By mluevano17
In many ways, the classes that I am taking at SOAS have both supported and challenged my identity. I chose to take Politics of Gender, which has been my first experience in a class that studies gender. This class exposed me to many different ways of thinking about gender, not only through feminist thought but also the different ways in which the LGBTQ community and even masculinity has been studied all over the world. This class helped to reaffirm my identity as a feminist, but also evolve that identity into one that examines gender not specifically in the female sense but also in the ways in which everyone is affected by ideas and prejudices about gender.
SOAS curriculum is centered around the idea of international learning and thinking about the world globally. In this way, my classes have shown me new aspects of international affairs that I have not previously been exposed to. My International Politics class held many discussions around the ways in which the third world has been excluded from the field of international affairs, and my Global Shakespeare class delved into the resounding effects of colonialism on countries in Africa and the Caribbean. My identity as an international affairs student and a citizen of world changed a bit as I was exposed to differing opinions and perspectives surrounding global affairs.
In many ways, my classes have inspired me to continue learning and to expand my views. They also helped to solidify my identity as a feminist and as a student, I now feel that there is so much more still to learn and experience than I had previously thought.