Kick off winter quarter with new ethnic, gender and labor classes!

As registration opens up, there are a wide array of classes to choose from. If you haven’t made your schedule for next quarter yet, there are still several classes available — including two new classes from Dr. Michelle Montgomery. Starting winter quarter, Dr. Montgomery will teach two new classes, TEGL 301 Intro­duction to Indigenous Women and Feminism, and T EGL210 Introduction to Qualitative Methodology and Research Ethics. These five-credit courses are geared towards students majoring in ethnic, gender and labor studies.

Dr. Montgomery provides her stu­dents a safe space to practice critical reflective dialogue to agree and disagree by way of encouraging to call people into discussion.

By taking these courses, students of any major will gain a better understand­ing of native peoples, their history and culture. The learning objective of the Qualitative Methodology and Research Ethics class is for students to achieve recognition of issues surrounding indig­enous topics. Additionally, students who are first-time researchers will develop the ability to critically problem solve.

“I recommend for [students] to pub­lish prior to graduating as a form of capital,” Montgomery said. “This will provide the needed cultural capital when applying for graduate programs.”

Students enrolled in Qualitative Methodology and Research Ethics will be introduced to decolonized and indi­genized qualitative methods and meth­odology. According to the course descrip­tion, students will “examine the key issues, which need to be identified and resolved in the qualitative research pro­cess.” Indigenous scholars’ materials will also be used throughout this course for students to create research proposals.

Throughout the Indigenous Women and Feminism class, students will gain knowledge and awareness of indigenous people within the United States and study feminist theory on how history has helped shape it into its current state.

“[The course is] designed to develop an understanding of Indigenous women’s perspectives and experiences,” Mont­gomery said. “Students will focus on two main questions: how are Indigenous women and feminist movements cultur­ally and historically situated; and how do representations of Indigenous women (past, present and future) create fluid or static agency?”

The feminist movement will be viewed from the perspective of women of color. In addition, students will ana­lyze how feminist activism has changed over time and how it relates to current issues. The course description states that students will mainly focus on the rep­resentations of indigenous women and how they shape knowledge and agency. Most readings will be from indigenous female authors.

By taking these courses, Montgom­ery hopes her students will learn what it means to be critical thinkers, as this helps to be more engaged and under­standing with one’s peers. She encour­ages students to be agents of change in society and academia.