Glossary Entries

Hello fellow global and transnational feminists! My name is Emily Helm; I’m from Lakeland, FL and I am in my third year at UCF. I’m an English-Creative Writing major with minors in film and women’s studies.

            I’m coming in to this class having taken one women’s studies class before. I was aware that I was still new to feminism, but thought that I had some sort of basic understanding of what I would be learning in this course. The first day of class showed me how incorrect my comfort was. Many of my previous assumptions about feminism are not only incorrect, but also flawed at the very root of their formation.  In these first few weeks of classes I have analyzed and then reanalyzed issues and finally come to a conclusion, only to have a peer or something in the text point out an entire aspect of the issues that I completely overlooked. For example, today’s reading mentioned how immigrants are not able to move as freely across borders in a globalized economy. I thought I understood the text; I thought it meant that companies would need workers to stay in their own company to accomplish production. The next sentence, however, explained how those who were put out of work when production moved locations—those whose jobs were taken—were unable to emigrate. I hadn’t even thought of those who were affected in this way! As much as I’ve already learned, the main thing I’ve already come to realize is that I don’t really know anything.

            But out of this ignorance I am determined to grow.

            What I anticipate to be one of my bigger challenges this semester is grasping how immense and all-encompassing transnational feminisms really are. Because I can’t even comprehend the vastness of the world, it’s almost impossible to imagine organizing women on a global scale. There are roughly 3.5 billion women on this planet, I mean… my mind wanders.

            Another challenge will be trying to sort out how globalization and the international economy actually operate. I have absolutely no knowledge of economics of any kind, which will obviously be problematic in this course.

            That being said, I am really interested in exploring more into the interconnectivity and intersections that exist within transnational feminisms. I can’t really say specifically what I want to learn with those terms, as I only just sort of began to understand their meaning today.

I know this sounds really hippie-dippy and idealistic, but I think people should genuinely give a crap about the lives, welfare, and well-being of their fellow humans, regardless of nationality, gender, race, class, etc. Apathy is a systemic problem, and because I don’t know (yet) how to combat a systemic problem, I can begin by educating myself. I believe this education will take on many forms; I need to learn from others, especially women with lives that do not remotely mirror my own and who can call me out on my own bias and privilege. I’m sure I’ve made at least one horribly offensive remark in this introductory note alone. I clearly have a lot of unpacking to do, wish me luck!

I have read, understood, and accepted the terms of the syllabus for this course.