Digital Representations in Qualitative Cultural Research, Romania, 12 May-6 June 2011‏

This will be the the sixth time this course AN450
> Anthropological Field School has been offered in
> Romania.  However since the April 7, 2011 course
> announcement, some significant changes in course content and
> structure have been made.
>
> If you are interested in the visual/digital representation
> and analysis of culture and cultural information, this
> course is an opportunity to consider.  This summer
> Robert Mugge's interests and experise, along with some of
> his students, will integrated into this summer's research
> cycle as well into the writeup/representation/presentation
> of this summer's data and its analysis.  Mugge is the
> university's endowed professor in telecommunications: For
> more on Mugge,
>
> see http://www.robertmugge.com
>
> In the past, students from Drexel, Emporia, IU,
> Bloomington, Pratt, UCONN, USF and University of Illinois
> Urbana-Champaign have taken part.
>
> This summer we will look village sites whose information
> infrastructures were recently "modernized" by NGOs and take
> up some issues related to information/knowledge exchange,
> globalization and modernity.
>
> Last summer this experiential experience was funded in part
> by
> Bilbionet, a project International Research & Exchanges
> Board (REX)
> is implementing in Romania with Bill & Melinda Gates
> Foundation money.
> It is possible that IREX will fund part of this summer's
> work too.
>
> The course is designed to build competence and confidence
> in qualitative research methods, particularly ethnography
> and related visual/digital forms. There will be
> opportunities to conduct collaborative (small group)
> qualitative research in areas of one's interest and to
> publish from the data streams collected in the field. The
> course is intended to provide students with an analytical
> toolkit which they can apply to subsequent projects of their
> own.  These are a few of the publications that emerged
> from this course.
>
> accepted Cheryl Klimaszewski, Gail Bader and James M.
> Nyce.  Studying up (and down) the cultural heritage
> preservation agenda: Observations from Romania.
> European Journal of Cultural Studies
>
> 2010 Cheryl Klimaszewski, Gail Bader and James M.
> Nyce.  Who Wins? Who Loses?: Representation and
> “Restoration” of the Past in a Rural Romanian
> Community.  Library Review 59 (2):92-106.
>
> 2009 Cheryl Klimaszewski and James M. Nyce.  Does
> Universal Access Mean Equitable Access?: What an Information
> Infrastructure Study of a Rural Romanian Community Can Tell
> Us.  New Library World 110(5/6): 219-236.
>
> This study visit is sponsored the Rinker Center for
> International Programs and the Department of Anthropology,
> Ball State University.
>
> For details about previous visits to Romania, please go to
>
> http://www.bsu.edu/news/article/0,1370,7273-850-64867,00.html
>
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/romania/737677/Saxon-corner-of-a-Romanian-field.html
>
> For a student's perspective, see
>
> http://www.onehandlaughing.com/viscri
>
> Graduate/undergraduate students from any discipline may
> apply.  Students are also welcome to email me re: this
> research/study visit.  Class dates are May 12-June
> 6.  This summer  the cost is estimated to be
> $5050.  This includes airfare, food/ lodging, car
> rental/gas, translators and 6 credit hours.