Over the January Interterm, Dr. Stephanie Takaragawa (Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Associate Dean for Academic Programs; Sociology) taught Anthro-Space/Place: Disneyland, a 4-week-long class where students conducted empirical research at Disneyland in Anaheim to examine different theories of social behavior.

Students explored articles written about Disneyland and visited the park once a week to observe people’s actions and behaviors. They learned how to look at different spaces using different anthropological theories.

“It changes your perspective so much,” said Phy Schaefer (‘28 Psychology, minor in Asian American Studies)⁠. “It’s fascinating when you dive into why a space is created the way it is.”

The classroom discussions provided students with the vocabulary to articulate observations and understand the social phenomena that Disneyland fosters.

“After reading papers, and observing Disneyland, we would meet and discuss complex topics, applying what we witnessed directly to what we read, comparing theories on why people act the way they do,” said Juliana Jordan (‘27 Physics, Philosophy). “The small class size allowed us to talk as friends, and while it was still a difficult class, we all got to go as a large group of friends to Disneyland once a week, a fun and entertaining experience,” she said.

Each student had different fieldwork exercises when visiting the park. For example, one assignment was to observe behavior in one place for one hour, watching how people moved through one particular space to learn to discern patterns and processes.

(left to right): Phy Schaefer (’26 Psychology, Asian American Studies minor), Eeyore, Tina Luo (’26 Film & TV Production, Creative and Cultural Industries minor), and Emma Ruben (’27 Film and TV Production, University Honors Program) at Disneyland, Anaheim for their Interterm class, Anthro-Space/Place: Disneyland. Photo courtesy of Dr. Stephanie Takaragawa.

“They have to determine why people are doing what they are doing, and what the built environment or cultural environment does to constrain that behavior,” said Dr. Takaragawa. “The process is to learn the ‘culture’ of Disneyland, like you would learn any other culture, to immerse yourself in the culture to learn the behavior,” she said.

Jordan focused her research on technology, a personal interest of hers, and worked on a project related to future sciences. The class experience introduced her to an entirely new field of theory that she was unaware of, futurology, which is the study of current events or trends to predict future developments.

“I found it fascinating to study concepts like phenomenology and apply them to our experiences in the parks, as well as to our societal responses to the future. My [research] on science factionalism and retro-futurism is going to stick with me as I continue consuming media sent out to make you feel a specific way, making me more careful about the tactics spaces and media are using in my life,” said Jordan.

As this course requires students to work through theories and methods and focus on observing situations for several hours, interterm is the only time it can be offered.

“This is probably my favorite class to teach. It’s a lot of work and it’s definitely challenging. However, I think the education that students get in this class really does make the workload worth it. I enjoy watching students learn how to carry out ethnographic research, collaborate, and support each other in the classroom,” said Dr. Takaragawa.

(Pictured in header left to right: Phy Schaefer (’26 Psychology, Asian American Studies minor), Juliana Jordan (’27 Philosophy, Physics, Electrical Engineering minor), Amy Bone (’26 Sociology, Humanomics minor), Mandy Fang (’26 Dance Performance, Public Relations, Adveristing, Entertainment Marketing, Asian American Studies minor), Pluto, Lulu Cronin (’26 Film and Media Studies, Psychology), Tina Luo (’26 Film & TV Production, Creative & Cultural Industries minor), Emma Ruben (’27  Film & TV Production, University Honors Program), Fiona Bumgarner (’26 Graphic Design, Anthropology minor, and Dr. Stephanie Takaragawa (Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Associate Dean for Academic Programs; Sociology). Photo courtesy of Dr. Stephanie Takaragawa).