Brown Studies
One common thread that unites Browns is our passion for learning and knowledge. Below you'll find a snapshot of the things that captivate us.
Contents
Alexstrasza Ruskea
What area of study/learning interests you the most?
Linguistics
How did you first discover or become interested in this subject?
For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in the grammatical side of language arts. I would sit on the school bus, pondering the etymology of words like happy, happen, and perhaps, for example. Before college, such topics were lumped together with reading and creative writing (which I enjoy, but don't enjoy studying) under "English class." Fortunately, when my friends and I were signing up for classes for our 2nd semester of college, one of them found a class that looked interesting - Intro to Linguistics - and asked me to take it with him. He was not pleased when I aced it and he only got a B! That was how I discovered that all the fascinating aspects of language fall under a single educational category, with none of the fluff that would have gone along with "English Major." Sadly, that school didn't offer a major in Linguistics, so my studies stalled out for about eight years... I am thrilled to say that I finally transferred schools, and am finishing up my first semester as a Linguistics major!
What is the one tidbit of information you wish everyone knew?
The one tidbit I wish everyone knew is that I don't like to be called "Steph." I understand the appeal of brevity and informality, but I like my whole name. Hopefully this tidbit wasn't supposed to be related to the previous two questions in any way, because it clearly isn't.
Jeryn Lekar
What area of study/learning interests you the most?
Political science!
How did you first discover or become interested in this subject?
I grew up I guess.
Keladria Tulin
What area of study/learning interests you the most?
I love music theory and appreciation and how it applies to how music is written, enjoyed, and changed over time.
What is the one tidbit of information you wish everyone knew?
People should realize that just because they were bored by a book they had to read for school, that doesn't mean that reading sucks and isn't enjoyable. They just need to keep reading different genres and types of books until they find one that catches their attention and drags them into the awesome world of books to hold them there forever in book loving amazingness.
Kytera al'Sauvin
What area of study/learning interests you the most?
I love Music and English. They were always my favourite subjects in school, and I went onto to college to do Music and Drama/Musical Theatre. I'm now doing an Honours Degree in Music and English Language via the Open University.
Personally, I have studied/researched UFOs and the Paranormal since I was seven years old. I'm thirty-two now and still finding more out every day!
How did you first discover or become interested in this subject?
I've always loved music and writing and performing. My intended career was to be a police officer, but after passing my entrance exams, I took seriously ill and it was discovered that I had Crohn's Disease. Unfortunately, this meant I was automatically refused acceptance as it can be quite a debilitating condition and require a lot of surgery. So, with my dream in tattered rags, I focused my energies into creative writing and performing arts.
I developed an interest in UFOs etc. after my friends and I say something incredibly strange when we were playing in the local park. It was not any aircraft we could identify so it was off to the school library which was still open and the librarian handed me a book on UFOs. That was it. I also discovered that I'd had several encounters and in recent years, after finally admitting this to my family, have uncovered that the UFO experiences date back to my grandmother's childhood!
What is the one tidbit of information you wish everyone knew?
I am overweight, but a proficient ballet dancer and love being en pointe. My weight is not a barrier if I am strong enough to dance. I am also a crazy cat lady. My husband passed in April 2012, so it's just me and the two, zany kitties! lol
Laithean Cor'dazar
What area of study/learning interests you the most?
Hmmm.... I study lots and lots of things so it is difficult to pick just one. I guess my favorite would depend on the day. I study drawing and painting, religions and how they overlap each other, survival-ism, sign language, herbs and their medicinal (as well as mythological) properties, Tarot, the list goes on and on. I would say I am most knowledgeable in Tarot and belief structures of medieval Europe.
How did you first discover or become interested in this subject?
I became interested in High school. My Literature class was studying Greek and Roman Mythology. I became interested in their way of choosing their Gods and how each aspect of life had it's own God. I wanted to study it further and when looking for books found the metaphysical section of the book store. That was the beginning of my fascination with it all.
What is the one tidbit of information you wish everyone knew?
No matter what religion you are, where you live, how easy or hard your lot in life is, if you believe in something it will be there when you need it. Believe in at least one bit of magic in your life.
Manon Lumen
What area of study/learning interests you the most?
The area of study that interests me most is criminology - I am a criminologist. That entails anything, basically, that has to do with crime, but I'm more so focused on the qualitative study of crime than the quantitative - which means I'm more interested in specific cases than the general public and numbers. In my understanding, crime can't be "measured", crime is a "hidden world" as we call it, so I'm highly suspicious of numbers regarding crime (which more often than not are a representation of law enforcement focus than anything else). I got involved in criminology when I minored in it during my bachelor's (majored in clinical psychology). It was totally my thing - it's truly a very fascinating phenomenon. It has also taught me to be a lot more critical about crime and the way it's portrayed in mass media. It's a topic of interest in every medium, from book fiction to TV fiction to the news. Basically, criminology has taught me to become less scared of the world, because factually, crime, especially violent crime, happens a lot less than we (are made to) think. Especially this whole representation of crime in the media interests me, which resulted in me studying how law enforcement and punishment are portrayed in dystopian science fiction. Writing my thesis made me strangely happy - apparently I'm one of those strange creatures that loves to do a thesis. This feeling was amplified by the fact that I could combine three of my favorite things in the world: criminology, (dystopian) sci-fi and writing. I'm currently looking for a job and sincerely hope I'll find something in criminology, though it's scarce. If that's not going to work out, I'm going to continue writing about movies (on themoviescrutineer.com) and articles based on my thesis and perhaps a book on the methods of doing film analysis in criminology. /rant
Mirandha Laflor
What area of study/learning interests you the most?
