Lake Effect Love
Relationships in the Rust Belt
Welcome to Season 4 of the Mediaville Listening Project. This season showcases members of the Meadville community and their experiences with relationships and dating in town. To better understand the challenges and complexities of modern dating, we analyzed the book, Coming Up Short: Working-Class Adulthood in an Age of Uncertainty, by Jennifer M. Silva. This was applied to our interviews to highlight the challenges and uncertainty that surrounds many modern relationships. On behalf of Professor Yochim's 376 class, we hope you enjoy!
WHO ARE WE?
This season's podcasts and supplemental projects are brought to you by Allegheny College and the Allegheny College Department of Communication Arts and Theatre. As well as the members of the Meadville community who generously gave us their time so we could create this project. We also would like to give due credit to Jennifer M. Silva’s work, Coming Up Short: Working-Class Adulthood in an Age of Uncertainty, for providing insight about the new unforeseen challenges that encompass dating and relationships in the 21st century.
WHAT IS THE MEADIAVILLE LISTENING PROJECT?
The Meadiaville Listening Project is the brainchild of Dr. Emily Yochim, a professor of Communication Arts at Allegheny College. This website encompasses the fourth season of the Meadiaville Listening Project, which consisted of seventeen Allegheny College students, four teaching assistants, and Dr. Yochim. The Meadiaville Listening Project is a result of the Allegheny College course, Media Consumption 376. This course requires all students to complete many different texts and training methods, which were incorporated in order to build semi-educated ethnographers, writers, and podcast constructors out of 17 otherwise inexperienced students. With the skills developed through many weeks of study and practice, the Meadiaville Listening Project of fall 2019 has become an ethnographic exploration of dating within a small town and how residents overcome the challenges that often accompany relationships in a close-knit community like Meadville.
WHAT IS OUR FOCUS?
This season of The Meadiaville Listening project examined Relationships and Dating in Meadville, and the different challenges and factors that often arise when dating in a small town. Members of the community were generous to give us their honest thoughts and experiences with dating in town which we then used in our podcasts. Then, through weeks of careful, ethnographic research, in-depth interviews, and podcast production, this seasons rendition of the Meadiaville Listening Project continues the tradition of creating meaningful connections between the students of Allegheny College and the community members they come in contact with every day.
