Hello,
I am Scott Saunders; a rising senior majoring in history and minoring in legal
studies. This summer I have been taking part in a research project organized by
4VA and OSCAR and sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The
project is coordinated and headed by Professor Tom Ewing of Virginia Tech who
has not only been guiding the course of this project, but is also a major part
of the research. I am a part of a varied group of eight students and graduates
from three Virginian universities. Our respective academic backgrounds are in
several different areas, including history, mathematics, communications, and
various sciences. The focus of our research is the study of Tuberculosis in 19th
century United States; we conduct this research by searching through and
analyzing obituaries from the years 1870 to 1910. From these obituaries we
gather any and all information about the person, their lives, and the
Tuberculosis which led to their death.
Through
this research we hope to further explore and understand the effect of
Tuberculosis upon Americans; both personally and as a society. Through our
exploration of the disease in America we have further narrowed our research into
various sub-themes. One of the sub-themes that attracted my interest was
medical advertisements for Tuberculosis. The incredible similarities between
contemporary advertisements and 19th advertisements were striking,
although the outlandish claims which were all too common in the latter have
since been regulated.
My colleagues, Professor Ewing, and myself meet every
week over Skype to discuss progress on the research and to develop the next
steps to be taken in the project. Due to the nature of the project and of the
various locations of the team members we use various forms of digital
communications to facilitate. This creates a unique opportunity to evaluate the
effectiveness of digital, collaborative communication. Alongside our typical
data gathering we also read various medical journals, books, and histories
which pertain to both the research as a whole as well as the sub-themes.
As part of the team I have come to understand not only
professional academic work, but also what technology means for academics in the
future. The use of Skype, Slack, Google Docs, and e-mail has proven how
effective digital communication can be for academia. We have shown that the
digital era can produce results that equal or even exceed those produced by projects
which meet physically. This effectiveness and efficiency might be just another
example of the way in which academics can proceed. Collaboration across all
countries, institutions, and fields of study should be taken advantage of.
For
myself, the opportunity to work on a professional program with other students
alongside professorial guidance, has been incredible. To be able to apply what
you have been learning throughout your academic career in a project outside of
the classroom is a relief. A relief in that your studies have been worthwhile
and character forming; that you get to apply it even further when you present
in front of other academics and professionals. It is truly something to be
called an academic colleague by actual scholars and professionals. I have come
to appreciate the importance of effective communication, of sharing ideas, of
learning from others. This last one I believe to be paramount. No matter
someone’s level of experience, in academics or life, there is always purpose in
listening.
