Farewell to an Eventful Semester

Dear Readers,

This semester has been one filled with discovery and learning. Somewhere along this long winding road of this semester, I discovered my inner-feminist. Maybe it was there the whole time and I just never knew where to look for it, however, I am really glad I found my  inner-feminist. This new discovery brought about a new perspective in my learning career. Professors Daniels and Richardson taught us to use “gender as a lens to discover the underlying struggles” that we have seen in pictures and in life.

Lessons on sex education with Shelby Knox had a profound impact about my view in the world and in life. There is this awe and deep respect when meeting Shelby. Awe because here is this amazing women, who strove for what she believed in at the age of 15. Deep respect because she is able to stand for her beliefs and not let anyone influence her beliefs and goals. Her resilience is just amazing. I just can’t stop singing her praises!

The discussion of the Queer and Trans community and viewing of “Southern Comfort” was interesting as it put me out of my comfort zone. I remember attempt to write my assigned blog post about this topic and I really struggled with it. I did not know how to write about the topic nor was I really connected with the topic. Therefore, without any clue what I was truly doing, I wrote the article and I felt it may have turned out better than I expected.

After the viewing of Pink Ribbon Inc., I became hyper aware of the practices of pinkwashing. Before this class, I already had an introduction into pinkwashing from a previous class, however, we went into more detail about it in this one. For that I am grateful.

Street harassment became a hot topic that I discussed about quite a few times. At first it was written due to the lecture we had with Jaclyn Friedman on Slutwalk and Hollaback. However, it also evolved into something so much bigger than I had hope for. I found an interest within the vast space of feminism. I think experiencing street harassment by a bunch of high schoolers added fuel to my “street harassment rampage” fire. Now, writing my long paper about street harassment, I realize that I have only scratch the extensive surface of street harassment.

These are only a few of the many topics covered in my “Feminism, New Media and Health” class. If I were to go on, I think it would take me a good day to summarize each class for you all! Therefore to check out everything I learned in this class check this out: HONS:201.

I walked into this class not knowing what to expect out of it and now walking out of it with a greater sense of clarity. This class has been amazing and perspective shifting that I cannot thank the professors enough for imparting their extensive knowledge to my classmates and I. However, this is not goodbye to my blog but a farewell to my amazing class. Therefore, no fret! I will return and post on this blog however possibly cut down to once a week. I ask for you forgiveness early as my postings may become sporadic when next semester rolls around as I will be taking 6 classes. Thank you for the amazing support so far and for the your support in the future.

Love,

Christine

Hello!

My name is Christine Yau and I am a junior at Hunter College. I am currently studying Psychology with aspirations to minor in both, Chinese and Film. Upon graduating from Hunter College, I will return to school for the accelerated nursing program to obtain my Bachelors of Nursing (BSN). For my future career, I hope to either work as a military nurse or a pediatrics nurse.

“Feminism, New Media, and Health” is my first honors colloquia. Upon reading the course description for this class, I hoped that the topics discussed would ignite my interest and passion for the class. Since I am hoping to minor in film, the media aspect of the class is definitely a great interest to me. In addition, I foresee that my psychology major will also play a huge role in learning within the class as health can involve mental health. The issue could also be about the psychological effects of media on a person’s health.

My future career is nursing and therefore the medical field. I wish to learn about the health aspect of this class the most. How can new media affect one’s mental or physical health? How can new media spread people’s voice against a political debate on a person’s health? What is the feminist stand on certain health issues? These are one of the many questions that I hope this class would answer. By the semester’s end, I hope the three seemingly individual topics will be meshed together to form a single entity.

For “Feminism, New Media, and Health” as a whole, I wish to see how we will utilize the new age of technology to learn and gain knowledge of feminist ideas and views on health.  In addition to taking this class, I am also taking Health Psychology. Since these two classes are closely related, it will give me an even better understanding of what Health is as a whole.