Globalisation was something that I have been interested from a young age as I was always interested in other cultures and ways in which I could learn about them, experience them and connect with them as well.
I grew up in Romania before coming to the UK at the age of ten and although, in comparison to the UK, it is a much more homogenous country I was exposed to various cultures in different ways. I grew up bilingual, speaking both Romanian and English and had British and American books and cassettes with cartoons. I watched Bollywood movies and Indian soap operas with my mother as well as other popular foreign shows at the time.
Coming to the UK only enhanced this interest for knowing more about the world as I met many people from all over and was able to share parts of my culture as well as learn from others. Things that I thought were only exclusive to my culture I was able to find out that others had or experienced as well. From this I learned how interconnected the world is, not only now but even in the past. An example of such a case was learning how some of the Romanian dishes I grew up eating were ones that were common in many parts of Europe and even outside of Europe. Some of these are however likely to simple coincidences and not due to the countries having had some contact. A simple case of this finding out that the national dish of Romania, stuffed cabbage rolls, has many variants in other countries.
Stemming from this cultural interest in global connections I slowly began to consider other ways in which the world is so connected. This included the ways in which these connections may cause suffering and negative consequences (such as cheap labour being used in the manufacturing of everyday commodities like clothing). Although I chose to study English Language and Linguistics at University, and have really enjoyed my time learning about the linguistic processes and language’s role in society, the IATL module is an opportunity to explore past areas of interest through a more academic lens, as well as gain insights from various disciplines. The structure and the assessments attracted me as they are less content and memory driven, there seemed to be more of a focus on active learning.
So far I am pleased to see that it is indeed the case. I plan to engage with the content throughout the module in an interesting and exciting way. I think there is a level of excitement different from my other modules due to the uniqueness of the module’s structure. I have also been interested in perhaps working in the charity sector, such as an NGO, and I hope this module may spark more interests relating to global issues that will help develop my research interests and therefore align my future career choices as well.
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