the video and my interviews throughout. My video was going to end up being a lot bigger since the students I recorded had similar answers for both the influence the religious denomination of the school and Greek Life of the school, but I narrowed it down and focused in on the religious denomination question.


Script: Picture of Belmont's bell tower fades into similar picture of Lipscomb's bell tower. Question is displayed on the screen- First interview comes up. Interviewee describes the rival humor between Lipscomb and Belmont- Second interview. More about the students being different-Third interview. Doesn't know much about Lipscomb accept for the stereotype "Church of Christ"- Scene immediately goes into how students answered the same question similarly while "Come Together" plays in the background. First interview- no influence- Second interview- Just so happens.. no influence.-Third interview- no influence-Fourth interview- no big deal.. no influence. Fifth interview- doesn't share the same denomination as lipscomb, no influence, ends with most students attending Lipscomb AREN'T Church of Christ. We're the same, though the assumptions of each university have lead us to believe differently.

First picture is what my video end up looking like, 2nd picture is what it was going to look like before I trimmed it down. ALOT :)

 

 

Update on Project

My project seems to be going well at this point. Everything seems to be a bit jumbled though. I've gotten interviews in from both friends and strangers (mostly questionaires). I've taken pictures of both campuses and have explored around a little, taking field notes and trying to really learn about the culture. I'm struggling because instead of finding differences, I'm finding similarities. I think that finding in itself may be a good focus for a video if I can figure out a way to do it. I've gathered some hardcopy artifacts from each campus/ maps of each campus. I'm going to try and squeeze in a few more interviews.

Methods?

               The best way to learn about a community is to become a part of it. I feel like I am already a part of the community at Belmont University, perhaps not as much as I used to be, but nonetheless I’m familiar with the culture. Lipscomb, on the other hand, I am not a part of that particular community. A technique that I have been using within my study is people watching in general. I have been taking notes on my surroundings and what I see and sense in the more communal of areas on the campus. I have so far issued a very helpful interview with two people at Lipscomb and I have gained information through that. I have also gathered physical maps of both campuses because one thing I noticed while studying Lipscomb’s community, is how much bigger the actual school felt. I personally felt this as an outsider. The girls I interviewed, however, stated differently. One of the reasons they loved Lipscomb is because they felt they could get anywhere on campus within 7 to 8  minutes. Another aspect I plan on incorporating into my project is the history of both universities and information on tuition and goals, for that may offer more explanation for the communities of each. This will be accomplished through research of each universities websites. I have taken photos of Lipscomb’s campus and plan on doing the same of Belmont’s campus.  By watching people I can get an outsiders view of the community and common habits. For instance, at Lipscomb I noticed that there was a much larger variety of people and that a lot more students seem to dress in windbreakers and sportswear than at Belmont where tighter pants and dressier outfits seem to be more popular. One thing that this concept misses is that it is just a view from the outside. A person can’t really learn about a community just by watching. I’m also planning on interviewing more students and getting an inside view of why people chose either Lipscomb or Belmont. By gathering materials such as maps and the history of each institution I gather information about the universities themselves, but not so much the people who are involved in the community. I hope by gathering this information I can get a better inside view of  the community of each university by learning more about individuals within the community and why they chose the university.

Archival Materials

• Papers on Belmont or Lipscomb
• Waybackmachine.com
• http://www.lipscomb.edu/
• http://www.belmont.edu/
• http://www.collegedata.com/

Since both institutions are trying to promote themselves mainly through their websites, I feel that those will be my strongest source.

Lives on the Boundary

Lives on the Boundary by Mike Rose is about, as the title says, boundaries. Its mostly about educational boundaries that most of America deals with, but emotional boundaries as well.
The author talks about his many boundaries of being poor which he had to surpass. From educational boundaries, such as him learning to spell correctly in graduate school, to the more difficult topics of him having to leave home because of the hopeless environment.
Everyone around him was just accepting where they were at and weren't pushing past the boundaries that were put on them. After a family friend shoots himself in Rose's home, and with the help of a kind teacher, Rose realizes he has to leave. Throughout the book Rose fights for equal education among students and talks about subjects such as America's small budget for education and why it is important for things to change.
The book was very inspiring. Mike Rose had been through a lot. He came such a long way from where he was raised. It was definitely an eye opener and an inside look of some of the students who have had to push past boundaries that some of us will never have to experience.

Online Community

Most of the Lipscomb chats I found ended up being focused on dating and singles from Lipscomb. I did find one website called chatBU that has scheduled chat sessions. I can see online communities helping with an Ethnographic study because it is easy to get in touch with people you don't know. It also works as a focus group in a way. (At least the scheduled chat sessions do). People come together to discuss their opinions on a similar topic. I feel that online communities also give people a chance to be brutally honest and speak their opinion more because you aren't face to face with someone. You have a screen and sometimes anonymous identity to protect you. This could be very helpful in an ethnographic study because it gives the researcher an honest inside look of the opinions of people from a certain culture.

Glossary of Important Terms

"man"/"Bro"/"Dude"- Terms of endearment or friendship among young adult males.
"girl"- Usually use at the end of a sentence.
"Hi! How are you?"- Greeting mostly seen given by a female(but not limited to) followed by a hug of the Greetee.
"Hey! Whats up?"- Greeting mostly seen given by males(but not limited to) followed by a high five and a masculing back pat hug.
"Stress"- A feeling mutually experienced by many who are a part of this community.
"Advisor"- A guide for the student in the context of his or her future schedule of classes.
"Party"- Term meaning gathering of community members mostly within the same age group. Usually takes place off of school grounds.
"Sleep"- not much is gained within this community. It becomes a cherished term during an individuals freshman year.
"Roomate"- A fellow college student (usually of the same gender) who one shares a living area with.
"Dorm Room"- A bedroom consisting of 2 or 3 beds along with either a sink in it or an attached bathroom which the roomates share with "suite mates".
"Papers"- Term heard often. Popular homework assignment in this community
"Professor"- A homework assigner, teacher, and mentor to the people of this community. some well liked, some not so much.
"coffee"- A liquid healer to most within this community. Especially since the so cherished sleep has lessened during their time here
There is no one popular language used within this community. It is a melting pot of people (mostly young adults). Some use a very educated language while others are much more "laid back" and do not use the same terms. This is a community where everyone is searching for their self worth and the differences between people are massive.