In the last few iterations of our roundtable series, we’ve noticed that the classroom is, in many ways, replicated in the Women’s Center. Yes, we have beanbags and we gather together in a big friendly circle to discuss topics one might not cover in class, but structurally, we were learning in the same exact way. Experts are invited to talk, and we listen. Don’t get me wrong. All of our roundtables brought forth amazing conversations and beautiful insights. As much as the Women’s Center likes to be a space where classroom discussions can continue to grow, we also want to offer a new structure for having those conversations. We want to try something that incorporates social justice and brave spaces into how we learn. So this year we’re trying out knowledge exchanges.

Inspired by the tenets of radical pedagogy that are outlined by scholars such as Paulo Freire and bell hooks, we at the Women’s Center want to create space for learning that blurs the power dynamics of a typical teacher-student relationship and posits, instead, a team of “co-investigators.” For example, we envision an opportunity for professors, students, staff, community members, etc. to all come together to learn from each other and work out problems using their unique knowledge bases. This as opposed to a teacher leading a class to the solution of a problem. We hope that knowledge exchanges can be a sort of respite from the classroom for both students and teachers, as well as staff and all the other folks on our campus.

Missy introduced me to the concepts of pedagogy and andragogy, which strongly inform our Knowledge Exchanges.

In our knowledge exchanges we aim to do several things:

• Create a network of lifelong learners and curious co-investigators among all aspects of the UMBC community.
• Collaborate on dynamic solutions to complex, multi-faceted problems
• Have fun! No, really. A big goal with these knowledge exchanges is to build relationships across campus and make friends with the folks that are gathered together.

Led by Brave Space guidelines, we hope to have conversations that are led by the following values:

• We will respect each other as both learners and knowers; experts of our own lives and experiences.
• We will challenge ourselves as active listeners, community members, and co-investigators to collaborate with those gathered.
• We will build community by nurturing our relationships, holding each other accountable, and collaborating together in an equitable structure.

Knowledge exchanges will be a little messy at first. We’re all still sorting out what it means to work towards a learning space that’s more equitable to all involved. That’s what’s fun, though. We’re able to get messy, learn from each other, and hopefully use our combined knowledge to find the right questions and perhaps move towards some really good solutions.

Over the spring semester, we have three Knowledge Exchange events planned. Topics are broad and (hopefully) worthy of deep discussion creative problem-solving, and imagination:

• Thursday, February 22^nd 3:30 pm to 5 pm: Super Representation
  • Black Panther is out, and we want to know what you think about all of this superhero kerfuffle. We’re thinking about diversity in superhero movies, comics, toys, video games, etc. and we’re thinking about it more broadly than the tokenized sexy lady assassin or the wheelchair bound sidekick. Let’s talk about the possibilities of superhero diversity!
  • Partners: Dr. Elizabeth Patton, faculty in Media and Communication Studies

• Wednesday, March 14^th, 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm: Consciousness Raising: Past, Present, and Future
  • Consciousness raising is an integral of feminist movements. Simply, consciousness raising is a gathering focused on learning more about experiences different from your own. In this Knowledge Exchange, we want to look back at the history of consciousness raising, how (and if) it happens now, and what it could look like in an ideal future.
  • Partners: Dr. Jodi Kelber-Kaye, Assistant Director of the Honors College

• Tuesday, April 24^th, 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm: Mediating Media Intake
  • Do you ever read or watch or listen to the news and just want to cry? Or flip a table? Or hide? Us too. Let’s discuss strategies for keeping up to date and also keeping our mental and emotional health. In this Knowledge Exchange, we’re going to talk media literacy and conscious consumption.
  • Partners: Dr. Rebecca Adelman, faculty in Media and Communication Studies

BEYA STEM Career Fair and Conference

FREE!!!!

Open to All Students (undergraduate and graduate). If you haven’t already registered, registration is still open!

Connect with Organizations seeking Interns and Full-time Hires along with Graduate Admissions Representatives

BEYA STEM Conference - February 8-10, 2018

STEM Career Fair - Saturday, February 10, 2018 (10 am - 4 pm)

Washington Marriott Wardman Park
2660 Woodley Road NW
Washington DC, 20008

The BEYA STEM Conference sponsored by Career Communications Group will be held February 8-10, 2018 as part of this large annual conference, representatives from several major corporations and universities will be on hand to meet with students pursuing careers in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields as well as Business, Finance, and Marketing.  Why you should attend:

·         FREE Career Fair

·         Career exhibits

·         50 + seminars and workshops

·         On the spot job offers

·         Networking with recruiters

·         Job readiness certification for college students.

The Career Fair portion of the conference, on Saturday, is free of charge for UMBC students and alumni with an active UMBC email address. All students are welcome to attend. Dress to impress and bring plenty of updated resumes!

Registration is required.

To register and for additional information, go to:

http://careers2.umbc.edu/calendar/fairs/beya2018.php

Deadline to pre-register is Feb. 5 (Career Fair) and Feb. 2 for the entire Conference

Contact Diane Crump-Fogle (crump@umbc.edu) or Chrisi Giannakaris (chrisig@umbc.edu) of the UMBC Career Center for additional information.

