Hi everyone! My name is Kelsey Paul. I am from the Tampa Bay area. I am a second year student majoring in criminal justice and minoring in women’s studies and sociology. I’m not really sure what my major has to do with anything because, basically, I want to spend my life running around other countries fighting sex slavery (in whatever form that may be). I am a pretty laid back individual and a bit of a jokester, so try not to take me too seriously most of the time.
I became interested in this course when Tweed mentioned that we would look at human trafficking. I, also, read a book called Half the Sky which taught me a lot about what is going on in other countries and things that have happened to create positive change. This book definitely contributed to my interest in the global women’s movement. I am interested in the global women’s movement because I feel that there are so many things happening in the world today that we are ignorant of. Over the past year or so, I have become disgusted by the materialism and consumerism that makes up America. So I truly enjoy learning about the world because it puts things in perspective and makes me realize how much we take for granted. I want to learn about the world and what is going on in it and how we are affecting it.
I am involved in some global activism, but I plan to be involved in much more in the future. I am the vice president of Students Against Slavery, which is a student organization here at UCF that you should all join! It is an awesome group because we have members who are so different from each other, but it is cool that we are all brought together by this common interest. We try to make an impact on slavery through tabling and having events to raise awareness on the issue, as well as raise money to donate to help the fight. I am also planning to spend a month and a half in Chiang Mai, Thailand this summer. I will be working in the community alongside former victims of human trafficking. I am ridiculously excited and am expecting my mind to be blown.
I am hoping to get a lot out of this class. I honestly do not know very much about transnational feminism so I’m sure there will be a lot to learn. However, the biggest thing I hope to get out of this class is simply to understand what we are talking about. Between understanding the terminology (or foreign language) used in this course and Tweed’s “unpacking” questions, it is definitely going to be hard work for me, but I’m hoping I can make it through. J
*I have read, understand, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus and the blogging protocols, which I see as a contract for our course.
