In the Spring of 2018, I began volunteering with the Center for Sustainability at Agnes Scott. I worked over the course of the semester, helping them write their STARS (Sustainability Tracking and Review System) report that would go on the receive a Gold level rating from the American Association of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Category Archives: Reflections
Leadership 101 – Final Reflection
This reflection was originally published April 4, 2016, on another platform.
The discussions, readings, and exercises done in this class have informed my contributions to the final project by displaying the connection between arts and leadership, developing my personal definition of collaboration, and preparing me for the advantages and drawbacks of collaborative work.
Before this class, I have only had experience in performance art in the form of theatre, but this class introduced me to visual art and another form of performance art. The introduction to Womanhouse gave me a fantastic primary example of women using collaboration to fulfill an artistic vision. It also provided methods for collaboration that I could use in the final project. Inspired by the circular discussions of Womanhouse, we attempted to keep the discussion as equal as possible, not appointing a leader of designating specific roles. Everybody was free to contribute any ideas that they wished. In the brainstorming phase, we shared our common experiences of struggling in the arts, sharing stories and finding shared feelings. I think this created a great initial atmosphere of sharing and equality. Like Womanhouse, we discussed each barrier among the group but split roughly into smaller groups to create the slides about barriers on our particular topics (the ones we wrote our passion papers on). Maura Kelly’s article, Does Artistic Collaboration Ever Work?, helped me to realize that when leading a collaborative project, it is necessary to create something that is a combination of each person’s style and ideas. So, it became easier for me to let go of ideas or opinions that others did not think should be in the final project. For example, I was very passionate about the use of figures to portray the barriers but had to let it go in order to make the project better suited for the group. While looking at all of the pieces that we discussed in class, it became apparent to me how relevant art is to documenting history while also invoking future change. It takes a true leader to recognize an issue and take a stand through their art. Leadership through activism can be challenging, but I think the strong examples we saw in class, such as Krzysztof Wodiczko’s Homeless Projection: A Proposal for Union Square, it was easier to be inspired by our issues and create the final project.
My personal opinion about collaboration before this class was that the easiest way is to appoint people roles, often with one or two sole leaders. However, this course has caused me to expand my perspectives on collaboration. Realizing that my leadership style may have been close-minded, I have since been to workshops on developing leadership styles, and am trying to make a more conscious effort to expand my collaboration skills. The discussion format of some of our classes has opened my mind to the perspectives of others, which became useful in the group meetings in which we spent a majority of the time discussing and debating opinions. Heather’s presentation on Defining and Interrogating Collaboration started my thinking on how I should prepare for the final project, making sure to do my Passions Paper well and to always do my work for the group on time, in order to be prepared and considerate of them. The course led me to think of collaboration, not as a focus on just the final product, the project, but the importance of the processes and interactions that led up to it.
Heather’s other presentation on the benefits and pitfalls of collaboration prepared me further for the process of collaboration to achieve the final project. Acknowledging that there are pitfalls was necessary to avoid frustration in the group discussions. At one point, a group member became extremely upset when we began discussing the topic of technology, leading others to become passionate as well. This is a situation in which a pitfall of collaboration became sacrificing a part of our project in order to give another group member what they are passionate about. However, there were many benefits, one of which was the input of a variety of original ideas that one person could have never come up with on their own. In the end, because of the collaborative nature of our project, it was entirely unique.
Journeys: New York Final Reflection
I feel that I learned a lot more than I had expected to in fulfilling my Global Citizenship goals. I wanted to focus on the first learning goal: evaluating social issues and identifying instances and examples of global injustice and disparity. I thought that I was going to have to search for and interpret works that were subtly suggesting social change or injustice, but instead, I discovered entire collections and exhibits dedicated to strong comments on social injustice, such as Agitprop! in the Brooklyn Museum of Art. It was very interesting to see how each issue was represented, not just in a painting or sculpture, but through multimedia efforts, utilizing videos, posters, papers, and handouts. In viewing, analyzing, and discussing these exhibits with my peers, I also engaged in another learning goal: to discuss and interpret world issues and events. For this goal, it was very easy to act on all of my methods because I enjoyed staying in front of the pieces and absorbing them, as well as revisiting them later and posting about them on Instagram or my WordPress. In the museums, I made an effort to seek out these exhibits for the purpose of my project, going to them first before another piece or collection I was interested in. This made me realize how self-motivated activism really is because even though it is available to us, we must realize it and seek it out, despite other things we could be doing that are easier or less rewarding. Continue reading
Intro to World Politics: Course Reflection
This class has changed my perspective on the multitude of ways in which world politics can be approached, especially when thinking about theory. Before the class, I saw politics from my own perspective, and at times tried to consider others, but the concept of political theory wasn’t one I had ever explored. While I enjoyed seeing the ways in which theory tries to consolidate perspectives into categories such as Realist and Liberal, I still find politics a little too complex to be able to slot my own thoughts into either category.
The Benghazi project, in particular, made me acutely aware of how dependent I am on American and Western media to receive my news. I found it extremely difficult to find international sources outside of my comfort zone. In the future, I will need to make a more intentional effort to seek out alternate and broader sources. I feel that I am knowledgeable of events that directly affect me and those that are covered in mainstream American and European media. I do not, however, have a satisfactory understanding or knowledge of international issues, specifically African, Asian, and South American issues. Those are incredibly large and significant parts of the world, so it is very regrettable that I do not know more about them.
The Benghazi Project also expanded my understanding of politics in the Middle East and North Africa. As these governments and political environments are wholly unfamiliar to me, I had to stretch my understandings in order to complete the project thoroughly. It also built upon my basic knowledge of the events of the Arab Spring, which I now know more about.
I do feel confident in my ability to evaluate the value and quality of a source. In this project, I tried to reach out to some sources I have never used before, such as government documents, but still found myself reaching for more familiar outlets such as the Times. Once again, in this area, I see that I have difficulty evaluating non-western sources because I find it more challenging to identify possible biases because I am unfamiliar with the politics and culture of non-western countries. I think that my confidence in finding good sources was fairly high before beginning the course, so I don’t think it has raised any this semester. From listening to SERIAL, though, I have begun to more greatly appreciate the value of a variety of types of sources, such as maps, interviews, and documents. These pieces of the podcasts were so helpful but also contributed to the level of reporting that was so high in SERIAL.
I feel that the topics covered in the course, coupled with the Benghazi Project and podcast responses, have influenced me to become more engaged in global affairs. Now, I find myself making connections between events and people that I would have never realized before. By gaining even a little bit more knowledge in unfamiliar political environments, I am able to explore more complex issues with more comfort and insight. Overall, the course was incredibly beneficial for developing my political thought.
