What data did you collect?What is your initial impression of the data?
This time, I analyzed a panel hosted by Bowdoin College, entitled “Busting the Myth: Bowdoin College, the Liberal Arts, and the Path to a Career in Anything “. President Clayton Rose and Dean of Admissions Whitney Soule moderated this panel, which includes five alumni working in different fields in the tech industry of Silicon Valley. The moderators focused on what the Bowdoin experience meant for them, the strengths of a liberal arts education, and how they used their Bowdoin education to land a job in the very competitive companies of Silicon Valley. One brought up how she felt like she was “more than a number” when she was at Bowdoin, and another talked about his very personal relationships with administrator and professors. Another talked about her honors project and how she was able to craft her own research in her senior year and approach that.
I have watched the whole video and have found very interesting insights from the alumni in regards to the arguments that they made for a Bowdoin education. One particular interesting concept that the the alumni have mentioned throughout the panel was the importance of “individuality”, which they hold dear to in terms of developing their education and in gaining agency over their future. As mentioned before, individuality is a motivating concept under neoliberalism that promotes competition and a sense of self. Secondly, in response to a highly competitive market, these Bowdoin alums have argued how their liberal arts education has enabled them to more easily transition into the tech industry because of their critical thinking skills, their exposure to different subjects, and ability to collaborate with others for projects. In particular, they talked about how it is not what they majored in, but rather the skills they gained that was transferrable to the job they had. I have noticed how Bowdoin has also argued for the liberal arts education in relation to the soft skills, communication skills, and writing skills that have allowed its students to thrive in various sectors. In looking at this data, I argue that Bowdoin prepares and advocates for its students for a competitive market by teaching skills and philosophies that improve their sense of individuality, thus giving them the ability to communicate difficult ideas and work with people across different planes to achieve the same goal. As Silicon Valley is an incredibly neoliberal space, the preparation of Bowdoin students with neoliberal practices enables them to more smoothly transition into and find jobs at places like Google, Okta, etc. With the marketing of these brand name companies, these alumni, along with President Rose and Whitney Soule, are most definitely influencers in how they promote the Bowdoin brand.
How have the data you have collected this week changed/progressed your thinking about your research project?/What challenges did you encounter while collecting the data?
In this week’s research, I was able to find more concrete examples and events regarding how Bowdoin subscribe to neoliberal practices. This panel provided the testimonies and arguments of relatively recent Bowdoin alumni who are currently in a very neoliberal space that is Silicon Valley. Now, I can point to quotes and instances that show how Bowdoin utilize neoliberal practices to create something very real beyond simply the concepts. Some challenges I had while collecting this data was transcribing the video and going through the whole 2 hour talk.
What are your next steps?
My next steps are to connect this example to the philosophy of Bowdoin and how these events are intentional and a continuation of the college’s neoliberal practices. I would also need to find more examples to support my argument and expand on my case study.
- Busting the Myth: Bowdoin College, the Liberal Arts, and the Path to a Career in Anything (11:35), published on Oct. 12, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63yvwTT3QS0&feature=youtu.be
President Rose and the Board of Trustees Visit Silicon Valley: A New Line of Thinking Archives. Interview by Keith Shortall ‘82 with President Clayton Rose. retrieved from: http://community.bowdoin.edu/news/2018/06/a-new-line-of-thinking/