I took WGST 115 Gender, Representation, Culture to complete the Aesthetic Expressions Pillar in the Spring semester of my Freshman year. While this class was a relatively large class, there was always time in class to hear everyone’s opinions and to have group discussions in an effective way, which I have often found to be difficult with that type of class. This class was a little different to all other classes I have taken so far in the sense that the whole class was basically watching or reading and then having in class discussions about what was due the night before. I found it really helpful to have the media reflection of each show/movie/book due the night before class discussion, as well as having the in class discussion, in learning the materual sbeing taught for the class.
We had to write a few short papers for this class, one example shown in the attached. A big topic in this class had to deal the with problems of discrimination, and the main idea of this paper was to write about intersectionality (multiple forms of discrimination combined) in a TV show. It was very easy to find many different forms of discrimination in the show, both being addressed and discriminatory and just there because of the culture we live in today. This paper and the class as a whole was very effective in openning my eyes to how evident the problem of discrimination is for multiple different cultures, and helped me be more aware of the culture I live in and my own actions in it.
Intersectionality Short Paper; Ariel Birkholz; 3 April 2020. Paper reviewing the intersectionality (the effects of multiple forms of discrimination when combined, and the experiences of the people based on them) in the show Brooklyn 99.