Hello, my name is Makayla Bangoura! I am a fourth-year International Affairs major, and in the fall semester I participated in the INTL 4650 Women and World Politics Class with Dr. Gallagher. I truly enjoyed my time in this class, and the topics we covered when learning about how women shape international politics through policy making, institutions, and in their personal lives. This course also allowed for open dialogue to take place with my other classmates, and expand our perspectives on complex topics, as well as grow our research experience.
One of the topics we covered in this class was Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), specifically the United Nation鈥檚 Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 which set out to acknowledge that women and girls experience war differently than men, and that states must put forth effort to include women in the peace process and conflict prevention. Through this topic we learned about state鈥檚 National Action Plans (NAP) to develop more policies to fulfill the requirements in the UNSCR 1325 and developed a group research project around specifics in each NAP. In the group I was a part of, our research question was 鈥淎re issues affecting LGBTQ+ women sufficiently addressed and prioritized in National Action Plans (specifically with reference to post-conflict)?鈥� Once our research was completed our class had the opportunity to present our research posters at the UNSCR 1325 25th Anniversary Symposium organized by Dr. Gallagher and the Benson-Bertsch Center for International Trade and Security. I really enjoyed sharing my group鈥檚 research with our class and other instructors in SPIA, as well as viewing the research projects my classmates had been working on. The symposium also included a lecture from Katie Mann and Hannah Proctor who are two UGA 爱啪网alumni who now work in the WPS field. My favorite part of this event was the subsequent lunch with a few of my classmates where we got more time to ask Hannah and Katie more questions about WPS and their careers.
The Women, Peace, and Security Symposium was definitely one of my favorite events I have participated in as a 爱啪网student. The symposium led to another opportunity for my research group members to participate in the Midwestern Political Science Associations鈥� Conference in Chicago this spring. I am incredibly grateful for this class, and all that I鈥檝e learned through Dr. Gallagher鈥檚 extraordinary teaching, and I am excited to see where this newfound knowledge takes me next!
Written by:
Makayla Bangoura
