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Southern Oregon University

McNair Scholars

My name is Amanda Singh Bans. I received my B.A. from Southern Oregon University in December, 2006, with a major in English Literature and a minor in Women's Studies.

Although my academic interests were first inspired by literature, my focus is on multiculturalism, rooted in interdisciplinary studies. After attending and working at the National Association for Ethnic Studies Annual Conference in March 2006, I discovered an atmosphere that not only provided me with new and exciting terminology, but with opportunity in which to express my passion and utilize my academic skills.

Since March, I have been involved in several projects which ignited my desire to learn more about Cultural Studies, particularly discourse on race, class, and gender in U.S. society. I was accepted into the Southern Oregon University Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program, where I completed an internship in the summer of 2006. I received the Catherine Molinar Knapp Multicultural Award at Southern Oregon University. I was also an active member of the Black Student Union and co-leader of the Women's Studies Club.

I continue to expand my Women's Studies Practicum project, "Social Weapons of Destruction: an Investigation of the Death of Nick Hanson." This project led me to work with various organizations both on- and off-campus, including the departments of English, Women Studies, Communications, and Sociology, as well as the Multi-Cultural Coalition, and the Ashland Police Department. In addition, a total of three articles about my project were published in both the student newspaper, The Siskiyou, and the local newspaper, The Ashland Daily Tidings. More recently, I have co-organized and hosted several student and community events about the implementation of new and safer police policies. I learned how to organize and compile dense portfolios of research materials, in which initial questions evolved into complex ideas that could be explored and challenged. Although I aim to continue my education in literature, my plan is to earn a Ph.D. in either Ethnic Studies or American Studies. My goal is to unite my creativity and love of literature, particularly narratives and poetry, with my fervor for human rights, informed by research predominantly in Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology and Women's Studies. It is through this synthesis of information that I look forward to developing new spaces of awareness for women of all colors, in which we are able to articulate and expand our ideas in stimulating and productive ways.

Many influential writers, particularly Toni Morrison, bell hooks, W.E.B. DuBois, and Paula Gunn Allen, have inspired my work. Their writings, together with my professors’ devotion and my own multiethnic family history, inform my plans for future study and work.

Mentor: Dr. Sandra Holstein, English

 

Merging Perspectives Presentation (Requires Flash Player)