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Independent cross-cultural research on Yoga

Developing confidence as an anthropologist through independent research

2015-2016

Seattle, US and Beijing, China

In 2015-2016 academic year, I conducted a year-long anthropological research on the topic of “What is yoga?”. This independent research started as a project in my Dance Ethnography class. As I dug deeper and deeper with strong interested in inquiring this subject, I expanded my fieldwork to organizations in two countries. In May 2016, I presented this research as performance ethnography in the Mary Gates Undergraduate Research Symposium. Through this experience I developed a solid understanding of personal value and scope of competence. I realized with strong initiate and self-discipline as well as good communication skills , it is possible to make my dream come true, such as conducting independent research as a sophomore.

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​Task Accomplished

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  • Initiated and completed three month long field works among the yoga communities in Seattle, US and Beijing, China.

  • Choreographed and presented in the 2016 Mary Gates Undergraduate Research Symposium.

  • Written a final paper titled “Yoga As Agency To Consolidate Modern Cultural Predicament”

  • Developed a strong interpersonal relationship with my mentors, professor Juliet Mcmains and professor Sasha Welland.

  • Presented in the Experimental Ethnographic Studio class.

Husky Leadership Competencies

Idea Generation and Analysis

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My research started as a class project for the Dance Ethnography. My initial focus was only on the yoga community in US. Yet, as I dig deeper into the question, I realized that it is important for me to compare this western adaption of yoga with the East. Thus I generated the idea of conducting a comparative study between the yoga culture in the global West and East.

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Collaboration

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In order to make this research successful, I invited Professor McMains to be mentor. We collaborated with her through our bi-weekly meeting where I present my research progress to her and seek feedbacks from her. I have also collaborated with Professor Welland and other students in Anthropology 493 Ethnographic Studio.

 

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Verbal communication

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During my collaboration with Professor Mcmains, Professor Welland and students from Anth 493, I utilized different methods of verbal communication, such as small group meeting, large group presentation etc. to report on the progress of my research and ask for constructive feedbacks. This process of verbal presentation has helped me refining my verbal communication skills that ultimately made my formal presentation in Mary Gates Undergraduate Symposium successful.

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Writing

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In order to present my research results, I wrote a 10-pages long paper on this topic.Through the process of writing this paper, I learnt to write formal academic research papers that follow a clear structure, present a clear organization and deliver my authentic thoughts in a accurate and concise manner. An example was how I constructed and reconstructed my title several times to find the best word that conveys precisely what I want to say.

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Nonverbal communication

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For the Mary Gates Undergraduate Research symposium,I choreographed a short ethnographic performance that reconstructed the scenery where I later analyzed through a speech. In Q&A section, I answered question and critiques regarding to my findings and successfully upheld my ground with my empirical research data. I believe that this multi- dimensional presentation gave a more well-rounded representation of my research and my results, and it communicated the message more efficiently to the diverse groups of audiences.

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Scope of Competence

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The most important insight that I gained through this experience was that I am capable of pursuing my passion, in this case conducting independent research, even though it is ahead of the timeline set by social norms. As I slowly realized my scope of competence, I have became more confident initiating inquiries regarding to social problems that I am interested in. I believe the confidence I gained through this experience will not only make me become a more initiative person but will also serve as inspirations for others who feels limited by the social norms. I believe that confidence is a game changer. With this in hand, I can start to change the world by being the changes I want to see.

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