HudsonMemo1

Memo #1: Project Hopping

Question || Why Now? || How prepared? || Bias || Fields of Work || Funding ||
 * Topical Area || Data Sets || Social Theoretical
 * Yoga || Statistics on the prevalence of yoga and any studies conducted on health benefits; participant observation, perhaps as a student in a yoga teacher training program; interviews with yoga instructors and students; photographs and other visual images || I’d like to do research on how yoga changes perceptions of the body and the lifeworld for those who practice yoga. I’m particularly interested in how yoga transforms the way people relate to the body, and in the way yoga synthesizes facets of life---religion, exercise, social activities, etc. How does yoga transform ontological perceptions? How does yoga change values and priorities? || Yoga culture has become firmly established in US culture—it has been present in the US for many years, since the 70s. But now, I feel that yoga is becoming more institutionalized. Businesses now offer a “yoga hour” at lunch-time. More studies are conducted on the benefits of yoga. I wish I had a schematic chart that described and marked different stages in how “things” are adopted and become part of the fabric of cultures over time. Where would yoga fall on that spectrum? Overall, I think the interest and momentum building behind yoga is worth looking at—for what it can tell us about trends in health and spiritual cultures more broadly. || I think that I’m somewhat well prepared to do a project on yoga. I certainly have a lot of personal experience with and interest in yoga. I’m already part of, networked into, a vibrant yoga community, which is part of a larger yoga community (Upstate NY). There is actually a name for the Upstate NY yoga community—the bhajan belt, like the potato or bible belt. I also think that my training in feminist literatures, women’s health, and STS has prepared me for such a project. I am not as familiar with yoga philosophy, but I’m not sure that this project (in the way I conceive of it) demands in-depth knowledge of yoga philosophy at this point. || I am certainly inclined toward thinking that yoga DOES provoke transformation in personal experiences with the body and lifeworld. I come to this project with a lot of personal experience and investment in yoga. || I can readily identify audiences in women’s studies who are concerned with health and the body. I can see audiences in cultural anthropology and in STS. Certainly there is a very large, active, and engaged yoga community, which pops in and out of many many arenas. || NSF, Wenner-Gren, NIH, I’ll also have to do more research into what women’ studies and yoga organizations might fund such a project. ||
 * Bodywork || Lots of participant observation… Certainly interviews with people who practice bodywork—massage, acupuncture, yoga therapy, reiki, etc. Interviews with people who receive such therapy. I’d also like to include visual data here, photographs in particular. This would primarily be an ethnographic project. || How do bodyworkers conceptualize their practices in relation to health, work, community, and the body? What factors and conditions bring people to practice and receive bodywork? What benefits are derived from bodywork? How does bodywork affect understandings of the body? How does bodywork affect lifestyle? || Bodywork is growing as a profession—the field is growing more than the national average. More and more people are turning to bodywork for health and wellness—24% of Americans had at least one massage in 2006. Politically, I think it’s a good time to do work in CAM. There is hope that state policy will be more open to and inclusive of bodywork in the coming years. More insurance companies and businesses are covering bodywork. In sum, the ball is rolling in a direction where bodywork will become more normalized as a part of healthcare. I would like to contribute to this momentum. || I think I’m well prepared to undertake research in this area. I have a fair amount of personal experience with bodywork, and am about to start training in bodywork. I think that my background in feminist theory and women’s studies would add a lot to this research. I’ve also done a lot of research on health and medicine within my STS curriculum. || I have a certain amount of experience with bodywork; I’m not completely approaching this topic with fresh eyes. I think that, for the most part, bodywork has a positive effect on people. I assume that bodywork stimulates changes in awareness and lifestyle. || Scholars who study women’s work and labor, feminist theories of the body, medical technologies, knowledge transmission. I think people who work in these professions would also be interested || NIH, Wenner-Gren, American Massage Therapy Association ||
 * Astrology || 1) A large part of my data would come from historical sources. I would first look to see where, in which cultures and societies, astrology was present and at what moments in time, among which groups of people. I’m guessing that would come from secondary sources and perhaps that would be a literature review. 2) Somehow I would have to learn about the science and math behind astrology, real astrology, not daily horoscopes. Perhaps, I would do some participant observation in astrology school. 3) But, from a sociocultural perspective, I would derive data from interviews with professional astrologers and their clients. Here I’m thinking about people who get birth charts done and such. || 1) How do people use astrology to make sense of personal events, dispositions, and relationships? 2) How do people evaluate the validity and reliability of astrological information? 3) How does astrology relate to other knowledge or belief systems? || I’m not 100% positive, but my guess is that astrology has made a come back over the last fifty years. I imagine that it wasn’t always printed in magazines and newspapers; the prevalence of astrology on the internet is certainly contemporary. So, why is there a proliferating interest, or publication of, astrological information today? I think interest in astrology was revitalized during the twentieth century and it would be interesting to know, why now? I’m inferring this revitalization from the growth in institutions founded for astrological education and organizations established for regulating the field. I’m also inferring this growth from the proliferation of astrology on the internet, which may or may not be different from other internet provoked revitalizations. I also think it would be a good time to look at how astrology could benefit, grow and develop from advancements in astronomy. || I’m probably somewhat ill prepared to take on astrology as a research topic. I don’t know the more technical and scientific side of it of the field. I’ve really only scratched the surface here. I also lack much depth in astronomical understandings. I do feel well prepared to undertake historical projects, and also investigations that deal with issues of power. || Well, I think that astrology is a science; that it is scientific. I’m inclined to believe that astrology should be taken a lot more seriously, and that more research should be done in developing the field. For example, with advancements in astronomical knowledge, how could new information about astronomical objects and events add to and enhance our understanding of the forces and energies exerted on human relations from seemingly implausible origins. || I think that people working in the history of science would be interested. If I focus on particular social groups, historical periods, or societies, scholars who specialize in those field areas would be interested—for example, people who study gypsies. Astrologers would be interested in this work. || Currently the History of Science Society has teamed us with NASA to offer nine-month fellowships on the history of space science. If I could convince NSF… ||
