Jenny Wetzig
Sociology/Anthropology
Distinction Essay
18 April 2008
Clear as Mud: Making Sociology and Anthropology Real.
Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you.
- Aldous Huxley
As my college experience draws to a close, I reflect, often nostalgically, upon how I have changed as a person. I usually marvel at how fast the time went and how many papers I wrote. I think of writing endless to-do lists and how I finally understand why it is important to use words other than “interesting” to describe the work of scholars. Yet it is harder to pinpoint the ways in which my major has impacted my personal framework of ideas and beliefs.
I make sense of this by acknowledging the power of connecting academic experiences to everyday life. Though this connection seems simple enough, it is often passed over and the potential for synthesis is swept aside by topics that are “easier” to contemplate. My hope is that I continue to synthesize academia with grounded, everyday experiences in the future.
The Sociology and Anthropology curriculum has provided a sound foundation for my understanding of how to analyze, contemplate and reconcile the complexity of our world. What were once awkward and uncomfortable theoretical terms are now natural and easy for me to use. Words such as taxonomy, agency, hierarchy, privilege and empowerment are no longer daunting and limited to academia; rather, they are useful and comfortable words that help articulate complex ideas.
At the same time, I realize that my perceived comfort with social science jargon does not necessarily lead to complete understanding of ideas. I am simply able to use the language without hesitation. I believe this is a step towards further discussion and intellectual growth as I move into the next stage of my life.
Moving away from words, I have found that experiencing Sociology and Anthropology leaves a lasting and tangible impression. By this, I mean living out the discipline in everyday life. For example, I often find myself analyzing the social dynamics of a St. Olaf basketball game, the underlying power struggles between housemates and gender biases visible in media. Each of these issues is a way for me to apply what I have learned in Sociology and Anthropology classes in a concrete way. I “practice” my education by testing it out outside of the classroom. The culmination of these two ideas, learned jargon and lived experiences, took place on a semester long abroad program in Costa Rica.
In January 2007, I embarked on a five-month journey to the “rich coast” with the goal of carrying out an independent research project in a rural, agricultural town. I now realize that I began my abroad experience with combined hesitancy and gumption. But in hindsight, my arrival in Costa Rica could not have come at a more ideal academic and personal moment.
Only two things were certain as I boarded the plane and cringed at one last gust of Minnesota wind before entering the relaxed culture of Costa Rica. One, I knew I loved Spanish and wanted to put every effort into improving my language skills. And secondly, I was intrigued by the theoretical discussion of tourism and its impact upon host countries. Aside from those certainties, I relied on the ACM program and my host family to help me through the semester.
Costa Rica challenged me in different ways each day. During the first month, my relationship with the “rich coast” was one sided. Costa Rica was the water and I, the sponge. I soaked up everything I could and did not reciprocate back my ideas and culture, save for filling the blank pages of my journal. There were many moments that I thought to myself, “So this is culture shock.” For example, adjusting to a host family, total immersion into Spanish language and culture, and using city buses in a loud, bustling city.
After the initial culture shock wore off, I slowly started to make efforts to stretch my comfort zone. I walked different routes to school, made friends at the local bakery and took spinning classes each week. Little did I know, I was constantly analyzing and organizing these experiences in San José culture within a sociological and anthropological framework learned during the first two years on the Hill.
At the ACM center, I began researching tourist sites and pored through past literature about tourism. With the help of my advisor, Ivelina, I narrowed my focus to rural tourism with an emphasis in women and sustainability. Over the next few weeks, I prepared interview questions, read books on “doing” ethnography and talked extensively with Ivelina.
At times, the thought of doing ethnography was overwhelming. “What am I doing here?” was a common thought during the planning stages. It was not until I visited my research site for a weekend that the project became real. I was met with genuine kindness and enthusiasm from my new host family and the close proximity of the beach only increased my excitement.
