Women’s Studies. What is it?

Women’s studies. To start what is it?

The simplest way to explain it would be to go to Wikipedia:

“Women’s studies, also known as feminist studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field that explores politics, society, media, and history from women’s perspective according to feminist perspectives. Popular methodologies within the field of women’s studies includes standpoint theory, intersectionality, multiculturalism, transnational feminism, autoethnography, and reading practices associated with critical theory, post-structuralism, and queer theory. The field researches and critiques societal norms of gender, race, class, sexuality, and other social inequalities. It is closely related to the broader field of gender studies” (Gender Studies).

I am currently minoring in Women’s and Gender Studies at Kennesaw State University. I have been studying these topics in depth as part of both my minor and my English major. I have taken several courses and participated in multiple self-directed academic and non-academic projects in the field. Some of these courses include : Introduction to Women and Gender Studies, Feminist Theory, Gender Theory, Queer Theory, Gender Analysis of 20th century British literature, Gender Studies of North Native American literature and culture, and an internship in the field of feminist non-profits.  This semester I am taking the capstone course ” Research Methods and Publications in Women’s Studies”. The purpose of this course is :

Course Description:

“A study of research models of scholarship in interdisciplinary studies, combined with an opportunity for students to conduct a research project of their own. Students will read examples of outstanding research and survey discipline‐based scholarship focusing on interdisciplinary studies. Topics for studying methods could include debates regarding different methodologies, critiques of traditional research methodologies, integrating theory with scholarship, and ethical questions associated with producing research in interdisciplinary studies”.

For our project we have been tasked with:

Explaining  the process of conducting research in interdisciplinary studies and proposing, planing, and carrying out a research project. Writing a researched, analytical report on our findings.

I am very excited to start my project and I thought that it might be fun to document my progress here for future reference.

I have decided to focus on the  examination of possible solutions to the barriers that impoverished women face in getting access education due to their gender, economic status, and culture.  I think that there are many hurdles to this problem. First, you cannot go and tell someone to go to school when they do not first have the ability to provide for themselves. Second, in many places there are cultural and religious barriers that also prevent these women from having access to education.  I think that by combining education with microfinance opportunities we can help fight some of the barriers that women face today. Another point of concern is the role of the instructor. Traditional schooling may work for children, but it is not flexible enough for adults. I think that technology is the best way to allow these women to learn at their own speed. There are many free online programs, like Khan Academy, that provide a free, world-class education that is available any time for free online. By using a microfinance business as a jumping point not only are we helping these women help themselves we are also giving them power within their communities. They can start of by learning a trade or skill to help them survive. Through the jump start of a microfinance program they can earn enough money to buy a computer, support themselves, and they can have access to education. In my research paper, I will examine possible solutions to the barriers that impoverished women face in getting access education due to their gender, economic status, and culture.  I think that there are many hurdles to this problem. First, you cannot go and tell someone to go to school when they do not first have the ability to provide for themselves. Second, in many places there are cultural and religious barriers that also prevent these women from having access to education.  I think that by combining education with microfinance opportunities we can help fight some of the barriers that women face today. Another point of concern is the role of the instructor. Traditional schooling may work for children, but it is not flexible enough for adults. I think that technology is the best way to allow these women to learn at their own speed. There are many free online programs, like Khan Academy, that provide a free, world-class education that is available any time for free online. By using a microfinance business as a jumping point not only are we helping these women help themselves we are also giving them power within their communities. They can start of by learning a trade or skill to help them survive. Through the jump start of a microfinance program they can earn enough money to buy a computer, support themselves, and they can have access to education.

I will look into many disciplines to solve this problem including, but not limited to: Gender Studies, Economics, Ethics, Sociology, and Education

I hope that by the end of the semester I will be able to :

1) Present my research at an academic  conference

2) Have my work published in an academic journal.

I hope it all works out!

Works Cited

“Gender Studies.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 15 Feb. 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_studies&gt;.

Sesame Crusted Seared Albacore Tuna Tataki

Sesame Crusted Seared Albacore Tuna Tataki

Ingredients:

- seasalt

- butter

- raw yellow fin tuna  

- raw untoasted sesame seeds

- 3 tablespoons of oil

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Directions:

