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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
and I mean that in two senses of the words. One is the sense that power actually produces knowledge. What we think we know and the way we understand people has actually been created for us by people in power. So you can reduce it to something as simple as a stereotype or expectations of how you’re supposed to be, based on what I’m thinking of you as a person I’m meeting for the first time. In fact, power— meaning systems of power, people in power, institutional power—has shaped the way that I look at you already. But the flipside of that is by learning, by doing homework and research—not just within the University but also by traveling, talking to people—knowledge is also power. The more knowledge you gain, the more powerful you are. You can be aware of how power creates knowledge, but you are empowered to create your own knowledge.
Life Advice from a Professor As told by Nitasha Tamar Sharma
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ABOUT THE PROFESSOR
Nitasha Tamar Sharma is a professor of African This is an amazing story . American Studies and Asian American Studies. beautiful In 2013, she won the Charlesand Deering McCor- author. BY mick Professor of Teaching Excellence Award. In addition to a research emphasis on race relations, Sharma takes particular interest in hip-hop music. On the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf in her office, she has books ranging from a Hindi-English dictionary to a binder simply labeled “Tupac.” - Josh Rosenblat
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