My field study preparation course has recently required us to read some cross-cultural field research sources and then to analyze them, locating and identifying things such as method, audience, sources, etc. One article that I read was one that was written specifically about McLeod Ganj, India, the area in which I will be studying. Although I was supposed to be practicing "speed reading," and therefore read it via "skimming," I found it interesting and plan on reading the remainder of it thoroughly, seeing as it directly relates to my project. From what I gathered while speed-reading the article, I have learned that Tibetan culture rests in the Tibetan people, and their continuation of this culture is the only way to continue their identity as Tibetans, otherwise, they will just be a minority Chinese race.
This relates to my project because, as I will be studying the parenting types and habits in the community, I am very interested in how Tibetan culture and the preservation thereof ties into parenting and the family unit as a whole. I would like to observe this and perhaps adjust my project a little in order to shift this particular aspect to the front and main focus.
As I have mentioned in an earlier post, I had originally intended to study strictly the parenting styles of Tibetans (not limited to the mother and father, but also inclusive of elders who parent the children). I was then going to perhaps compare my findings with those of Baumrind, a theorist who has set up specific parenting types and their affects on children. I have slowly been drifting away from this idea, meaning to focus primarily on how Tibetans parent their children, and then draw up separate "Tibetan" parenting groups, instead of fitting them into preconceived categories. As Jack Johnson would say "I want to pull the preconceived out from underneath your feet."
So now, with that in mind, I want to now focus on the weight of culture on parenting and how trying to preserve the Tibetan culture may affect the parents, children, family, and community.
Julia I think that you are right on track with what the learning journal is supposed to look like. It was great to see the development you went through and how the article was related back to your own project. With something so broad like "how does history impact my project," I think you have done a great job with carving it down to a personal level.
ReplyDeleteOne suggestion, just so that people can get a sense of where you are coming from or what article that we read, maybe post a link to the article or simply write the title and author. That way if someone comes across your blog, or even you on a future day when you are working on your project, you will remember what it was that was talked about.