WHAT DOES BEING A PUBLIC SCHOLAR MEAN TO YOU?

 

To me being a public scholar means to act beyond the personal interest and being able to think out of the box when it is needed, in order to provide solutions to different groups of people. Also, in my case, although I am a forester by training (BSc, MSc), I am always striving to be more interdisciplinary in my approaches, particularly integrating approaches from indigenous methodologies and social sciences. Currently, I am a Ph.D. candidate in the UBC Faculty of Forestry, and a Liu Scholar at the Liu Institute for Global Issues, an interdisciplinary research hub for emerging global issues in the Faculty of Arts at UBC. The focus of my research is placed on Indigenous communities from Chile, with a particular interest in the struggles of Mapuche communities. For this reason, while doing fieldwork, I do not only collect data but I also engage in different activities, from traditional ceremonies to marches on the streets. And, whenever possible, I put my expertise to the service of the communities I am working with (e.g. writing professional reports, providing advice, etc.).

Source: Arias-Bustamante, Jose – Graduate School – University of British Columbia – Vancouver – Canada

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