5.17.06 |
When Children Socialize With AcademicsWhen you visit your mom, tidbits from your childhood have a tendency to find their way out of dusty boxes and long-forgotten files to illustrate just what an odd kid you were. This visit home has been no different: my mom dredged up the “dissertation” I wrote when I was eight years old. My mom was a graduate student in Anthropology until I was ten. This means that, aside from my own peers, the people I socialized with were her fellow anthro folks. I sold my magic marker drawings to her advisor, hung out in her lab, and attended parties at which I talked to drunk intellectuals about fossils, Darwin, and demography. At some point, I figured, “hey, if everyone else is writing a dissertation, maybe I’ll take a stab at it”. I settled on a study of the “Poligy People”, Poligy being a toddler pronunciation of Anthropology that stuck around. Here’s the cover, written on a bank freebie memo pad: My initial one-on-one interview, with a woman who focused on archaeology: A burning question Robin sought to answer with her fieldwork: The (plausible) explanation she came up with: An illustration accompanying my second and final interview. Realistic, no? I did not think to have my subjects sign consent forms authorizing the publication of this material. My mom, who has since completed her PhD and now advises researchers on human subjects-related ethics, will likely arrange it so that I’ll never be “published” again. However, I will argue that my work’s online presence is necessary for the good of humanity, which supercedes annoyances like informed consent. After all, the world needs to know how Egypt is really shaped. 3 Responses So FarSay your words |
Michael Stewart said,
May 19, 2006 @ 8:21 am
You know, I’m rather convinced by the “plausible” theory about how the Middle East pottery got to America. Given all the controversy over stolen artifacts recently, it might just be a good time to finally publish this masterpiece.
Brady said,
May 23, 2006 @ 12:26 am
this is tremendous. how do you think you would have spelled “city and regional planning” when you were eight?
Janna said,
May 23, 2006 @ 8:52 pm
thank you for the overwhelming support for my burgeoning academic career. i will undoubtedly reference these blog comments when i begin my search for an advisor.