StudentVoice Project
This semester, we are trying out a new ongoing project called StudentVoice in an effort to get students directly involved with IMR. Modeled after the concepts of Photovoice, a type of group analysis method which combines photography and grassroots social action, our goal is to create a platform which will allow students and Westminster faculty to use photography as a means to share interests and generate discussion regarding the cultural, economic, scientific, and political aspects of mountains. We hope that participation in the project will lead to the development of new and innovative curricula amongst the Westminster Community. We are aiming to answer the following question:
What facets of nearby mountain ranges have the most influence on Westminster culture, and what would students like to see happen at Westminster in order to better accommodate these multi-faceted student interests in nearby mountains?
- Take a picture of something that represents something you care about regarding mountains (ex. A favorite place, an environmental issue, an endangered species, a business that utilizes mountains in someway, anything really)
- Email your photo to: westminstersv@gmail.com along with your name, when the photo was taken, what it is, where it is, and why you took it
Upon receiving the photos, we will add each photo to a single Google Map, and overtime develop this map into a tool that directly shows what students interests are regarding mountains. This project is meant to be very broad and show all different levels of student interests in the mountains, so if you are interested the more photos we can get the better. We’ll feature some of the photos on our instagram feed as We hope to see your submissions soon! For any questions, please email westminstersv@gmail.com.
If you are curious about the inspiration for the project, these articles may be of interest.
- Power, N. G., Norman, M. E., & Dupré, K. (February 05, 2014). Rural youth and emotional geographies: how photovoice and words-alone methods tell different stories of place. Journal of Youth Studies, 17, 8, 1114–1129.
- Wang, Caroline, & Burris, Mary. (2010). Photovoice: Concept, Methodology, and Use for Participatory Needs Assessment. Sage Publications.