1. Take sea salt and liberally cover both the top and bottom of a piece of rawfresh tuna with it. Leave the salt on the tuna for ½ hour to help season the salmon. After 30 minutes wash the salt off, pat dry the tuna, wrap it in saran wrap. You can either leave it to cure at room temperature for 30 minutes or you can freeze it and use it later. The salt coating helps to keep it fresh and to prevent it from having that fishy taste when you defrost it and use it a later.
2. After you rinse the salt off of the tuna, pat it dry with a paper towel.
3. Pour the raw untoasted sesame seeds into a pan and completely cover your tuna with the seeds. Press them on to the tuna gently using your hands so the seeds will stick to the surface of it.  The reason for using raw untoasted sesame seeds is because if you use toasted sesame seeds, when you cook the salmon you will be cooking the seeds a second time and then they will get burned. To prevent them from getting burned you need to use the raw sesame seeds. Note: Western stores use yellow fin tuna because it is a lean fish and the fat inside it will not break when you cook it.
4. After you cover it with the sesame seeds cover it with a little bit of sea salt and press it into the salmon so it will stick.
5. Add in 3 tablespoons of oil and evenly coat the pan. Turn on the heat at high and wait for the pan to heat up.
6.  Cut your salmon loin in half so it will fit inside your frying pan. If the pan is at the correct temperature the moment that you put your tuna in the pan you should hear a sizzle.
7. Flip over the tuna when the sesame seeds are golden brown. The meat should be ¼ cooked on one side. At the end our goal is to have a medium rare tuna filet.
8. Add more oil if the fish has absorbed it all, and turn the tuna onto its side on the pan so it will cook. Proceed to sear each side of the filet in the pan so they are browned a bit. Once all the sides are seared flip the tuna onto its back and sear that side last. After the back is seared take it out and put it to rest on top of a paper towel. This does two things: 1) it allows the oil to drain off of the fish and 2) it allows the fish to rest. If you try to slice the fish once it comes out of the pan the sesame seeds will fall off.
9. After the tuna has rested for 5 minutes you can plate and garnish it. To cut the loin, pull the knife towards you instead of pushing it forward. Make ¼ in slices. You can add in sliced fresh garlic.
10. You have a couple of plating options: When the risotto has relaxed it doesn’t hold it’s shape so it doesn’t matter what you with it . You can put it in a straight line, curve it, lay out the risotto and lay the tuna on top of it. You can also add thyme and pea sprouts as garnish. 

Asian risotto with lobster bisque

Asian risotto with lobster bisque:

Ingredients:

            - ½ yellow onion- score the onions

            - 4 tablespoons of olive oil

            - 2 teaspoons of dry Italian seasoning (Thyme, Basil) 

            - 1 piece of garlic

            - 1 cup precooked white rice

            - ½ cup Sauvignon Blanc white wine

            - note: do NOT add salt until the risotto is done cooking

            - 1/2 cup of miso soup stock

            - 1/8 teaspoon of diced fresh jalapeños

            - 1/2 cup of readymade lobster bisque

            - 2 tablespoons of butter (cut into four -½ tablespoon blocks)

            - 4 tablespoons of minced mushrooms

            - 1/8 teaspoon of Italian parsley or cilantro

            - Do NOT add in salt

Cooking time: 20 minutes

       
Note: This risotto does not use cheese; instead it uses a lobster bisque soup to hold the rice together.

Directions:

1. Score and dice ½ of a yellow onion.
2. Pour the 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 teaspoons of dry Italian seasoning (Thyme, Basil) in     a metal pan on high heat.
3. Once the pan starts to smoke add the onions to the pan with some smashed garlic, basil and other seasonings.
4. Add in 1 cup of precooked rice to the seasoning in the pan.
5.  Remove the pan from the stove and add about ½ cup of Sauvignon Blanc white wine and stir in. 
6. Once the wine begins to cook down and get soaked into the rice, slowly add in ½ cup of            miso soup stock while stirring the risotto mixture. Note: Do not add in too much miso or the      risotto will become too salty.  Allow the miso to simmer into the rice on medium heat.
7. Add in the diced jalapeños. And let it simmer for 2 minutes.
8. Add in 1/2 cup of readymade lobster bisque and fold into the risotto using a rubber spatula.        Mix until 30% of the liquid is absorbed. Then lower the heat from medium to low, so the rice      won’t burn.
9. Add in ½ tablespoon of butter at a time and mix in. If your heat is too high your butter will          break  ( meaning that the butter will separate from your risotto mixture and float to the top          creating a darker colored risotto) and that will make your risotto oily.
10. If you over cook the risotto you can just add in either more stock or more wine to rebalance it.   Stir it well.
11. Add in chopped mushroom and stir.
12. You many garnish your risotto with 1/8 teaspoon of Italian parsley or cilantro.
13. When you have left over risotto that you want to reheat, but it is a bit stiff the best thing to do    is to put it back in a pan on the heat, add in a little bit of wine, and stir until it is the right            consistency again. For a large batch of risotto add in a total of two cups of wine in stages          and stir in.