EOTU: What is Intervarsity?
anonymous student
(ready to use)
EXPLORE
About the ethnographer
Unit Keywords
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Intervarsity, christian fellowship. |
Partner Projects
| Ethnography of the University |
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Rationale of the Unit
What subculture have you chosen to research and why? What do you know about this group and what do you want to know? List your intial research questions.
The subculture I have chosen to observe and understand is an organization called Intervarsity. Intervarsity is a primarily student led religious organization that promotes the fellowship and growth of Christian college students. It is a wide-spread fellowship with chapters in various colleges across North America. In UIUC alone there are four chapters: Champaign, Urbana, Greek, and Graduate. From what I have learned about them, their main goal is to let every person who goes to the University of Illinois hear the truth about God and have an opportunity to respond to him by the time that they graduate.
I chose Intervarsity because I was raised in a Christian church where many of the teenagers who graduated before me joined this organization and only had positive things to say about them. Also, I am trying to decide between two similar organizations to join and this might make my choice more clear. I came into this college campus looking for a Christian fellowship to join and instead of finding one, I found many. Now I have the problem of finding the perfect one that suits me best and can give me what I am looking for. One major aspect about Intervarsity that made me choose to investigate it more is the fact that they promote the idea of multi-cultural unity.
Questions:
What requirements do you need to be in this group?
How often and where do they meet together?
What can they offer me?
How can I get involved?
What churches do these students go to?
How does it run?
Who funds it?
When was this organization formed?
How do the different chapters interact with each other?
What makes each chapter unique? or are they very similar?
What are the main reasons for students to join?
What are typical characteristics of the members?
What ethnicities are present?
How do the students' actions differ from being around other christians to being around non-christian?
Is there any sense of racial inequality? |
Project diary
I think I might want to focus my paper on the multi-cultural aspect of this organization because this is what interests me most. A good place for me to start could be finding out what the name "Intervarsity" stands for. However I have to be careful not to be too broad and make sure to narrow my search and only focus on the Urbana chapter in UIUC, not Intervarsity as a whole. |
Research Plan
Discuss your initial research method. How will you begin to seek out answers to your research questions? Where will you begin taking field notes? Who are you considering as a possible informant?
I think I might begin my investigation by attending Intervarsity's friday night meetings and jotting down my intitial field notes. They will be very broad covering the location, people, and events. a possible informant caould be the some upper-classmen who have been involved in the organization. I also want to get an outsiders outlook and maybe question what other students from similar groups think about this organization.
A main place that I will be taking my field notes is at "The Loft." This place is a communal area where the friday night meetings take place. It is a casual place where people can relax, play games, and chat with one another. I also plan on taking field notes during one of the independent bible studies that meets in ISR. This will be a more intimate setting with only 8-15 girls. |
Project diary
Serach engines: Google
Databases: Infotrac
Government Sites: Library of Congress
Books
Pamphlets/Flyers/Ads
Newspapers
Magazines/Zines
Cultural Artifacts-P
Archives
Observation/Fieldnotes-P
Surveys-P
Interviews-P
P= primary sources |
Readings, Keywords, and Constructs
Discuss what sources, other than your own field notes, that you consult for your project.
Although field notes are a large part of information for my project, there are other forms of sources where I can derive helpful information. I've started by searching through the Google search engine and glancing at the national Intervarsity webpage. This page has proved to be very helpful by giving me insight into the background of this nation-wide organization. I've also looked at the local Urbana-Champaign website which is an excellent resource for becoming familiar with upcoming events and other get-togethers. I've also found various pamphlets and flyers that I have received from them that have been very helpful. The Daily Illini newspaper has written several articles which I have yet to read thoroughly, but from what I can tell they are very interesting and cover a variety of topics.
This week I plan to interview some members of this organization. Hopefully they will be able to provide me with the answers I need and some insight into Intervarsity. I am also going to interview a friend of mine who has never been to a meeting. She is a Christian, and I plan on taking her to a Friday night meeting and interviewing her on her impressions on them. Because she knows virtually nothing about this organization, I figured she will be a valuable resource.
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Project diary
hmm..I'll be a little behind schedual because I will be out of town this weekend which is when I had planned to host the interviews. Hopefully I will be able to reschedual. |
Field Notes
Use this space to discuss what interesting, significant, revealing, and/or strange information you've recorded in your field notes. What are you learning about your chosen subculture? You might also begin to synthesize the information you are getting from your observations and the other sources you consult.
This past friday, there wasn't a normal large group meeting like there normally is. The friday of Halloween, they relocated their group in the Foellinger auditorium where they integrated themselves with other christian organizations on campus and had an all-campus praise night. The event was organized by the CFC church. This lead me to believe that Intervarsity promotes fellowship with other members of other groups around campus. Also, I have noticed an increase in attendance from week to week. I'm not sure if this is because their evangelism techniques are stronger, or they are marketing themselves better.
Also, I am beginning to pick out who are the "regulars" from the "newcomers." This is actually a very funny distinction because I myself might be considered a "regular" because I have attended enough meetings and know enough people to feel comfortable. It's refreshing to see the "newcomers" because they add more diversity to the even more diverse community of Christians thriving there. |
Project diary
11/4/03
Intervarsity has a fairly strict schedual of events that they adhere to. However when the opportunity presents itself, they integrate themselves with many of the surrounding christian groups as possible. Recently, Intervarsity cancelled their infamous Friday night large group meeting and invited everyone to support the CFC organization in Foellinger Hall for an all-campus praise night. One of the main concepts that Intervarsity tries to push is the idea of fellowship with other christians. This idea was definitely proved when I saw hundreds of students of different ethnicities gather together under the same roof for the same purpose. Also, it was refreshing to see how the different organizations interacted with each other. Many students knew each other from around campus and by the end of the night there was no feeling of separation. It seemed as if we were all good friends. |
Findings
Discuss your findings.
By analyzing the field notes I have thus far, and reviewing the pamphlets and interview, I've realized that I have a lot to work with. I've tried to narrow my search down to finding out how Intervarsity deals with a wide range of ethnicities. In their handouts and pamphlets, they feature pictures which include what seems to be every nationality. Also, their Friday night services host every race and does not seem to discriminate. They are even promoting a spin-off of the main Intervarsity chapter for another called "La Fe" which can be descibed as a smaller gathering of students with a background in the latin culture so that they can get together and share their faith as a group. All of my sources have lead to my understanding that Intervarsity's main focus does not lie in the ethnic backgrounds of its members, rather they are united under a common faith and a common God. |
Project diary
Refer to other EOTU work
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