Jan Term: A Place for Self-Discovery and Community
The Jan Term course Check All That Apply: Being Multiethnic and Multicultural in the U.S. encouraged students to engage critically with not just theory and texts, but also their own identities. Students learned about the meaning of holding multiple identities and ethnicities, while also discovering information about their own personal backgrounds and ancestry.
Sociology Professor Ynez Wilson Hirst first taught the course in 2015, hoping that mixed race and multicultural students would be interested in it. Professor Hirst identifies as mixed race (Native Hawaiian, Chinese, White) and said that, “the interest level [for the class] has been great! Jan Term is such a great time to teach about something we are passionate about that we don’t get to do during the regular semesters.” Wilson’s work focuses on gender, ethnicity, and social identities.
Wilson said she hoped the class would become a vessel for students to learn about the history of race in the United States and provide a springboard for larger self-reflection. “Many folks are shocked to learn about all of the antimiscegenation laws and that in some states, interracial marriage was illegal until 1967, when the Supreme Court decided the Loving vs. Virginia case. I bring that home in a sense by telling my class that my parents were married in 1967. Had they been living in another state, they would not have been allowed to marry, and I wouldn't be standing here in this classroom. And it wasn’t until the 2000 Census that individuals even had the option to mark more than one racial category.”
Willa Clare Truby ’22 describes her experience in the class as a “wonderful introduction to a concept many live but do not talk about on a daily basis. I loved hearing everyone’s stories and communicating my own, especially in sharing our personal histories.” Hirst felt similarly about the sweeping personal history projects, adding that, “The level of engagement, listening, and community building is really amazing. My two favorite days every month are the final two, when students present their Cultural Autobiography/Personal Narrative. Everyone puts so much time and thought into sharing their story. I am literally blown away every year.” This community aspect of the class has also encouraged Hirst to allow for more discussion, as well as time for students to connect with each other and work in smaller groups.
The course has been a hybrid course since its inception in 2015, which has been beneficial because of the recent shift to virtual learning. Hirst described the pilot class as “a special place to be able to share and learn” but added that all classes have continued to be humbling learning experiences for her. The first class comprised 14 young women who identified as mixed race, but the current iterations include students from a variety of social groups participating in learning about multiple identities while also reflecting on their own.