Graduation year: 2010
Majors/Minors: Psychology major, Gender Studies minor / Political Science & Italian majors, Gender Studies minor
For us, Gender Studies exists not merely as a major, but as a discipline that truly transcends the academic experience. It is this interdisciplinary field of study that affects our lives and interpersonal relationships on a daily basis. With its expansive breadth of knowledge and seemingly endless topics of interest, it bestows upon us knowledge of men - of women - and of ourselves. Gender Studies has provided us both with the opportunity to pursue our passions in a practical manner - whether this be by working within the local school systems, rape crisis center, Catholic Charities or South Bend Equality - to make the change we ultimately wish to see in this world. More personally, the two of us have fostered a friendship in result to our shared passions in the study, its theories, and leading philosophers - all culminating in the never-ending debate over the superior thinker: is it Judith Butler or Helene Cixous?