Free Shuttle Bus

There will be a free shuttle bus to transport students to and from the career fair on Saturday. If you will need transportation, be sure to complete the shuttle bus registration form at the bottom of the BEYA registration page: http://careers2.umbc.edu/calendar/fairs/beyabus.php. Please note that the free shuttle bus is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The free shuttle will run only on Saturday between 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Transportation to and from other conference events (such as the BEYA Gala held Saturday evening) is on your own.

For a list of some of the employers, see:  List of Employers

URCAD is Wednesday, April 25, 2018. 

The deadline to apply to be a presenter is Feb. 26, 2018

Information and applications are available at: ur.umbc.edu/urcad

At URCAD, student work is shared through oral presentations, posters, artistic exhibits, performances, and film. Researchers work with faculty mentors on independent research, or research that is part of the mentor’s on-going projects.  They are from all disciplines, and can be working on a thesis, capstone project, part of a scholars or honors program, or they can be unaffiliated.This campus-wide celebration of achievement affirms UMBC’s commitment to the twin goals of research and a distinctive undergraduate experience. 

Sarah is an Interdisciplinary Studies (INDS) major specializing in visual anthropology (December '17). She was a Lineman Artist Scholar and the recipient of TWO Undergraduate Research Awards (URA).

Title of your research project: Dona de Casa: Women of Rio’s Affordable Housing Movements

For this project, I was researching the roles that women play in affordable housing movements, specifically those in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. My research focused on the ways in which women’s participation in the public and political sphere appear to subvert traditional Brazilian gender roles while actually crystallizing those roles in many ways. I also explored the use of collaborative photography methods to give more agency to my subject in regards to their representation.

Who is your mentor(s) for your project? My mentor was Dr. Sarah Chard of the Anthropology Department. I took a number of anthropology courses taught by Dr. Chard and absolutely loved them, even though they were really difficult! She is someone whose work and opinion I greatly respect so I knew she would offer great guidance on this project. 

How did you become interested in this project? I had studied in Brazil the year before on my first URA award, while researching a project on global perspectives in documentary photography, where I used photography to document the Rio Doce mining disaster. About halfway through the year I knew I wanted to stay in Brazil for the coming summer to get some field research experience and practice my Portuguese. I ended up sending out emails to anthropology professors around the U.S. whose work is focused in Brazil. I got a few responses, one of which was from Dr. John Burdick from Syracuse University, the head of the larger, NSF-funded, project that I ended up completing my research under. I was able to get a URA that summer to spend a month in Rio, getting acquainted with Dr. Burdick’s research team and beginning to understand the housing movements there. I decided to apply for more funding the following year to spend two months there to complete my research project.

How has being a URA scholar helped you to carry out this project? The URA scholars program was instrumental in my ability to complete this project. The first URA I received gave me the necessary financial support to set the foundation for my research and the second URA allowed me to follow-through in order to complete more in-depth research there. Aside from the purely financial benefits, the URA program gave me experience in grant writing and research presentation that has proven to be invaluable. 

What has been the hardest part about your research/what was the most unexpected thing about being a researcher? The research process was a fantastic learning experience but certainly was not without its difficulties. I’d say most challenging was navigating the research environment; Rio is not the safest place and can be stressful to get around, especially with valuable camera equipment. The fact that I was working with such a limited time in the field was also frustrating at times, because it’s harder to adapt to unplanned and unavoidable schedule changes when you have little time to reschedule things.

What has been the most rewarding part? Meeting so many new people and learning so much was easily the most rewarding part. I know that is really broad but this whole project has been such a learning experience and not only have I learned a tremendous amount about gender relations, the politics of representation, and housing rights in Brazil, but I learned about myself and what I am looking to do work-wise post-grad. I was working with a research team and felt challenged at times as the youngest and most inexperienced team member but my team was incredibly supportive and I learned so much from my fellow researchers. Furthermore, I established friendships with the women that participated in my research and sent them any of the photos I took of them. It gave me a great sense of gratification to see photos I had taken of them being used as their profile pictures as it signaled to me that they were truly happy with them. 

How will you disseminate your research? I shared my research in my INDS capstone presentation this past December and have plans to exhibit photos in Brazil and hopefully elsewhere in the coming year. I will also be posting images and text on my website, sarahwmiller.com. Finally, I made a book to incorporate my analysis and photographs and have sent some copies to Brazil to share with my project participants there. 

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research?  From my experience, it pays to be bold when reaching out to people you are interested in working with. Sometimes the traditional routes to getting research experience don’t offer you the experience you want so don’t be afraid to find other avenues to get where you want to be. Also do something you’re really interested in, it makes the whole process (from grant applications to field work to analysis) that much easier. 

What are your career goals? Currently, I’m taking some time to travel and work on some photo projects that I have been wanting to do for awhile. I’ll be applying for a Fulbright grant this coming year and am looking at other grant and residency programs to fund my photo work. On the side I’ve been working with the National YoungArts Foundation as well which keeps me connected to the artistic community. I’ve thought about going to graduate school but I’m going to wait a couple years before I look at that more seriously! 

See the video of Sarah's INDS capstone presentation on her work here: https://my.umbc.edu/groups/inds/posts/73304

Be like Sarah!  Apply for a URA award and get up to $1500 to support your research.  Go to: ur.umbc.edu/ura.  Deadline: Feb. 16, 2018.