Human and Environmental Field School

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  brennwilliams 4:46 pm on April 4, 2016

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  Hi Angela, There seems to be an ongoing… 

  Hi Angela,

  There seems to be an ongoing issue with the reply function of the blog, so here is my reply to your last comment! I agree, I am also used to having full authority over my research projects. This has been the case even in other research based learning classes that I’ve taken at UBC. We are without a doubt developing, and relying on trust both with our teammates, as well as with our community partner. I think that this is what is so valuable about community based learning. The reality of a university degree is that it really doesn’t put you in situations where your final product relies on more than one stakeholder. Generally, the stakeholders are limited to the members of a group, or even yourself and the path towards a final product is quite linear. I think that is what is so gratifying about this course, the path to our final report is less linear and less structure – as is the case in the real world, or workplace. This experience will indeed be valuable to our personal skill sets, but also to our understanding of what it truly takes to tackle complex issues outside of the sphere of academia.

   

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  brennwilliams 7:40 pm on March 6, 2016

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  Eleanor, I also had similar feelings following Craig’ presentation. It was wonderful to hear about how he was so successful gaining access to both the war lawyers and those affected by their actions. Previously, I would have thought this to be impossible, particularly given the complexity of the israeli-palestinian conflict and Craig’s positionality as he is outside of both of these demographics. In my research, I have had success emphasizing my institutional connections to the university in order to conduct interviews. Every interview request I have sent from my UBC email has been responded to promptly, while approaching individuals through other platforms such as linkedin has resulted in lower rates of success. As you noted, perseverance is definitely key – and I think that Craig epitomized this. I think that with any interview, it is important to ask your subject if they know of anyone who could contribute to your research. Whether or not that individual is an expert in your field of study, or simply someone who has similar shared experiences to your original interview subject, once you have found a way into a community it is much easier to find others who are willing to help with your project.