Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Introduction
Hi, everyone! As I'm sure most of you already know, I'm Patricia Parker. I was born in San José, CA, but I've lived in Central Florida since I was two and I'm truly looking forward to moving away following graduation. My major is Interdisciplinary Studies, but I have a track in Women's Studies, and an area in Letters and Modern Languages, so putting aside all of the silly red tape and bureaucratic channels, I'm a Women's Studies major with a light English Literature minor. Barring any horrible, unforeseen circumstances, I should be graduating at the end of this semester, which is both terrifying and incredibly exhilarating. In terms of post-graduate plans, I want to get a Master's in Social Work, but I need to have at least a year of practical experience before even applying for any of the programs, so I haven't taken the GRE or anything in preparation and don't plan to any time soon. I'm very passionate about HIV education and activism, so I think I may try to move somewhere where I can work for an AIDS Service Organization and volunteer at a needle exchange. I'm also looking into AmeriCorps's VISTA program. My top two schools are UI-Chicago for their Community Health and Urban Development concentration and UNC-Chapel Hill because it's awesome and really close to my extended family. I still have a lot to figure out in that respect, but I'm trying to stop rushing myself.
I feel as though I've done a million of these intro letters for various Women's Studies classes, but there certainly has been an evolution of sorts over the past two years I've spent in the department. With that in mind, I saved this class for last, knowing that it has the reputation of being one of the most rigorous Women's Studies classes in the course catalog. I'm also taking Queer Theory in the Humanities, Postcolonial Theory and Literature, and writing my thesis, which incorporates quite a bit of critical pedagogical theory, so altogether, othered populations, be they illiterate, Western women, self-identified queers, or persons of color in the wake of traditional conceptions of colonialism, dominate the bulk of my reading and research. I'm glad to be able to have often overlapping subject matter pervade my studies again, and Dr. Hasanat, my PC theory professor, even joked that I've been decolonized this semester because I'm always thinking where I am not. On a personal level, I don't know if I'll ever be able to do any global women's activism, as I'm far more interested in meso-level community organizing and its potential to branch out and touch others by association, but I often chastise myself about not being better informed about global affairs and staying too safely within my own knowledge box, so perhaps that will be something I can work on.
Word count: 471 (I came in UNDER the maximum on purpose!)
I have read, understood, and agreed to the terms of the course syllabus and the blogging protocols.
I feel as though I've done a million of these intro letters for various Women's Studies classes, but there certainly has been an evolution of sorts over the past two years I've spent in the department. With that in mind, I saved this class for last, knowing that it has the reputation of being one of the most rigorous Women's Studies classes in the course catalog. I'm also taking Queer Theory in the Humanities, Postcolonial Theory and Literature, and writing my thesis, which incorporates quite a bit of critical pedagogical theory, so altogether, othered populations, be they illiterate, Western women, self-identified queers, or persons of color in the wake of traditional conceptions of colonialism, dominate the bulk of my reading and research. I'm glad to be able to have often overlapping subject matter pervade my studies again, and Dr. Hasanat, my PC theory professor, even joked that I've been decolonized this semester because I'm always thinking where I am not. On a personal level, I don't know if I'll ever be able to do any global women's activism, as I'm far more interested in meso-level community organizing and its potential to branch out and touch others by association, but I often chastise myself about not being better informed about global affairs and staying too safely within my own knowledge box, so perhaps that will be something I can work on.
Word count: 471 (I came in UNDER the maximum on purpose!)
I have read, understood, and agreed to the terms of the course syllabus and the blogging protocols.
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