1. Why did Rabekah Nathan conduct this experiment? (What was the purpose)
We think she did this experiment simply to get a better understanding of students in a younger generation. This was also a generation that had developed its own culture, that little to no research from an "inside" perspective. Any other experiment done was from an anthropologists view, an outside look that would never have got such private and valid research.
2. Do you think Nathan Jeopardized some of her research by disclosing her true identity to certain students?
No, only because she disclosed her true identity after the research, and to people who apparently did not destroy the experiment. We do however feel like the RA and a few select others may have treated her differently if they would have not known of her being a professor.
3. What do you think the biggest obstacle was for the author when going back to college?
We believed the hardest part of going back to college for her was fitting in and being social with the other freshman. With such a large age gap, this would be difficult for anyone to achieve, since the generation gap is completely different. We also thought changing to fit the culture of the college freshman seemed to almost intimidate her.
4. Overall, do you think the author wrote this book in a biased sense towards students or professors?
In a sense yes, we thought she overshadowed certain students stories/events with her personal opinion. Since she is writing this for research and other anthropologists, it does little in analyzing the professors compared to the students. The only section that we felt was biased was when she discussed how other cultures look at U.S. students and our friendship customs.
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