Note: This is a student project from a course affiliated with the Ethnography of the University Initiative. EUI supports faculty development of courses in which students conduct original research on their university, and encourages students to think about colleges and universities in relation to their communities and within larger national and global contexts.
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Description
Title: | Encounter: A Profile of Campus Ministry at Illinois State University |
Author(s): | Holm, Kristin |
Subject(s): | Registered Student Organization
Religion Christianity Social Networks ANTH285 F07 ISU |
Abstract: | In this paper, I discuss the results of an ethnographic project about how encounter, a religious student organization, generates meaningful and sustainable community for students at Illinois State University. By way of participant observation at numerous encounter events, including worship, small groups, leadership meetings and social functions, as well as interviews with three staff members, two student leaders, and two student participants not on the leadership team, I show that encounter has a unique ability to meet the needs of Christian students because of its flexible yet durable leadership structure, its focus on building relationships as a primary goal, and its tendency to produce broad student networks which extend beyond the formal organization itself. Based on these preliminary findings, I argue that student religious groups in general demand more attention than they are currently receiving from researchers and the university administration. I also recommend that Illinois State University make a concentrated effort to establish ongoing relationships with all registered student organizations, so as to better promote successful student networking opportunities and improve communication with those organizations which shape the lies of many students on campus. |
Issue Date: | 2008-03-05 |
Type: | Text |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2142/3755 |
Publication Status: | unpublished |
Date Available in IDEALS: | 2008-03-05 |
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
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Student Communities and Culture
The university offers an extraordinary opportunity to study and document student communities, life, and culture. This collection includes research on the activities, clubs, and durable social networks that comprise sometimes the greater portion of the university experience for students. -
The University and the Community
This collection of student research interrogates the relationships between the university and the local community.