{"id":23794,"date":"2019-09-04T10:56:16","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T17:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=23794"},"modified":"2019-09-04T20:20:49","modified_gmt":"2019-09-05T03:20:49","slug":"as-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/as-a\/","title":{"rendered":"As a…"},"content":{"rendered":"

With our advance nearing, I acknowledge the different identities I embody along with their accompanying attitudes and postures I\u2019ll bring with me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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As an ethnographer, I look forward to finding the opportunity to connect deeply with the true Londoner and the true Brit. Hargraves provides some perspective as he outlines the three different \u201cLondons\u201d. First there is the \u201cLondon of the imagination\u201d depicted on the screen and in novels. This is the London of those who have never experienced it. Second, there exists the \u201ctourist London\u201d experienced by millions of visitors each year, and finally there is the \u201cLondon that is home for six or nine million people, depending on how you count them (Hargraves, loc. 301). I hope to work my way from the first to the third as a student of the people and culture. I have found that people connect deeply through shared meals, shared experiences, shared laments, and shared laughs. I\u2019m curious, in particular, to experience the latter, as a culture\u2019s use of humor intrigues me. I\u2019ll be ready to observe, firsthand, the self-deprecating jokes, the tongue-in-cheek comments, and the inward-facing put-down (Tan, p. 57).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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As an epicurist, I\u2019m skeptical at best to find appetizing local fare. When culturally savvy authors label the cuisine \u201cbland and stodgy\u201d (Tan, p. 171), one\u2019s hopes are measured. London\u2019s achievement of a global city, however, promises the tongue something to anticipate. I\u2019m intrigued by global cities like New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Shanghai and London. Sociologists argue that these cities can often have more in common with each other than other cities in their same region and country.<\/span><\/p>\n

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As a history buff, I await the feelings, observations and thoughts that accompany a rich history. Whether the buildings on Oxford\u2019s grounds from the 12th century, the British civil war before the US was even a nation, or the rich linguistic heritage, Great Britain\u2019s history is complex, and runs much deeper than the (Western) history of the US. I\u2019m eager to see how such a heritage impacts the life and worldview of the British, especially in such an upsetting time as the current climate. I get this sense of heritage even when I travel to the east coast of the US with less than 400 years of (again, Western) history, so it will be hard to imagine the pontifications and feelings when I consider centuries and centuries of history and stories. I also look forward to seeing the evidence and implications of Britain\u2019s history being \u201cinextricably linked with religion\u201d (Tan, p. 26). The bloodshed, turmoil, and division certainly plays itself out today, especially when I consider the greater United Kingdom. How will I experience that dynamic?<\/span><\/p>\n

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As a missiologist and someone working with global missions – sending college students to reach other college students, I am particularly interested in the anecdotal title of Western Europe as \u201cA Graveyard for Missionaries.\u201d Also anecdotally, Christian leaders us Western Europe as a warning for what the US might become if it doesn\u2019t awaken. Tan attributes the decline of the Christian faith to the\u00a0 \u201cbreakdown of extended families, moral laxity and general disillusionment brought about by unemployment and urban stress\u201d (Tan, p. 32). I would add, with its proximity to the locus of the Enlightenment, this approach to viewing the world has run its course. I will be ready to hear stories of perspective, postures, and practices that challenge generally accepted assumptions. I don\u2019t anticipate the time or opportunity to interview or talk with undergraduates, but I would also be curious to compare and contrast the average US and British student\u2019s worldviews.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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As an aspiring innovator, I await the opportunity to observe, learn, and glean from those who are trusting God with a fresh way to impact those around them. Jesus\u2019 description of a teacher of the law moves me to anticipate meeting those who \u201clike the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old\u201d (Matthew 13:52, NIV). What are those new and old treasures that would be a blessing for the peace and prosperity of London and beyond? In particular, what innovation theory is being employed in that process? Is it largely (or to what extent is it) under the influence of the US\u2019s silicon valley, or are their unique approaches of change and innovation from which to glean? I\u2019m also interested to corroborate Tan\u2019s experience that has led him to believe that the British are, \u201cby and large, creatures of rather fixed habits\u201d (Tan, p. 84). What challenges might this propensity add towards embracing the new – new approaches, new ideas, new paradigms? Or perhaps, a fresh take on the old might honor that heritage and leverage that tendency and reframe it as a strength.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Finally, as a member of cohort ten, I\u2019m perhaps most eager for those shared meals, shared experiences, shared laments, and shared laughs with new comrades, or rather, new chums, mates, or chaps.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With our advance nearing, I acknowledge the different identities I embody along with their accompanying attitudes and postures I\u2019ll bring with me.\u00a0   As an ethnographer, I look forward to finding the opportunity to connect deeply with the true Londoner and the true Brit. Hargraves provides some perspective as he outlines the three different \u201cLondons\u201d. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1548,1565,1579,1577,204,1560],"class_list":["post-23794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-advance","tag-hargraves","tag-innovation","tag-lgp10","tag-london","tag-tan","cohort-lgp10"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23794"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23800,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23794\/revisions\/23800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}