At the University, I am studying to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Legal Studies, an African Studies certificate, and a Global Studies certificate with a focus on Cultural Dynamics. The bulk of my studies have centered on relationships between people, relationships between countries and cultures, and the relationships between legal systems throughout the world. Both the Global Studies Center and the College of General Studies place a high emphasis on coupling the academic experience with education outside of the classroom, which is why I am grateful I was able to study abroad in Ghana my final summer as an undergraduate student.
For my Global Studies certificate, my emphasis on Cultural Dynamics has exposed me to how the shifts and changes in one area directly affect the lives of those in another. The class material I studied in “Women of Africa and the African Diaspora” highlighted the aspects of cultures specific to West African women and how these aspects translated through the slave trade and were maintained, some still existing today. However, I also learned how the Black Feminists Movements occurring in the United States inspired like movements amongst women in West African countries as well as the Caribbean.
The “West African Performing Arts” class offered during my study abroad trip to Ghana introduced me to another sector of my studies that my coursework thus far had not: the influence the performing arts has had and continues to have on interacting cultures and their communications. Though I have spent time analyzing the various political occurrences of countries, I have rarely looked into the artistic developments and the role they play in the international sphere. In Ghana, I was able to participate in a Palm Wine festival and listen to the musicians discuss pressing political matters, perform poetry, and tell stories all in their native tongue. They showed me and the other students how these Hi-Life circles and festivals, historically occurring in the villages, have now been used to inspire the popular Afrobeat music I hear on the radio today.
The Global Studies Certificate has complimented my degree in Legal Studies excellently. My studies have typically been focused on international law between countries, analyzing the written laws and how they are enforced solely. However, the courses in my certificate have shown me the importance of considering all aspects of a country, their art, and their history, in order to understand how to serve them legally. All of this has amassed to a well-rounded comprehension of different cultures, intercontinental as well as intracontinental communication, and the global legal system.