What is urban anthropology?
Anthropology is often a heavily ethnographic field. Ethnography is a qualitative research method used to study and describe the lives, cultures, and practices of people and communities. While Urban Anthropology applies that same approach to urban spaces, it is not simply “doing anthropology in cities”.
Urban anthropology is about understanding how cities themselves affect the lives of the people that live in them. People make cities, but cities also make people. Urban Anthropologists study cities as complex mechanisms that create culture, identity, and systems of power.
What is immersive learning at Ball State?
Immersive Learning is an alternate class format that connects students with real-world issues through hands-on experiences. Instead of only reading and writing about topics after taking notes in a lecture hall, students take their knowledge of a subject and apply it by working on projects that have tangible outcomes like creating public resources, conducting fieldwork, or contributing to local initiatives.
In our case, Immersive Learning means engaging directly with The Village as both a physical place and a cultural space. While the class includes many readings on important topics that each student is expected to read and understand, we use the readings to apply their concepts by observing, interviewing, and reflecting on life in a real urban environment. This experience challenges us to think critically, communicate, and collaborate, all while contributing something of value to the community.
The research, interviews, and design involved in creating this website are all a product of the class’s immersive learning approach. The class was sectioned into multiple groups that each focused on a unique set of tasks and responsibilities that each contributed to the progress of the project as a whole.
What is The Village Revitalization Project?
“The village isn’t just a street. It could be a place. It’s a home. It’s not just one certain area, it’s what you make of it!”
The Village is a vital part of Muncie, and being situated right outside of Ball State campus, there is a lot of opportunity for community and business to thrive there. The Village Revitalization Project is a large scale construction project that aims to provide more community engagement and living spaces for The Village between now and 2027. According to the official project overview on the Ball State website, the project is a collaborative effort between the university, city leaders, and private development partners. Highlights of the project includes a performing arts center, a hotel, apartments, townhouses, and a community bookstore.
Because the village is situated on the edge of campus, many of the consumers there are students and professors. This transitive population of consumers makes it hard for businesses to thrive. One of the goals of the projects is to bring in more permanent residents that can make up for the slow summers when students are away. The transitive population isn’t necessarily the only reason The Village struggles. Many Muncie citizens feel disinclined to go to The Village. This could be because of how connected to the College it is, or the high prices, or the general cultural openness of the businesses and spaces there. Accessibility is very important for creating safe public place.
The impact this revitalization project will have on The Village is unknown, but we used this class as an opportunity to understand the history and culture of The Village so we can better advocate for it moving forward.