White Privileges means that...

...I can hope to get pass a passport check at the airport done very quickly if I say that I will miss my next flight.

...I can apply for a job and be sure that my race will not play against it.

...I can identify with the shampoos that are advertised on TV.

...I can go into a shopping centre and be sure to find clothes that match with my culture. 

...I can find a stick to cover the shadows under my eyes and be sure to find the tone that matches my skin.

...I can be angry when I want and act accordingly without some people attaching this to my race.

5 items for my identity

Hello everyone !

So, I have finally chosen the five items that I want to bring to class in order to present my identity.

The first one is going to be my phone - a Blackberry. I know that it sounds superficial, but if we think about it, it does depict my identity. I use it quite a lot, so it shows that I was born into a generation that uses a lot of technology and social media. In addition, it depicts the fact that I am young and, therefore, in some way, that I am a student "of my time".

The second one I chose is my german and my romanian passport (I combined both into one item). It shows that I come from a multicultural background and that I have different nationalities. It also depicts the fact that, although I was born and I have lived all my life in France, I don't have the French nationality yet. It doesn't bother me very much, but as a political science student, it is quite frustrating not being able to vote in the country with which I politically identify the most.

My third item is a necklace I often wear. I believe that it somehow depicts my gender identity, so the fact that I identify as a female. This is one of the most important things when talking about identity, right ?  It has consequences on how I dress, feel and behave in my every-day life.

The fourth item I chose is a tennis ball. I have played tennis quite intensively for about 9 years and it was a very important experience in my life. It shaped my personality as I started at a very young age and also made me learn how to handle stress and difficult moments. The ball is also meant to show that I still enjoy playing tennis, although only occasionally, and that I love watching tennis games live.

The last item will be a picture of my pets. I have four cats and two dogs back home, and I have lived with pets since I was very young. I am very attached to the animal rights cause and have volunteered in an animal shelter for a couple of years. Also,  I miss my cats and dogs very much !


I hope that these choices make sense to you !

See you all in class,

Maria

A little introduction

Hi Everyone !

So, my name is Maria and I am an exchange student at UT for one year. I lived all my life in France but my parents are German and Romanian.

I am truly looking forward to this class and to follow one of the projects that are proposed to us (I can't decide which one I will pick!). I have never done such a project before, though local development interests me a lot and that I have always wanted to do something like that ! I have been a human rights activist for the last few years and one of the important things I learned was that poverty and social disadvantages in general are not a fact per se, they are not something that has to exist in order for the society and the economy to work. They are not a necessity and they enter into the framework of human rights violations. 

I am very pleased to being given the chance to work on a concrete situation and I hope that I will learn a lot and that I will acquire some knowledge that I could implement on other projects when I get back home.

See you all on monday!

Maria