Self Evaluation of my Academic Year (2009)

Hello Classmates! Today I’m going to do a brief essay doing a self evaluation about my academic year. First of all, I want to remember you, my dears friends, that I’m studing Anthropology, but I came from Bachillerato, so I’m in second year of there and in first of anthropology. I know that is a little difficult to understand some time my academic situation but, believe me, sometimes neither I understand. If I have to evaluate my academic performance this year, I have to separated my analized by topics. First I’m going to talk about how much I learn this year and secondly about my performance.

So…about the learning topic… I think this year, and in fact my two years at university, have been very interesting in this area. Because my spectrum of knowledge has grown a lot, many doors of different discipline have been open and I had the chance to explore each one. And that allow me to make, what I think it´s a good decision, about what career follow after the baccalaureate. Also I can say about this year, which I had very interesting classes and teachers, like, for example, philosophy of social sciences, anthropology, social Chilean’s history and Latin-American history, despite I didn’t like the teacher, but the books that he gave us to read were very interesting.

Secondly about my performances…I have to say that I don’t made my best effort…why? I’m not sure, but I think it was because I have some familiar problems that affect my concentration and hours of study. And also because the rhythm of study in baccalaureate was quite different that in anthropology, which we have to read so much more and study less by memory. Despite all this things, I know that I can increase my marks and next year will be so much better.

Summarizing, I think this year was good, not excellent but neither intolerable. It could be better but I don´t have nothing to complain about because I although learn a lot of new things and I have many new experiences that the only way to have it, is living it. Well dear classmates, I think this is my last post… I hope some things that I say here, in these blogs session were interesting to you, or at least wasn’t too bored to read.
Lucky in this end of semester and in your exams (if you have to do someone)
So, Bye!

A Piece of News

Hi everyone! today I'm going to talk about a new which appears in the newspapers "el mercurio" of today talking about some new information about the suppose espionage that Chile makes to Peru about the army that they have.
The news began talking about the aparition of a few emails writed between Victor ( the suboficial of the aerial force of Peru) and Oscar ( the chilean spy) asking for information about MIG-29 upgrade, the radar RMTH-3747, the plan of training of the aereo material combat, helicopters and transport, the information about the state of some prject of intelligence, the radar installation system, the national system of remote sensing from space and the army Halcón-Cóndor 2007.
Honestely, I think all this matter about espionage is ridicolous and have a hugh repercution in the population that only favors to the hate and angry between two peoples that most be brothers.
If this news is truth, well, always and in every country exist the posibility of espionage, but I think we don't have to promote this type of attitudes because they create an atmosphere of distrust that don't help anybody and dificult any instance of dialogue.
Well, that's all for today ....or that I hope...:(
See you soon!
Bye

Challenges in Anthropology

Hi classmates!! today I'm going to talk about the challenge of my carreer.Well, first of all I have to say that the students of anthropology of the whole country (or almost we tried)
was held last week at our faculty. The title of the meeting was: “Ruptures, experiences and projections”, so students from different points meet to know what has been done , what is been doing in all the different anthropology schools of Chile, in order to propose general perspectives about how us, as students of anthropology, believe the career should be project toward the next future.

If you ask me, students from others universities had a very different perspectivefrom ours. I don’t want to comment their way of how to make anthropology, or compare it with the way from this university, because I think is not appropriate (at least not in this moment). I think one big challenge of the discipline is to generate an open and critical discussion among the differents points of view of the anthropology, especially among different universities. In fact, studying Social Anthropology in Valdivia than in Santiago is complete different, not only because they are immersed in different realities, but also because there are differences in the academic program and methodological focus of each faculty.

One important challenge of the discipline, especially of social anthropology, is the little work demand from the society (maybe I should use the word market instead of society, but I’m not comfortable thinking that your job opportunities depends exclusively on the fluctuations of the economical market). A lot of students enrol the career thinking that they can make a real contribution to society studding anthropology, but when they face the “work world” they discover that maybe is not possible to do what they really want, because almost nobody gives money to do social researches, and if they do, is because there are some economical interest on it. In a similar way, in our country forensic anthropologist don’t get the enough acknowledgment from their work as a forensic scientist (a doctor) could get.

I have to admit, that is true that anthropology is a new discipline (at least in Chile), but I believe is time for the society to recognise this discipline can help to solve serious problems that they have, like the Mapuche conflict, and several more.

I cannot tell about technological challenges of the discipline because I’m don't know it yet with the technical or technological display, like computational programs, used in anthropology.

Well, I think this is all for now!
I hope everyone is good in this final semester!
see you!
bye

Good and bad points

Hello classmates!!
Today I'm going to talk about good and bad point of the last semester.

