A couple weeks ago, I presented a research paper for the AnthroExpo at CSUN. I did my research for a seminar class about festivals, pilgrimages and Victor Turner; the resulting paper was about twice the length it needed to be. At the end of the semester, I was invited to present it to the Expo, but I needed to shorten the paper to about a third the length. It was tricky (and occasionally heartbreaking!), but I finally condensed it to a 15 minute speech.
The topic: Disneyland & Secular Pilgrimage
Perfect topic, right? It combined two things I love: trips to Disneyland, and anthropology.
After spending a lot of time editing, revising a new PowerPoint, and reading aloud with a timer, at last the big day came. I had never presented something like that outside a regular classroom setting, so it was a pretty big deal to me. My mom and uncle came to see the presentation, too. And as there were some friends who wished they could attend, but couldn't, I asked my mom to record a video. The quality wasn't professional (it was recorded on her iPhone), but I've edited in the slides, as an improvement.
And now, for your illumination... Here's my presentation:
What did you think?
A little blog about anthropology, tourism, popular culture, and the in-between.
