Reflective Essay On Race And Ethnic Literature

The sole purpose of college is to prepare students for the working world, or so must people would say. But the great thing about college is that you are surrounded by thousands of peers who are intelligent (for the most part) and who can stimulate and challenge us intellectually. It is not only the job of the students to challenge and inspire each other, but of the Professors inside the courses we take. This is why I believe that UVM should keep the diversity requirements for all undergraduate students. The primary reason that I found my way to Race and Ethnic Literature, is because I needed to fill my diversity requirement. Had that not been mandated by the school, I would have probably just taken some standard run of the mill touchstones English course.

This was challenging for me because I am not entirely comfortable with the subject. It is tough because growing up in Vermont, I never really dealt with diversity. While reading the books and articles, I found myself feeling guilty for actions that I didn’t commit mostly because I am white. One author who really challenged me was Tony Morrison. Her short story “Recitatif” had me making so many racial assumptions based on stereotypes that I had made, I didn’t even realize that there was a lack of concrete tells as to which race the two girls were. What the material also did was made me question my pre conceived notions. I was able to take a step back and question why I assumed things were one way over another. The class also really opened my eyes to what was happening in the world. Before the class I had never heard of the AIM and I certainly didn’t know that there are so many hate groups in this country. The class material pushed me out of my comfort zone and then after I read this material that I didn’t really know what to do with, I had to come to class the next day and talk about it in front of all my