First-year Practicum Experience with SCVN – Fall 2024
In the fall 2024, we had the pleasure of inviting three first-year students from the University of Victoria’s HUMA 180 class to participate in a practicum with the project. The class is a Dean’s Seminar course that introduces Humanities students to current research and researchers through three-week long practicums experience.
Our practicum students were Claire Fenton, Henri Jefferis, and Kate Kristianson, and from October 23 to November 6 they each completed twelve hours of training and research practice with SCVN. During their initial meeting with Project Director Dr. Charlotte Schallié, Project Manager Jennifer Sauter, and Research Assistant Lucie Kotesovska they were introduced to the context and protocol of webinar transcription. As the main task of their practicum, Claire, Henri, and Kate selected a webinar from the SCVN’s ‘Art and Testimony Webinar Series’ and provided a transcription of the session under the joint supervision of Jennifer and Lucie. In the second week of the practicum, the students had a chance to discuss their experience and any potential challenges at a check-in meeting. It turned out to be a welcome opportunity to connect during the emotionally challenging task, share tips on the technological aspects of their work, and even to engage in research together when dealing with less clear points in their respective webinars. The final meeting provided space for the students to reflect upon their research experience and share their main takeaways with other team members. Along with their finished transcripts, the students were asked to submit a one-page reflection piece inspired by the webinar they watched and transcribed. Here, they had the opportunity to focus on something they learned, were inspired by, or even disagreed with during that process.
Claire, Henri and Kate presenting their HUMA 180 practicum experience with SCVN to their class. Image credit: Ziming Dong.
Claire shared her new-found appreciation for the comic, stating, “I have learned more than I ever thought I would about how comics can be used to tell the stories of people who have been through devastating things.” She also commented on the unique accessibility of the medium:
“Everyone can learn something from comics, a book being based in images does not make it lose its academic value to society. In some cases, it can even increase its value because it opens up its knowledge for a wider audience.”
Kate also reflected on her re-evaluation of the graphic narrative, saying that before her participation in the project, she thought that “traditional presentation methods should exclusively be used for heavy, serious subjects such as genocide because any other, more creative method could not be serious enough or do justice for the survivors’ experiences.” Having engaged with one the webinar, she is now convinced that “graphic novels are as, if not more, effective demonstration of survivor stories than [for instance] traditional video interviews.” Explaining her updated stance, she said:
“Unlike a traditional video interview where the main benefit is to see the survivor react to telling their story, in a graphic novel, the reader can see what the survivor experienced through their eyes, how the survivor perceived what happened, the survivor’s flashes of memory, and how that has affected their later life.”
Reflecting on the story of the Holocaust child survivor from the webinar he transcribed, Henri commented that even though “it tells a very sad and dark story,” it is still a story that “must be told”. He added that he felt “mortified by the fact that atrocities such as this actually happened.” He realized that it was impossible for him “to go back and prevent these horrific acts from transpiring” but that he “can do work to ensure that such acts are never forgotten.” About his personal contribution to the act of collective remembering, he wrote:
“I have always admired those who do work to preserve and share the memories and testimonies of those who had to live through such dark times. I felt so proud and honored to be a part of it for once, knowing that I am contributing to this process.”
After the practicum, Claire, Henri, and Kate, had a chance to share what they learned with wider community. On November 26, they each gave a poster presentation in class during which they explained their research task and reflected upon its humanistic context and value.
The students’ participation in the ‘Art and Testimony Webinar Series’ transcription project was a valuable and enriching experience for all involved. Their contributions provided essential support to the project while also helping them develop critical research and transcription skills.
Thank you very much for your effort and enthusiasm Claire, Henri, and Kate! It has been an honour to have you as our HUMA 180 practicum student research assistants on the project this term and we wish you all best as you embark on your future academic projects.