Final Reflections

        Thinking back to the beginning of this quarter, my first as a student here at UCSC, I did not know what to expect, out of this class, or of my overall experience at the university. I feel incredibly grateful to you, Christine, and you, my peers, for creating such an inviting, academic, friendly, insightful, and aware environment throughout the quarter. 

If I had to choose one aspect of this course that I enjoyed the most, I would say that it was the way in which my understanding of American history, in the particular context of race, labor, and migration, has been undeniably deepened through our rich discussions, primary texts, and theoretical readings. At many points throughout the class, I found myself feeling as though I was reliving a high school U.S. history course, but this time outside of the scope of a strictly heteronormative white patriarchal lens. 

Indeed, in many ways I would argue that our class was able to operate within the realm of study that Lisa Lowe coins “re-membering.” That is to say, that we examined the written record of both the oppressed and oppressors and examined both the gaps and overreaches within the material. Even from something as simple as identifying racial stereotypes that have persisted into modern day media, we, as students, did not operate under the assumption that racializations can be taken at face value. I feel as though I have garnered a more complex notion of the formation of racialization in terms of capitalist and political motives both at home and abroad. 

At the very least, I am confident that my critical thinking skills have improved. I am incredibly struck by how important it is to practice cognitive mapping, something that I had never lent much of my mind to. Although I may not ever be able to claim that my ‘hands are clean,’ I desire to possess an awareness of my role in the global economy.