 * Astrology || 1) A large part of my data would come from historical sources. I would first look to see where, in which cultures and societies, astrology was present and at what moments in time, among which groups of people. I’m guessing that would come from secondary sources and perhaps that would be a literature review. 2) Somehow I would have to learn about the science and math behind astrology, real astrology, not daily horoscopes. Perhaps, I would do some participant observation in astrology school. 3) But, from a sociocultural perspective, I would derive data from interviews with professional astrologers and their clients. Here I’m thinking about people who get birth charts done and such. || 1) How do people use astrology to make sense of personal events, dispositions, and relationships? 2) How do people evaluate the validity and reliability of astrological information? 3) How does astrology relate to other knowledge or belief systems? || I’m not 100% positive, but my guess is that astrology has made a come back over the last fifty years. I imagine that it wasn’t always printed in magazines and newspapers; the prevalence of astrology on the internet is certainly contemporary. So, why is there a proliferating interest, or publication of, astrological information today? I think interest in astrology was revitalized during the twentieth century and it would be interesting to know, why now? I’m inferring this revitalization from the growth in institutions founded for astrological education and organizations established for regulating the field. I’m also inferring this growth from the proliferation of astrology on the internet, which may or may not be different from other internet provoked revitalizations. I also think it would be a good time to look at how astrology could benefit, grow and develop from advancements in astronomy. || I’m probably somewhat ill prepared to take on astrology as a research topic. I don’t know the more technical and scientific side of it of the field. I’ve really only scratched the surface here. I also lack much depth in astronomical understandings. I do feel well prepared to undertake historical projects, and also investigations that deal with issues of power. || Well, I think that astrology is a science; that it is scientific. I’m inclined to believe that astrology should be taken a lot more seriously, and that more research should be done in developing the field. For example, with advancements in astronomical knowledge, how could new information about astronomical objects and events add to and enhance our understanding of the forces and energies exerted on human relations from seemingly implausible origins. || I think that people working in the history of science would be interested. If I focus on particular social groups, historical periods, or societies, scholars who specialize in those field areas would be interested—for example, people who study gypsies. Astrologers would be interested in this work. || Currently the History of Science Society has teamed us with NASA to offer nine-month fellowships on the history of space science. If I could convince NSF… ||
 * Astrology || 1) A large part of my data would come from historical sources. I would first look to see where, in which cultures and societies, astrology was present and at what moments in time, among which groups of people. I’m guessing that would come from secondary sources and perhaps that would be a literature review. 2) Somehow I would have to learn about the science and math behind astrology, real astrology, not daily horoscopes. Perhaps, I would do some participant observation in astrology school. 3) But, from a sociocultural perspective, I would derive data from interviews with professional astrologers and their clients. Here I’m thinking about people who get birth charts done and such. || 1) How do people use astrology to make sense of personal events, dispositions, and relationships? 2) How do people evaluate the validity and reliability of astrological information? 3) How does astrology relate to other knowledge or belief systems? || I’m not 100% positive, but my guess is that astrology has made a come back over the last fifty years. I imagine that it wasn’t always printed in magazines and newspapers; the prevalence of astrology on the internet is certainly contemporary. So, why is there a proliferating interest, or publication of, astrological information today? I think interest in astrology was revitalized during the twentieth century and it would be interesting to know, why now? I’m inferring this revitalization from the growth in institutions founded for astrological education and organizations established for regulating the field. I’m also inferring this growth from the proliferation of astrology on the internet, which may or may not be different from other internet provoked revitalizations. I also think it would be a good time to look at how astrology could benefit, grow and develop from advancements in astronomy. || I’m probably somewhat ill prepared to take on astrology as a research topic. I don’t know the more technical and scientific side of it of the field. I’ve really only scratched the surface here. I also lack much depth in astronomical understandings. I do feel well prepared to undertake historical projects, and also investigations that deal with issues of power. || Well, I think that astrology is a science; that it is scientific. I’m inclined to believe that astrology should be taken a lot more seriously, and that more research should be done in developing the field. For example, with advancements in astronomical knowledge, how could new information about astronomical objects and events add to and enhance our understanding of the forces and energies exerted on human relations from seemingly implausible origins. || I think that people working in the history of science would be interested. If I focus on particular social groups, historical periods, or societies, scholars who specialize in those field areas would be interested—for example, people who study gypsies. Astrologers would be interested in this work. || Currently the History of Science Society has teamed us with NASA to offer nine-month fellowships on the history of space science. If I could convince NSF… ||