I think last semester was great, because I learned a lot of things, and a world of options was opens with my entry to this faculty. I learned to know new people and work with them. It's truth that it was a very hard semester and I had to study a lot, but all this efforts had paid off in all sences.

Also a start a "sport" in my free time, I'm learning flamenco, which is very great and where I also knew new people (even of other campus) of differents years of study and it was very fun the classes with all they.

The challenges that I had to face was the academic requirements that's very difficult when we start but with the time I get used to it, so now a I'm very happy and ready to face new challenges.

Well I think that's the summary of this first semester, I hope yours had been so great like mine.
See you in class!
Bye

Summary from a career-related article from The Guardian

France was paying tribute to one of its greatest intellectuals, the social anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss, who has died at the age of 100.

Lévi-Strauss was a structuralist thinker, who devoted his five-decade career to the study of the human species around the world, is credited with having revolutionised the study of anthropology for the 20th century.His structuralist method, in which he searched for the underlying patterns in outwardly diverse social rituals and mythology, led him to study the differences- and similarities- between western countries and American Indian and Amazonian tribes.

His career blossomed in the 1950s with the publication in 1955 of Tristes Tropiques, a book hailed by many as one of the greatest works of the century. In it, he predicted the eventual demise of the human race. His theories, espoused in a series of highly acclaimed publications including The Savage Mind and the four-part Mythologiques, led to him taking his place in the pantheon of France's great 20th century thinkers.

People like the foreign minister Bernard Kouchner said Lévi-Strauss stood out not only for his scholarly accomplishments but also for his "moral convictions". "[He] broke with an ethnocentric vision of history and humanity," Kouchner said. "At a time when we are trying to give meaning to globalisation, to build a fairer and more humane world, I would like Claude Lévi-Strauss's universal echo to resonate more strongly."

On the other hand, Hélène Carrère d'Encausse, perpetual secretary of the Académie Française, of which Lévi-Strauss was a member, praised his "extraordinary openness of spirit". "He was a thinker, a philosopher ... We will not find another like him," she told French radio.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/nov/03/claude-levi-strauss-dies

Improving your Faculty Facilities

Hello classmates!
Today I'm going to talk about the absence of somes facilities in my faculty.It's truth that not all is bad but always it can be somes improvements, specially if we want to open the comunnities to all kind of people.
For example, for handicap people it will be impossible to log into the faculty. First because the few access for handicap are not visible and secondly because the few that we have are hardly accessible.

Another thing, which is a problem (I supose for all student) is the scarse books that the library have. Sometimes we have to go to another faculty searching a book which are of our own careers. So is very frustrating go to YOUR library and not found a book of your carrer or if it exist there are only one copy of it. In the same issues, exist the problem that the days you can keep a book of another library, sometimes is too short.

About the infraestructure in my faculty, I think is not too bad, but , like I say previously it can always improve. In this topic, I think the ventilation of the classroom are not very good, because when you have a class with 60 persons and only two windows, it can be hard to follow what the teacher says if you are stifled in the room.

So, what would be my first steps to dealing with this situation? Say what I think in the spaces created for express student opinions and propose some solution for this problems. For example, for the problem to the access for handicaps we have to install more ramps and signage for all people know where there are. To improve the libraries problem, first I will buy more books and then install an egalitarian system of loan for all students. Finally, we most improve the ventilation system of rooms.

All this things, I think will improve the student life, making ease some aspects very important for a student like the case of the purchase of books and oxygen for our brains to paid attention in class.

Well, I think that's all for now.
See you soon!

Election Day

Hi classmates!
Today I'm going to talk about the election day. I have to say that I'm not registered to vote. Why? Simple. Because I don't beleave in any politician who presented in this election year (or in any election, because i believe the politician system in our country is worn and very tainted). I think anyone represented me, so why I have to give my vote to someone who don't represented me?
Also I think electoral campaings are appalling, they don`t say anything real, utopias are sold promising a better country (promeses that they don't not intend to keep) and the method to win votes is disgusting.Because all candidates go to rural sectors to give gift to people to some way to buy them and buy they votes.
If you ask me, about what the qualities I think a person for running for president must have, I have to say that this person have to be honest, inteligent (with at least with an university carreer) and with the real force to make change and not left alone with the words. But this person doesn't exist yet in my country , because old politicians no leave young people and minorities be included in the system.

Talking about politicians, I've have to say that I never though in become a politician because I think I don´t won't to be a a public figure. So if, I have the "chance" ( if we can talk like a chance, a good think to became a politician) to work in a ministry I think it would be in the culture ministery. Making what? I don't know....

Problems or rather thematics that I think require an immediate solution in my country are in the area of education (access, price), health , transport, correction of the binominal system and review the financial system of proyect in culture.
Well, that's all for today.
See you in class!