Mindfulness MOOC
Just signed up to this #freeonlinecourse 'Mindfulness for Wellbeing and Peak…' by @MonashUni @FutureLearn https://t.co/NSu7Up8l11 #mscedc
— Helen Walker (@helenwalker7) February 12, 2017
from http://twitter.com/helenwalker7
via IFTTT
As I outlined in our discussion around course choices on the hub, I signed up for this course for a number of reasons. The first is a personal one: following an accident 4 years ago which resulted in me losing some of my hearing, I was prescribed mindfulness therapy as a way of managing the resulting tinnitus and hyperacusis. As a seasoned cynic, I was, at the outset, sceptical about the value of this. However, the results were staggering and I continued, for some years afterwards, to meditate regularly. This has dropped off in recent months, as the busyness of life intensified. As Kozinets counsels, it’s important when undertaking a netnographic study, to choose an area which is of interest to you. I also hope that undertaking this MOOC might restart my own mindfulness practice again.
Secondly, there is an increasing use of mindfulness in schools and I am hoping to engage in discussions around this with the course participants.
Thirdly – and perhaps most importantly – I opted for this as there was already a lot of course ‘noise’, both via Twitter and within the course study group. If we are to study community cultures, I wanted to select an active and vibrant community.
2 thoughts on “Mindfulness MOOC”
Hello Helen, thanks for this really clear rationale for selecting a field site for the mini ethnography.
Bearing in mind your interest in the subject of the MOOC, will you be participating in the different activities? You’re not required to do this and indeed might not have the time, however participant observation – where the researcher gets actively involved in activities with the community (rather than observing from the edge) in order to better understand their rituals, has a longstanding tradition within ethnography.
Hello James, yes, the intention is, absolutely, to try to engage with at least some of the activities. As I mentioned, I’m keen to reinvigorate my own mindfulness practice, so see this as an ideal opportunity to achieve that. I studied Anthropology for just a year as an outside course for my first degree many moons ago; it’ll be interesting to scratch through my memories of this as I undertake the study too! I do remember we explored much around researchers’ roles and involvement and their impact upon the community they were studying.