Hey everyone! My name is Emily Brown and I'm a freshmen from Boston, Massachusetts. I am not exactly sure what I am majoring in yet so I am taking full advantage of SLU's liberal art programs. So far my favorite classes here and in high school have been English classes because they are mostly discussion based, I also did a lot of photography in high school and hope to do some here. Last semester I took a survey in 20th century American Literature and my FYP which was Representations of the American family. In both classes we read a lot of different books and were able to have full class discussions about the readings. I think being able to have class discussions is extremely important because it gives me a chance to get a better understanding of the reading and besides having my own ideas I get to hear what other people thought. It gives me a chance to interpret it in a different light.

I wanted to take this class because it's an english, but mostly because I took a Harlem Renaissance class in high school and really enjoyed it. There is something about the culture of that time that really drew me in and I figured that we would touch upon that period, which I am really excited for. Also, when I read the course description I noticed that we would be reading James Baldwin and he is my favorite author, so I am also really excited to read more stuff by him.

I would describe myself as Biracial (I'm half Salvadorian and half American) I also grew up in Mexico so I identify in some way with Mexican culture. In regards to religion I do not identify with any, I am not sure if I'm against it or if I just haven't figured it out for myself yet. When I was growing up in Mexico and when I came back to Boston, I identified myself as Mexican very strongly, but as I spent more time here I began to identify more with America and El Salvador. I have always had some trouble feeling like fully accepted by both races. In Mexico I don't think I noticed because I was too young, but when I started to get older I started to feel more of an outsider when I was amongst both races. When I was with mostly hispanics I felt like I couldn't completely connect with them but I also felt that way when I was around all Caucasian people. When I read the story by Saidiya Hartman, I felt like on some level I understood where she was coming from. As i have gotten older I have gotten a lot better at dealing with being biracial and have felt more comfortable with it. I think having many components, not the just ones I mentioned but many more have made me become more understanding and open to all cultures and ideas.