Who is Alejandra Piers-Torres? Well, academically you could say that I am currently a senior double concentrating in International Relations: Politics, Culture and Identity and Hispanic Studies: Literature and Culture. My concentrations have allowed me to take courses such as AN128 "Violence and the Media", SP55 "Cultures of Violence" and of course PS40 "International Politics". The combination of these classes has taught me to analyze different modules of media and consider their cultural and often multicultural impact. Not to mention, my concentrations have highlighted the humanization of violence, as it all too often becomes embedded into cultural icons.
On a more personal note, I was born and raised in “Sweet Home Chicago”. It is a city very dear to my heart and one often prone to political scandals, both disclosed and publicized. Chicago is currently trying to compete against Rio di Janeiro for the location of the 2016 Olympics and has therefore taken a greater interest in its “international” image. It has been interesting to watch the city’s international makeover with the inclusion of more cultural events and the occasional globe symbol within the city’s public domain. My mother was born in Havana, Cuba therefore I have always had a general interests in international affairs, especially as they relate to Latin America. More specifically, I have always been drawn to the often “taboo” and “controversial” depictions Cuba within US media and vice versa. I guess I feel lucky that I have been able to travel to Cuba a few times and see that people can relate outside of the exaggerated political separations.
I am interested in studying media not only as an information outlet but also as catalyst towards events. I witnessed this first hand last spring when I studied abroad in Barcelona and I was able to experience the different ways that the Spanish and Catalan media covered international affairs compared to the often censored US media. I became especially aware of this in the coverage on the Virginia Tech shootings. The local Spanish newspapers ran very graphic pictures of the victims. As a college student myself, I was obviously very sadden by the situation and I felt haunted by the images. When I called home my peers were unaware of the explicit pictures. I had to wonder how many news worthy events in my life had been sugarcoated. I think this course would be a great opportunity to develop my interests and an excellent way to top off my IR concentration.
In the essay “Writers, Intellectuals, Teachers”, Roland Barthes analyzes the assumptions and constraints of communication. Barthes specifically focuses on the sea-saw dynamic between speech to writing and consequently teacher to student when he says, “Language is always on the side of power; to speak is to exercise a will to power” (p.311). After sitting through several inspiring lectures at Brown I would have to agree that captivating an audience, especially in the context of learning has an empowering affect. I am learning this first-hand as I prepare my sample lesson plans for the Teach for America application. While I am excited about the prospect of participating in this organization, it is a very daunting thought to take on the supremacy role of a teacher. In my opinion, this inherent “power” brings into questions the idea of “freedom of speech” which many democracies seem to pride themselves on. Is one ever truly “free” to speak if they are ruled by undisclosed errors and embedded in an expressive hierarchy? I believe that the freedom of expression can survive if we take into account that this “power” is vulnerable. Even Barthes points out, “Speech is irreversible…There is nothing to be done with speech but add on more” (p.309). The “errors” of a teacher in their oratory stage cannot be concealed from the students. However, I do not see this as a negative aspect of communication. Sometimes the best lessons are learned from shared experiences, including human mistakes.