Week 1: Famous Last Words

So far, I have to say that I really enjoy this course. It is a little different for me because this is my first online class that I have taken. I enrolled in some once, but they way they were set up was very intimidating. This course, however, is very hands-on. They don't just throw you out into the world of cyberspace and leave you with vague instructions. I really feel more comfortable being able to see my teachers and build a relationship with them, but I think Laura has designed this course to still embody that same type of feeling you get from being in a classroom full of peers. I really appreciate that! 

I have not done a whole lot in my classes this week since we are still in the process of introductions, however, I did come across a TED talk that I think is very interesting to watch and goes along with quite a bit of my research. 

        "We Should All Be Feminists | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | TEDxEuston" video at Youtube 

This is a really interesting perspective on human rights (not just women's rights). It is from the view of a famous author from Nigeria and how people fighting for rights in minorities can face discrimination from other minorities and even themselves in how they try to portray their identities. I really love this woman because I think she is hilarious and she definitely has some important things to say. 

If anyone happens to be wondering how this may fit into my studies, I will tell you! I have always focused on the relationship between Europe and their former colonies/mandates. I look at how the Western world has stereotypes placed on the people from these areas and perhaps ignore the fact that many of these ideas comes from the problems that came along with their empirical rule. In this case, Adichie mentions that people had identified "Feminism" as an un-African, Western idea and therefore she would have to change her identity to "a Happy African Feminist" to make sure everyone knew her intentions. It is pretty interesting to think that some people may believe that the struggle for equality among the sexes has to be put under so much detail in order to separate your definitions of the word from others.