My Motivation To Study The History, Literature And Diverse Culture Of America At University
When watching the documentary “13 th”, I was able to develop my understanding of the political aspect of racial inequality in American history as well as current prison populations. My enjoyment of learning about this stems from my interest in human rights and ethics which I think is epitomized in American history with regards to race.
Slavery and African American history is a particular interest of mine as well as the life of Frederick Douglass. I believe his work towards equality was impressive considering it was in the 19th Century. His inspiring life story led me to read his novel entitled ‘My Bondage and My Freedom’ which extended my knowledge of African American history through literature allowing an emotive and personal insight into the life of a slave.
American Culture is hugely influential within my life which sparked my interest in the country. I completed an art project on American culture in the 1950s/60s for my GCSE in which I studied the art and culture of important American ideas, popular culture and news events from those two decades. This enabled me to gain an artistic and visual insight to the pop culture influenced byAmerica in which I gained an A grade. I enjoyed learning about the depth of classic American cinema when I completed a MOOC course entitled 'Hollywood: History, Industry, Art' which enabled me togain an understanding of American visual culture with a particular focus on film and American celebrity history. As well as this, I have studied some aspects of American History; studying the CivilRights Movement for coursework as well as the Cold War and Vietnam War for the exam in which I gained an A* in both. I took particular interest in this section of the course and so would enjoy studying the depth of the history of America at university.
I have studied American literature suchas 'Death of a Salesman' by Arthur Miller and 'Of Mice and Men' and enjoyed learning about how historical context impacts the literature as both of these texts refer to the troubles of the Great Depression and the American Dream which guided my understanding of the relationship between history and literature. I have completed a range of wider reading for my English literature course such as Hawthorne’s ‘The Scarlet Letter’ which widened my understanding of American Literature as well as the presentation of women in literature. I also attend Literature Society as an extracurricular activity which deepens my understanding of literature and adds to my enjoyment of reading texts. My extended project qualification is evidence of my interest in comparative culture asI am comparing the cultures and societies of England and Norway in establishing the differences inthe child murder cases of James Bulger and Silje Redergard. As a Sixth Form ambassador at my school I have developed confidence and communication skills.
Through Irish dancing I learnt discipline and the ability to follow instructions. This also taught mehow to work effectively in a team and allowed me to mature at a young age by learning resilience and how to deal with disappointment and competition. In 2017 I completed my NCS hosting a quiznight to raise money for charity. Here, again, I enjoyed working in a team and improved my leadership, communication and public-speaking skills. Having undertaken paid work at Next as wellas cleaning at my school, I have experienced different working environments that has enabled me to gain leadership and communication skills through customer service.
Travelling to four states in America allowed me to gain a close and personal connection to the country which broadened my desire to study the history, literature and diverse culture of America at University. This would effectively combine my range of skills into a specific course of study.
