Presenting one’s research at the semi-annual Student Scholar Symposium can be an intimidating task, but for Rebecca Day, a senior CCI student, the rewards of sharing her hard-earned insights made it all worth it. Rebecca has spent the last few months preparing for her presentation on “Living in the Digital Dimension: An Autoethnographic Approach to Assessing our Technologically Mediated Lives through Museum Spaces.” Her project aimed to explore how members of the younger generation respond to a thought-provoking environment without access to technology, and whether this disconnect cultivates their attention and encourages them to be more creative and divergent thinkers. The spaces she selected to conduct her research in were the Orange County Museum of Art and the Laguna Art Museum, with the goal of determining the severity of our attachment to our devices and if spaces like museums could serve as an antidote to our digitally-mediated lifestyles.
I had the opportunity to interview Rebecca Day and delve deeper into her research, her Symposium experience, and her recent accomplishment of receiving the Academic Excellence in CCI Award from Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.
Pictured: CCI Senior Rebecca Day'23, proudly posed in front of her poster at the Student Scholar Symposium on May 03, 2023.
PC: What inspired your topic for the Student Scholar Symposium?
RD: Coming into my independent study with Professor Jamie Larkin, I was interested in pursuing a topic in the realm of museums but wanted to focus primarily on fieldwork. Whereas Jamie has been interested in research on the attention economy, and thought it would be interesting to combine the two topics. So as a result we ended up with the idea of taking an autoethnographic approach for examining our behavioral tactics with our digital devices in museum spaces.
PC: What was it like to present at the Student Scholar Symposium?
RD: I thoroughly enjoyed presenting at the student scholarship symposium as it not only allowed me to present in a non-traditional format, but it also allowed me to connect with the people asking about my research and gave me the opportunity to ask about their digital device consumption habits. This experience led to some insightful conversations about the museum's general ambition for a participatory agenda, and how they might be neglecting their greatest benefit of creating a space designed for divergent thinking.
PC: How did you prepare for your presentation at the Student Scholar Symposium?
RD: Making the poster took many hours, and after spending so much time on it, the information was ingrained in my brain which made it easy for me to understand a flow for my presentation. I rehearsed it many times but also wanted to make sure it didn't sound like a script as I wanted to get the audience involved by asking them questions in the moment.
PC: How did Dr. Larkin and other CCI faculty help or support you throughout your research?
RD: Dr. Larkin was the guiding voice throughout my entire research process. Firstly, he provided me with resources to learn about autoethnography, the attention economy, and the participatory agenda of museum spaces. We then discussed with one another how to frame this research in an autoethnographic format and decided to completely dissociate myself from technology for the 3 museum visits. He has been a constant help throughout my research and the intersection between the attention economy and museum spaces was a brilliant idea that we formulated together.
PC: What did you take away from this experience?
RD: One interesting takeaway from this research project was that it had a profound impact on my personal life. Taking the time to separate my experiences from my digital devices in the museum spaces was a refreshing change that has altered my perception of my everyday interactions with digital devices. It has taught me to think twice before checking my devices and giving in to the distractions a phone provides. I understand that engagement with social media can provide many benefits, but I have learned the importance of setting boundaries throughout this process.
PC: What was your favorite part about your independent study and why did you choose to do one?
RD: There were many parts of this independent study that I thoroughly enjoyed, but the part I appreciated the most was immersing myself in the museum spaces without access to digital devices. I was picked up and dropped off at precise times and was able to document my personal observations, perceptions, and emotions within museum exhibits without the distractions my personal devices provide.
As mentioned earlier, Rebecca's recent achievement also includes being the recipient of the Academic Excellence in CCI Award from Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. This award recognizes her outstanding academic achievements in the minor and “honors those students who have worked tirelessly to succeed in their studies,” according to the award description. In light of this, we had the opportunity to ask Rebecca some questions about this award and her experience in the program.
PC: What was your reaction when you found out you won the Academic Excellence in CCI award?
RD: I felt shocked initially because I feel as though there are many talented students that have contributed to the success of the CCI minor, but I was honored that they selected me to receive the interdisciplinary minor award for academic excellence in the creative and cultural industries.
PC: How did winning the CCI award impact you personally and professionally?
RD: Personally, it has given me a great sense of accomplishment and validation for the hard work and dedication I have put into my studies for CCI. The recognition of my academic achievements has boosted my confidence and motivation to continue striving for excellence in my education and future endeavors. Professionally, by having this award on my resume will make a more attractive candidate for the job market, and has shown my employers the dedication I have towards my academics.
PC: What was your overall experience or thoughts about the minor now that you’re graduating?
RD: I cannot say enough amazing things about this minor. It has given me more opportunities than I can count and has contributed to my academic, professional, and personal growth throughout my time at Chapman university. My college experience would have been entirely different if I hadn’t made the connections that being a CCI minor provided me with. I have made some of my closest friends through CCI and have been able to connect with professors on a personal level. Patrick Fuery encourages contemplative and divergent thinking in the classroom environment and encourages us to challenge societal norms and standard ways of thinking. Patrick's classes have forever changed the way I perceive the world around me. On the other hand, Jamie Larkin has allowed me the freedom to explore different avenues of CCI and tailor them to my own interests. Whether it was our class on sustainability; that reignited my passion for discussion around the climate crisis, discussing cultural memory, where I was able to dive deeper into the symbolic nature of my hometown and the memories it works to preserve, or working on museums intersection with attention economy, where I was able to design my own research focus; he never failed to keep me engaged in the learning environment, and for that, I am forever grateful. I have loved every moment of being a CCI minor and am sad to leave it behind, but I am looking forward to seeing how it will continue to flourish in the future.
We thank Rebecca for taking the time to share her thoughts on what it was like to put together and present such an intriguing and insightful undergraduate research project, as well as her reflections on her experiences within the CCI minor. Like many other exceptional CCI seniors, Rebecca will be graduating next weekend, May 19th-21st (link to Commencement page https://graduation.chapman.edu/), and embarking on her journey towards the future. While it is sad for the CCI Center and Minor to bid farewell to these students, our feelings of sadness are overshadowed by our excitement to witness their accomplishments.
It is also comforting to think that these graduates have never really gone from CCI and will always be a part of the CCI community as alumni. We intend to keep in touch with them and proudly celebrate their accomplishments as they continue to go out and disrupt the world in the most wonderful ways possible.