Finally, the day came when I boarded a rickety bus with my tape recorder and rubber boots - a true “gringa.” I was nervous and excited about the next two months in the field. My rural host family was very different from the San José family. They were more conservative politically, religiously and in terms of gender roles. The experience living with two families, one urban and one rural, made real to me the limiting character of categories often discussed in anthropology.
Aside from the new living situation, the most intimidating part of doing ethnography was starting the interview process. I was an obvious outsider and did not have much time to establish myself in the community. Although my advisor and host mother, doña Emilia, helped me contact various community members, nothing was harder than gathering my materials, riding my bike to “the third house on the left, after the creek with a blue door” and approaching the doors of strangers.
As a nod toward Costa Rican friendliness, the informants were more than welcoming, often offering me café and freshly baked arepas. Once I moved past the initial anxiety, my Spanish was smoother and the interviews turned into hour-long conversations or return interviews to continue discussion or simply a lesson in hammock-making. It was in those moments, eating and drinking with my host neighbors, that I felt inklings of professionalism. I realized that ethnography is truly a matter of letting oneself be vulnerable in another culture.
Costa Rica solidified Sociological and Anthropological ideas, concepts, and theories in an authentic, raw experience. It both perpetuated my love of Spanish and served as the impetus for my interest in Women’s studies. Upon re-entry, I found myself intrigued by America’s views of women.
On a whim, I researched requirements for the Women’s Studies concentration out of curiosity. It was only then that I realized I qualified for the concentration contingent upon approval of a topical Spanish class about feminist literature. Upon this realization, I looked back at my previous three years and realized that a majority of my papers, projects and elective classes pertained to either women or Spanish-speaking countries. Unconsciously, I was forming my niche of academic study and interest all along.
In particular, the Women’s Studies concentration complements Sociology and Anthropology in that the curriculum goes deeper into the concepts introduced in Sociology and Anthropology classes. It enhanced my conception of gender and made me realize the intense, enduring power of arbitrary categories. Building upon my time spent interviewing women in Costa Rica, I looked forward to conducting an oral history interview with an American woman. I felt equipped with new language and concepts about women that resonated with my previous experience in Sociology and Anthropology classes.
When I wrote the oral history essay for Women’s Studies I once again “lived out” concepts learned in the classroom. The interview was much less daunting that those conducted in the rural homes of Hone Creek; however, though some of the exoticism was lost, the meaning and impact was not. I learned a lot from the interview and writing process and certain topics discussed in Women’s Studies came alive in Sonja’s story.
In the National Geographic analysis paper, I chose to focus on an issue featuring Cuba. In the essay I grapple with the concepts of exoticism and “otherness.” The Anthropological Theory class challenged me to unravel what I once perceived as common sense. It stretched me mentally and forced me to become a more concise writer. Once again, the concepts of ethnicity, identity and exoticism became real a year later in Costa Rica.
In my hesitant glances toward the future, I look to examples of role models and scholars that have lived out their passions. Those who take what they learn and live it out in daily experiences. Concisely, I find the most impressive are those that act rather than talk. (Finally, St. Olaf’s mission of “ideals to action” makes sense!) I found an example of this in a recent TIME magazine article about S. Ann Soetoro, the mother of presidential candidate Barack Obama.
As a cultural anthropologist, she lived a life full of adventure and passionately promoted the power of education. The article also describes a sense of realism Soetoro possessed. Obama explains, “She wasn’t ideological…she was suspicious of cant.” I admire her realistic character and can only hope to eventually be described not as ideological, but rather, as a practical dreamer.
In the end, experiencing theories rather than reading about theories makes a lasting effect upon me. Still, I realize both are necessary to become a citizen of intellect and motivation. Concepts must become real to make a difference. This is why I want to enter the field of education in the coming years. I have seen the power of education in various contexts and if I can spread knowledge in a practical way, I will live out “ideals to action.” As a Sociology and Anthropology major, I am confident that I possess a set of skills and ideas that will help me lead, teach, listen and write with purpose. In the end, it is people, not the books, to whom I owe thanks.
Ripley, Amanda. "A Mother's Story." TIME 21 April 2008: 36-42.
