Gregory Miller
Student spotlight details
Gregory, a Minister of Music at a church in California, enrolled on our online Digital Ethnography short course as he wanted to gain an understanding of how digital spaces shape and influence social behavior from an ethnographic perspective.
'My background is in philosophical and scientific research, having studied at Harvard and Cambridge. While completing the online Undergraduate Advanced Diploma in Local History, I was able to add properties of digital ethnography into my data collection, even though the course focused on direct historical research. I was then inspired to continue my studies by enrolling on the online Digital Ethnography short course, as I lacked the understanding of how digital spaces shaped and influenced social behavior from an ethnographic perspective.
'This curiosity led me to explore how these dynamics manifest in online religious settings, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Paradoxically, it was my current role as the Minister of Music at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in Costa Mesa, California, that played a significant part in motivating me to enrol on the course. Over the years, through my work as a church organist, I witnessed the growing relationships between digital platforms within religious contexts. Thus, I wanted to better understand this connection, and particularly how people interacted, formed identities, and built religious communities both offline and online during COVID-19.
'As expected, the Digital Ethnography course, offered by the Department's Graduate School and tutored by Dr William Kelly, provided a valuable opportunity for me to delve into the methodologies and theories that would allow me to critically analyse these evolving digital religious spaces. Besides, my aim is to help churches prepare for future pandemics or disasters. However, the challenge was balancing empirical research with privacy concerns in religious digital environments.
'Still, the course lectures, along with close readings of assigned journal articles were rewarding and an enjoyable part of the course. Reading case studies also provided algorithms from which I was able to apply theoretical concepts to a real-world digital space, typically a Facebook group, which allowed me to examine metrics and extract data.
'Moreover, the course had an influential impact on me both academically and personally. It developed my perception of how online and offline behaviors are interwoven, and provided me with the tools to conduct meaningful research in digital spaces. Though the course was only eight weeks, the lectures and reading materials were robust and comprehensive. Throughout the course, the instructors provided excellent support. Also, the interdisciplinary approach and the opportunity to engage in real-world digital research enhanced my analytical skills and broadened my research capabilities. The course will definitely deepen your understanding of how people interact in online spaces, which makes this course an invaluable experience.
'Having completed the course, I plan to further my research in digital religious cultures and online communities, focusing particularly on how listening to sacred music performed in the Dorian mode can alter the listeners affective state. Furthermore, I am highly interested in continuing to explore how digital platforms can influence identity formation and social behavior, and I hope to publish research in this area. Overall, I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in exploring the digital world through an ethnographic lens.'
