A few months ago, I received an offer for this internship, much to my surprise. I promptly accepted, intrigued by the prospect of investigating the stories of the forest, with Indonesia as a case study. I was tasked with researching forest agreements, reading Indonesian literature of the forest, reading plenty of speculative fiction, and engaging with the environmental humanities.
In all honesty, I approached this internship with mild caution, having heard stories of the stereotypical overworked and underpaid intern. I feared having my nose put to the proverbial academic grindstone, working for a pittance under a cruel master. Instead, working on this project with Julie has been a combination of thought-provoking, self-reflective, playful, and novel. Having the freedom to focus on what I’m personally interested in has been the highlight of this experience. Figuring out what I’m not quite asinterested in has also been useful. I’ll be honest, I won’t be reading policy documents for fun going forwards.
Academic Reflections
I’ve had plenty of novel experiences, including what it means to be involved in academia, both the positives and negatives. A novel experience that stands out is attending academic forums/symposiums for the first time, such as ‘An Anthropocentric Disaster?’, set up and run by Julie. Admittedly a daunting experience (What are you even supposed to wear?) it turned out to be very intriguing and provided plenty of food for thought. Visiting Kew Gardens, for the event ‘Tree Cultures at Kew’, with the University of Derby, was similarly illuminating. Listening to talks from interesting people and wandering around a lush garden – you can’t really go wrong. Dr Dion Dobrzynski’s talk on ‘the vegetable humanities’ was particularly compelling, prompting me to purchase a copy of Starmaker by Olaf Stapledon. Outside of the interesting discussions at both events, they acted as a platter of potential career paths to briefly hear about, sample, and consider. It was refreshing to interact with people who appear genuinely passionate about the work they do.
This internship also closely aligned my personal academic interests, having a background in Human Geography. This experience has expanded my thinking through novel and interdisciplinary pathways. The environmental humanities have become increasingly prominent throughout working on this internship, and seems to have already woven itself into the way I approach thinking about the environment. The idea of playfulness, and approaching work and research in a playful manner has also been refreshing, dispelling stereotypes about academic research being strictly serious. I look forward to applying these principles to my dissertation, providing some levity to an otherwise stressful prospect. Having spent time practicing my writing and analytical skills as part of this internship, the dissertation creeping up behind me feels far less daunting.
Personal Reflections
This internship called for plenty of reading, especially speculative fiction about the forest. Having been an avid book worm for most of my pre-teen life (to mixed reactions from my peers), getting the chance to dig my teeth back into reading has been a gratifying experience. I’ve connected with my younger book nerd self, reviving a hobby I haven’t enjoyed for a long time. I have no doubt that I will spend the rest of my summer reading an assortment of sci-fi and dystopian novels, immersing myself in fantastical worlds and fearing death by super-flu or irradiated cannibal.
Until recently, I’ve found the idea of actually enjoying working, or looking forward to a career in any meaningful way, a relatively foreign concept. Having been selected for this sustainability internship, I’ve been shown a path away from the bartending, barista-ing, and serving tables that has dominated my previous summers. This isn’t to imply that these career paths are in any way inferior to any other. However, I’ve found catering to members of the general public does have a knack for quenching my thirst for life. Working as a part of this project has provided me with more confidence in pursuing a career I can actually enjoy. I also feel that working as part of this project has provided a portion of the antidote to the disillusionment I feel with the modern world. I’ve been presented an opportunity to consider the ways in which I may collaborate to help shape our future, however small. In reading plenty of speculative fiction, hearing from academic experts, attempting to translate Indonesian folklore, hunting down policy documents, and of course earning some money, I have found myself more confident in my own speculations about the future. In a funny way, interacting with dystopian visions of the future has cemented my faith in our collective ability to craft meaningful existences out of horrible situations. Although I do hope an alien invasion, super-virus, nuclear disaster, general human incompetence or other apocalyptic catalyst doesn’t take place whilst I’m still around. I’d rather spend my time combing through the library for references for my dissertation, than combing through a post-apocalyptic Birmingham for supplies.