Why I Registered For the Class:
I entered this class thinking that I would solely be focusing on my writing skills. After all, this is a 5-credit writing class, so I thought our focus would be on how to make our writing more concise—more of the logistical stuff. Little did I know, our weekly sessions went much deeper. Our conversations dug deep into the systemic issues that plague our nation today, and explain the harrowing statistics and impacts of COVID-19 on BIPOC folks.
What I learned:
One topic I particularly enjoyed learning about was the Indigenous perspective during COVID-19. We were tasked to watch a video on the impacts of COVID-19 and the lack of access to clean water among the Navajo nation. Though this is only one nation out of the many tribes that Indigenous people represent, I think it made clear the disproportionate impact of basic necessities that Indigenous folks were deprived of during a global pandemic. However, I think it could have been helpful to have more Indigenous perspective throughout the class, whether that be COVID-19 related or anything related to health inequities. Overall, I am glad I registered for this class because it has not only shaped me into a more critical thinker and writer, but it has also made me more curious about how society works.
Internal Reflection & How I Grew:
While this class taught me to think of our nation as an a-historic one, I often found myself thinking about how we can counter the notion in daily discourse, that the history of America—from slavery and racist medical experimentation to the new Jim Crow—is perpetuated in existing systems today. As a result, I have reflected a lot on myself in relation to the course topic, as well as how I can incorporate this notion into my writing more. One topic that has gotten me to think a lot is being an Asian-American student, I had always brushed off anti-asian hate crimes because I felt like it was something incomparable to police violence against Black and Latinx Americans. However, this class and the modules that we were tasked to watch made me realize that it’s not about the comparison. It’s not about which is worse. The fact that anti-asian hate crime re-emerged due to COVID-19, highlights the fractures in our system that were yet again, set by a long history of racism. I realized that my internalized racism forced me to ignore history so I never wanted to learn about it. This is why I am glad this class exposed me to learning about the history of anti-asian hate crime, allowing me to draw parallels to today. Not only have I learned more about my own identity, I have also learned more about how I can be an even more critical thinker and writer. Further, the environment of peer editing and being exposed to my peers’ different perspectives has made me realize the beauty in critique. Especially critiquing academic writing, books, and media that is assigned by the professor. For example, I respected that my peers were critiquing Harriet A. Washington’s book Medical Apartheid, because that is not the norm. It is a very beautifully written book that reveals the deep history of racism in medicine; however, I look up to my peers who pointed out its faults because this is how I believe we can become even better writers.
Moving Forward:
Finally, this class has exposed me to a lot of different styles of writing that I think will be beneficial in my career as a public health contributor. From our article review, to the movie review, book review, and op-ed, I think this vast array of writing has strengthened my public writing skills. Ultimately, I do have to choose a favorite piece of writing, and that would be the film review I wrote on Miss Evers’ Boys. I think this is my best piece of writing because I enjoyed writing it the most. Going into this film review, I knew I wanted to watch something new, so I narrowed it down to Miss Evers’ Boys and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I chose Miss Evers’ Boys because although we had talked about the infamous Tuskegee study, I wanted to hear about it from a media perspective. The viewing process was much more insightful and enjoyable because I knew I would be writing a piece on it after, so I was much more attentive to the small details, symbols, and recurring themes. In doing so, I appreciated the movie a lot more and for how the creators chose to depict medical racism through a film. Maybe I should try taking notes in every movie I watch! One question that lingers is: Why is the director of the movie white? Does this invalidate the film? Does it even matter? I’m still struggling with this balance of giving Black voices power versus commending the act of white people making meaningful films to critique racism, so it doesn’t matter who made it.
Attached is my favorite piece, my film review.
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