That mostly depends on the day of the week. I seem to pick up new interests and hobbies all the time. There are a few constants, however. I love British history; particularly the monarchy. I focus the most on the Tudors. Hand-in-hand with this is my love of period dresses. I can't stand watching a movie or TV show where the costuming is not period accurate. It takes me completely out of the movie. I mean, if you're going to go through the effort of making a movie why not hire a costumer who can do a bit of research to make it accurate? The only time I let this slide is in Shakespeare adaptations (another interest of mine). Shakespeare lends itself to different interpretations. You can do Hamlet on the moon and it will still work. Just because his plays were performed in the clothing of the time doesn't mean it can't be done in other ways.
Another interest of mine is kind of a catch all. I love popular culture. I like consuming it (movies, tv shows, video games, etc.) and I like analyzing it. I'm that nerd that reads books about the cultural implications of Star Trek or about the history of cult tv.
How did you first discover or become interested in this subject?
Probably through the American Girl series when I was young. That led me to reading historical fiction which eventually led me to researching periods of history that interested me. My Shakespeare interest came in college through my coursework.
What is the one tidbit of information you wish everyone knew?
You know that meme about how to treat an introvert? That. I wish everyone understood that.
Nethanel al'Tere
What area of study/learning interests you the most?
Way too many to really list out. I've spent entire nights jumping from wikipedia page to wikipedia page. One I'm passionate about is energy generation and consumption (it's the field I work in).
How did you first discover or become interested in this subject?
Work.
What is the one tidbit of information you wish everyone knew?
Wind power is really kind of a dud unless you live in one of the few areas of the world where you get consistent winds that are in the "Goldilocks Zone." Oh, and coal plants aren't bad, it's old coal plants that are bad.
Shaerlyn Storna
What area of study/learning interests you the most?
Broadway.
How did you first discover or become interested in this subject?
My mother took me to a national tour of "Camelot" when I was about 13. As soon as the overture started, I was completely hooked, and ever since then I've been a Broadway junkie. I watch the Tonys, I know the new shows and the classic shows and the up and coming composers..
What is the one tidbit of information you wish everyone knew?
Stage shows are amazing. Go see local theatre, it's electric.
Stasia t'Andrei
What area of study/learning interests you the most?
I love learning about other cultures. I suppose you could call that cultural anthropology or sociology? Currently I’ve been doing a lot of reading about Japan and Zen Buddhism.
How did you first discover or become interested in this subject?
I started becoming interested in other cultures generally as a child. I always was reading books and watching movies set in other countries, and started traveling abroad at 18. Travel is very important to me. Learning about other cultures, people, and languages is an extension of that. I always try to learn at least a little about a country or region before I travel there, out of respect for the people there as well as to enrich my own experience.
What is the one tidbit of information you wish everyone knew?
Phantom of the Opera isn’t an opera.
Taika Vinh
What area of study/learning interests you the most?
Musicology
How did you first discover or become interested in this subject?
Working as a musician and flute teacher, I found out I was more interested in the structures, backgrounds and theoretical aspects of music than in actual playing or teaching. A burn-out was involved too.
What is the one tidbit of information you wish everyone knew?
Eh, their own names? I know you meant the subject, but I don't wish everyone would know a random fact about musicology.
Thalya Nyale
What area of study/learning interests you the most?
What I'm studying right now, Global Studies! It's a social sciences subject, mixing a lot of disciplines like international relations, social anthropology, human ecology and development studies. I also love studying these things with a gender perspective, which is what I am doing this term.
How did you first discover or become interested in this subject?
Started out with being interested in Asia and particularly Japan, then it just grew bigger from there. I like discussing and debating big issues, like poverty, environmental problems and stuff like that.
What is the one tidbit of information you wish everyone knew?
The only thing that comes to my mind right now: That the common gull and the (European) herring gull are two different birds. (Which has nothing to do with Global studies or gender, but I have a keen interest in birds and people always mix these two up, and that makes me sad).
Venric Methalion
What area of study/learning interests you the most?
Art, but more the studio aspect of it than the history. I really enjoy learning new processes and techniques.
How did you first discover or become interested in this subject?
Natural inclination; I've been drawing since I was about three.
What is the one tidbit of information you wish everyone knew?
Just because I made something out of glass doesn't mean it was meant to be used as a bong!
Zashara Sho'am
What area of study/learning interests you the most?
Microbiology/Biomedical Engineering research.
How did you first discover or become interested in this subject?
I took a research job in undergrad to make extra money. At the time I wanted to be a Doctor. I realized that if I had to explain to patients why I'm not giving them antibiotics for a viral infection or some other stupidity then I'd end up in a courtroom for punching a patient. I absolutely loved my research job and decided I wanted to do that for a living.
What is the one tidbit of information you wish everyone knew?
VACCINES DON'T CAUSE AUTISM.
