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Anthropology Student Stories

From Dallas To Rio: Anthropology Research Around the Globe

The research of SMU Anthopology Ph.D. student (and Fulbright-Hays Fellow) Kerri Brown is taking her all over the world.  Learn more about her fieldwork in Brazil and how she is making new discoveries as she becomes part of the local communities there.  

I came to Rio de Janeiro one year ago to start ethnographic fieldwork for my dissertation. I had done short research stints in Rio three times before — two or three months at a time in the summers — but no amount of preliminary research, coursework, or proposal writing could have fully prepared me for the challenges of longterm fieldwork.

My specialty within anthropology is medical anthropology, which is the study of how social, cultural, and/or biological factors collectively influence human disease and illness. Medical anthropologists study everything from birthing practices, to HIV/AIDS policies, to how “suffering” is defined in different cultural contexts. My research is on how recent policies dealing with traditional medicine are affecting the traditional populations that they often target. Specifically, my work focuses on Afro-Brazilian groups, who are increasingly gaining an array of political rights.

The best way to describe anthropological fieldwork is “messy.” My research topic is broad in the sense that there are several ways to approach it, and several levels at which to analyze it. The “policies” that I’m referring to, for example, are both national and international, and span the sectors of human rights, the environment, and health. But my research is also narrow in that it focuses on a very particular group and topic, both of which are constantly being redefined and contested.

So, arriving in a metropolitan area of 12 million people to explore these issues was no easy task. What kinds of events should I attend? How do I find those events? What kinds of people should I talk to? What kinds of social groups should I be involved with? How should I balance reading and dissecting policies with doing on-the-ground work? Creativity, flexibility, and an open mind are indispensable. Many of my days consist of going to public events and/or demonstrations that are related to my research topic, and speaking to attendees and organizers. Other days consist of simply hanging out with research participants, conversing with them naturally about a variety of topics in spaces of their choosing. After I explain my research to people, conversations often lead to invitations to events, places, and even to their homes. It is in these moments and spaces that I gain the most valuable on-the-ground perspectives.

Kerri picking oranges, one of many examples of fieldwork’s “surprises.”

Perhaps the most gratifying moments of field research are the ones that come as complete surprises. I can never truly predict where or how I’ll meet people who will become significant to my research. An early example of this was when I was volunteering at media literacy workshops at a local NGO. After I mentioned my research to one of the workshop participants, she told me about a community traditional medicine pharmacy that she frequented in her neighborhood. She invited me to the pharmacy, which ended up being heavily involved in questions of traditional medicine policies. It was at that pharmacy that I first began to understand the disconnect between how communities organize around traditional medicine and how policies approach traditional medicine. It was also there that I learned that the use of traditional medicine is often related to a lack of government healthcare services in marginalized communities.

I often use these surprises as gauges: How relevant is my research topic in the daily lives of people in my field sites? Is it a topic that is hardly ever discussed, a topic that is prevalent but stays in the background, or one that is of constant focus? In the example above, my participation in a media literacy workshop, although not obviously related to my specific research topic, led to important information and research connections. The social networks and guiding questions of my research therefore end up looking quite organic. It is often the stories themselves of forming relationships in the field that are telling of larger societal and cultural patterns. Later this month I’ll move on to the second part of my research in the Amazon region of the country, which has a completely different social and geographical landscape from Rio. I look forward to the nervous excitement that navigating new landscapes will bring.

Categories
Admissions Chemistry

Introducing the Ph.D. in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry

We are excited to introduce a brand-new Ph.D. program at Southern Methodist University!  The Ph.D. in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (TCC), offered through our Department of Chemistry, is the first program to offer a dedicated TCC doctoral curriculum.  Utilizing SMU’s High Performance Computing Center (“ManeFrame”), the TCC program will allow students to participate in a vivid research program stretching from software development and coding to simulation of homogeneous and enzyme catalysis, and everything in between.  Find out more online and submit your application for Fall 2017!

 

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Admissions

Dedman Graduate Program Applications: What is the Video Essay?

As deadlines approach, students around the country are getting ready to submit their graduate school applications.  SMU’s graduate programs in Dedman College are doing something new this year as part of our application – including a video essay component.  While it might sound intimidating, it’s actually a very informal way of getting to introduce yourself to the entire admissions committee for your department.  We’d like to share more about the video essay now to help prepare you as you put together your application.

First of all, the video essay is mandatory for the following students:

  • All Ph.D. applicants that: (1) must submit TOEFL or IELTS scores, and (2) have received a TOEFL speaking score below 23, or an IELTS speaking band below 6.5.
  • All international Statistics or Biostatistics graduate applicants, in either the Ph.D. or MASDA programs.

For all other applicants, the video essay is optional.

What should you expect from the video essay?  You will see SMU faculty and administrators asking you about your goals, background, and preparation for your graduate program.  After you see the question, you’ll have 60 – 90 seconds to respond in your own video.  Because it’s all about you, there is no special steps you need to take before recording.  There are no trick questions!  However, you won’t have a chance to re-record your response, so make sure you are ready to film.  You’ll have an opportunity to film as many practice questions as you’d like before filming the real responses.

Many applicants can look the same on paper.  We hope that these video essays will give you a chance to express yourself directly to the admissions committee and share why you are interested in your field.  And don’t worry, we know that video recordings don’t always go perfectly.  Below is an outtake from filming one of our questions, when the wind got a little too aggressive with the equipment.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/orH8f4SGJLQ[/youtube]

Categories
Religious Studies Student Stories

Get to Know Ph. D. Student Andrew Mercer

At SMU, learning happens on campus and all around the world!  Andrew Mercer, a Ph.D. student in the Graduate Program in Religious Studies, had an opportunity to work in Massachusetts this summer.  Here is his story:

Earlier this year, I applied to serve as a teaching fellow for the summer studies program at the Pappas Patristic Institute in Brookline, Massachusetts.  This is a week-long program designed for masters and undergraduate students as well as clergy and laity to have an opportunity to study patristics under the guidance of faculty who are experts in the field. Participants choose two courses to attend, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  Each course is designed and overseen by a professor, and most courses have a PhD student acting as the teaching fellow. In general, the professors choose the texts that will be read and give an introduction to the material, then the teaching fellows guide the daily reading and discussion of those texts. I t is a wonderful way for doctoral students to gain classroom experience, to get to know scholars in the field, and to discuss research projects with other graduate students.

2016 Summer Institute Attendees

I was able to attend this program thanks to a graduate student travel grant from the SMU Graduate Studies office.  I served as the teaching fellow for a course on the problem of evil in patristic theology and philosophy, a topic on which I had written for our core PhD seminar in philosophy of religion.  My role was to field questions on the material and to facilitate the dialogue, which naturally turned out to be a great way of solidifying my own understanding of the topic.  In addition to being a teaching fellow for this course, I attended another course which was more directly related to my area of specialization (patristic ecclesiology) and was able to make a significant contribution there as well.

 

Categories
Alumni Stories History

Spotlight on: Ph.D. Alumnus Matthew Babcock

Prof. Matthew Babcock is an Assistant Professor of History at UNT Dallas, where he has worked as a founding faculty member since it became a four-year institution in 2010.  Prof. Babcock is also an SMU alumnus, graduating with his Ph.D. in history in 2008.