Hian Yong Yeo

CRIS major

What makes you want to be a CRIS major or minor?

What pushed me to want to be a CRIS major was when I took the Intro CRIS course, ‘Sex and Power’. It really changed the way I viewed the world. Furthermore, it allowed me to be critical of the privileges I have and how it affects my position in society.

If you’ve already taken CRIS courses, what has been your favorite reading orassignment? Why? OR, what CRIS course do you look forward to taking? Why?

My favorite CRIS courses would be a tie between ‘Gender and Culture’ with Professor Lisa Anderson-Levy and ‘Black Lives Matter’ with Professor M. Shadee Malaklou. Both courses had very tough but paradigm-shifting readings that pushed me to think outside the box. One of the readings from Lisa’s class that stood out to me was ‘When White Women Cry: How White Women’s Tears Oppress Women of Color’ by Mamta Motwani Accapadi and from Shadee’s class, it was ‘Reflections on the Black Woman’s Role in the Community of Slaves’ by Angela Davis. Both of these articles were struck me because they were easy to read and I could see how the examples mentioned by the authors played out in real life.

What are your CRIS learning goals?

My CRIS learning goal is to be able to use the tools that I have gained from my CRIS courses and apply it to all aspects of society. The wide range of cross-listed CRIS courses I have taken have helped me get closer to achieving my goal. I have taken CRIS-related sociology, anthropology, history and education courses that I feel have helped me to analyze how power imbalances and inequities have permeated all facets of society.

What do you want to do with your CRIS knowledge/skills in your post-Beloit life?

In my post-Beloit life I intend to work either in the government or non-profit organizations that focuses on public policy/administration, so that I can continue to help ease inequities in society. I am also looking forward to applying what I have learned in an Honors Term project.

What would you tell other students thinking about majoring or minoring in CRIS?

I would definitely encourage everyone to take at least one CRIS course in their time at Beloit. Many people don’t really know what CRIS is about, and when I say “it’s something like Women’s and Gender Studies”, I often get a lackluster response. CRIS is definitely a major that helps you to think scholastically, and to help mold students to become more critical about society and what they are exposed to.