GEA1000: Geography in a Changing World
In my first Fall semester at the University of Florida, I was declared an Exploratory major since I did not yet know what I wanted to do. In order to explore the field of geography, I took this entry-level course called Geography in a Changing World. The class immediately opened my eyes to all the different cultures of the world, as it was primarily human geography rather than physical. In the course we surveyed various societal and environmental issues, such as overpopulation and unsustainable use of resources, and how cultural differences could relate. This was my first truly international course in my collegiate studies, which planted the seed that would lead to my current focus on international environmental issues.
REL2300: Introduction to World Religions
Within my International Studies coursework specifically, I have taken a couple religion courses which focus heavily on international cultures. In my second year of undergrad, I took REL2300: Introduction to World Religions - somewhat of a survey class of all the different religions around the world. My coursework took me all the way around the world through the study of proselytizing religions, as well as how religions build off of culture and vice versa. This course was especially eye-opening because--although I had already known a lot of the material--I learned an incredible amount about what makes cultures so unique, but also how religion can connect them.
SPN3520: Culture & Civilization of Spanish America
Once I had declared a second major in International Studies (with a focus in Latin America) and my Spanish minor, I began to realize how much my studies overlapped. Culture & Civilization of Spanish America with Dr. Hind was a course, taught in Spanish, which counted for both International Studies and my minor. The course strongly focused on the history of Latin American nations, including governmental and economic trends. Furthermore, we touched a lot on international intervention, specifically from Western Europe and the United States. U.S. intervention in Latin America became a major focus of my research within my International Studies major, so much so that I wrote my senior paper on Salvador Allende's controversial presidency in Chile between 1970 and 1973.
ISP Course
ANT2140: Introduction to World Archaeology
In my final semester at UF I took Intro to World Archaeology, in part because of my recent interest in Mayan ruins from studying abroad in Mexico. From this ISP course, I learned a lot about different cultures around the world and just how interdisciplinary archaeology is. There were a lot of cases where my spatial thinking from studying geography came in handy when visualizing archaeological sites. The course not only had an international focus, but also focused on various periods of history. So there was also a temporal component on top of the spatial component. This was very interesting to me as I could learn how different regions have changed over time, especially with respect to changing climates. Overall, it was a really great class which taught me a lot - not just about archaeological methods and history, but also different cultures and human-environment interactions.