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Question one: What am I looking for?

My first semester, I took an English/Gender and Sexuality class, and I realized (among other things) that analyzing things through the lense of Gen/Sex issues, and discussing Gen/Sex issues generally makes me REALLY HAPPY. I eventually realized that this might be a sign that I ought to minor/concentrate/independent major in it, so I went to a Gen/Sex tea last semester. Someone there kindly informed me that I needed to take this class in order to minor etc, and I signed up for it.

The other half of that answer is harder. I need to know other people's opinions about gen/sex issues (not least of all because I might find out some of my own by contrast). I need to be challenged in my ideas so I can examine them and learn to defend them. I need to find out what sort of things have part said about gender and sexuality in the past so that examine them, avoid needlessly repeating them, and use them as part of my own arguments. I'm also fairly certain that I need to know enough things that there are questions I don't even know I ought to be asking yet (sorry for the cliché).

Question two: How am I going to get it?

I need honest discussion. I need to make sure I speak up when I ought to (which I know I don't always) and I need to know the thoughts of my peers, especially when they disagree with me (though I will probably forget this sometimes). Also, I'm excited about Evolution's Rainbow, which I've read a few pages of already (By which I mean I need sheer information and interdisciplinary knowledge.

Question three: Thoughts from class?

Um. Wow. Yes. Luckily I jotted down some notes on my thoughts, which I will try to reproduce in a coherent order. I think I understand more of what Mark C. Taylor is talking about with his Problem-based departments. He wants universities to produce students that will work towards solving the world's problems. However, I'm not sure his method would work universally. Students would need to be driven. Some students are of course already driven and find colleges or independent majors that meet their needs (whether it is for solving the needs of the world or for getting the degree that will get them the most money). Of course, an environment where problems are presented to students as exciting things to be learned about might inspire more students to pursue them (just as someone these days might take a classics class to fulfill a requirement and then go "THIS IS AWESOME; I WANT TO MAJOR IN IT.").

This led me to thinking (or maybe the thoughts were simultaneous) about my own life goals, and how I can best use my time at Bryn Mawr to get the tools to fulfill them. I realized that there are classes on a lot of the things that I've been intending to study on my own time, and I should probably take advantage of that. And maybe change my intended major. Yeah.