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Research and Perspective (featuring Stefanie Mavronis)

This is the second of three posts (the first is here) in which I'm featuring accounts from UMBC undergraduates of how participation in scholarly research is expanding their horizons.  Why talk about research in a Co-Create UMBC post?  Because research involves critical thinking and openness to new explanations and possibilities.  A critical perspective is helpful not just for aspiring scholars but also for leaders and change agents.  If you want to make a difference in the world, it helps to be able to recognize the subtle forces that shape situations, imagine alternative futures, and spot openings for action.  

Here Stefanie Mavronis, a Political Science and Media & Communication Studies major and Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar, shares her experience and reflections:

I completed a four-month study abroad experience in Bolivia and made a 27-minute long research documentary about the use of audiovisual communication by people in Bolivia as a political and cultural tool, a form of resistance, and a way for the people to reclaim their own image. It's all about the way art and media is being used in the larger context of decolonization. The process was one of the most interesting parts. As I expected, my initial research proposal began to change and take a new shape when I got to La Paz, despite doing the research before I left to craft a well-written proposal. I came close to completely scrapping my project and thinking that I might leave the country without successfully completing my project. However, after happening upon a few great contacts that are now lifelong friends and allowing my investigation to be fluid, I was able to create something really interesting. I followed their lead instead of locking myself into a proposal that turned out to not be as relevant as other happenings in my field of interest.

Participating in this sort of research, especially one that seeks to work with other people instead of "study" them, is relevant to the work that I'd like to engage in in my future. Having the opportunity to conduct research in La Paz, Bolivia was an incredible experience for many reasons. It was a moment where semesters worth of classroom research on the country, its politics, and its landscapes intersected with the place itself. Never before have I created a product over which I feel more ownership. I'm not sure just yet where the future takes me, but I'm leaving my research experience feeling inspired and armed with the right tools to create new understandings at UMBC and in the larger community. Ideally, I'd love to bring back the empowerment tactics I learned from my Bolivian friends to the context of the (North) American urban experience.

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Posted: November 30, 2011, 3:35 PM

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