Makayla Harmon

Title of Program: Decolonial Studies

E-mail Address: mharmo18@vols.utk.edu

Hometown: Chattanooga, TN

Year: Junior

Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2022

Description of Program: Focusing primarily on the Francophone world, in particular former French colonies of Africa and the Antilles,  I am exploring the enduring impact of colonization within these regions. Although decolonization was said to have ended in the 1970s, the legacy of colonization persists very much within our cultural, social, and economic structures in which imperial and colonial narratives reproduce themselves in our daily lives and often exclude the voices of developing nations. To produce a world and global system that it is better than what it is currently is (that is to say more just and decolonial), I am studying the ways in which our contemporary world functions, namely how the international system disadvantages non-Western nations and the challenges Francophone countries face in the aftermath of colonization.

Departmental Emphases: International Affairs and Relations, French Language and Literature, Sociology, Art History, Anthropology 

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Mary Campbell

Plans after graduation (career, graduate/professional school, etc.): Graduate school
Other Academic Interests: American politics and government, Asian and Middle East Studies, Latin American Studies, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Study Abroad: Art History course in Paris during Summer 2019 

Research Experiences or Internships: Advocacy and Storytelling Intern at Planned Parenthood, Research in Arts Scholar, Development Intern for the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture

Part-time employment; Hobbies; Campus Clubs/Activities: Chancellor’s Honors Program, award-winning Tennessee Model United Nations delegate, VolMUN, Planned Parenthood Generation Action Council