My Final Blog Post

When I started this semester, I found myself most excited for this Anthropology class. I didn’t like the blogs or the quizzes or all of the reading that was thrown at us in the first few days. I felt overwhelmed. But Professor Gaunt’s animism and enthusiasm made me feel excited none the less. I hated the Kottak book. It was almost always a dry read that I could not focus on. I did poorly on all the quizzes because of how hard it was for me to read that book. I did enjoy the second book. The enthnographies that we read this semester helped me to understand concepts better than the Kottak chapters. Blogging was definitely a chore for me this semester. I don’t like to use the internet so much for homework. It’s easy for me to get distracted or forget. I had to make an immense effort to get the comments and blogs done on time. I also didn’t like that other people had access to my thoughts. I would’ve preferred handing in my reactions on a typed sheet of paper. I liked the ideas and most of the videos that were on the Anthropology 1001 blog. I believe those also helped solidify concepts.

Initially, I did not know what anthropology was and I dismissed it (especially when I was choosing an LC freshman semester). But I took it as a requirement and I learned a lot from it. I don’t know if I’ve become more tolerant but I do try to not compare things cross-culturally. I just try to take everything at face value and stay open-minded. My excitement did dwindle throughout the semester. We were too pressed for time and far too many things were being taught to us. A lot of the ideas that I had to share were ignored and I often noticed students with their hands up who were never called on. I hope that next semester, others students will be able to participate actively in class as we were promised in the beginning of the semester. But there was good feedback when I needed it. I feel that my final project, the mini-ethnography, will be much better because I received the direction that I truly needed.