Please reflect on Dr. Moyd's talk. What questions did her story spark for you? How have you seen perspective hold importance in your own life and academic journey?
"When reflecting on Dr. Michelle Moyd’s presentation of her life, the one part that continues to strike me is her recalling of her childhood memory of the girls calling her a “zebra” due to her mixed complexion from her biracial parents. When she spoke of this moment, the entire room’s tone dramatically shifted from upbeat to very somber. Racism was entirely present in Dr. Moyd’s life. This moment brought the audience back to reality from her tales of a loving childhood. As an audience member, hearing from someone in person who suffered from this type of hate made the conversation much more intimate. I think Dr. Moyd did a wonderful job at connecting this to her message of perspective-One’s outlook and attitude towards something can greatly affect their knowledge and the situation as a whole. Clearly, the girls who targeted Dr. Moyd had little understanding of the concept of universal equality. This behavior most likely stemmed from a specific and limited upbringing in which they were taught to see people through this lens. While this story was a small part of her presentation, it helped listeners comprehend how perspective truly affects every aspect of our lives.
Dr. Moyd continued this message in her discussion about eastern African soldiering and warfare. She claimed, “It’s funny how when we think of World War One, we never think of Africa and how they were affected.” After she said this, I thought to myself, we really never hear or learn about Africa’s conditions during this time. This relates to the theme of perspective because we are taught through a specific lens, and through that lens only. Her work, focusing on the social and cultural history of German East Africa, requires expanding one’s narrow lens. Consequently, this changes one’s perspective on the situation as a whole. With understanding of German East Africa, one is able to appreciate the culture’s unacknowledged efforts and have a broader perspective of World War One as a whole. Dr. Moyd stated that late Dr. Lee Ann Fujii was a huge influence in this branch of study, while also focusing on mentoring racialized women in academia. Her focus on perspective was also, therefore, very strong.
Dr. Moyd’s focus on perspective is particularly interesting to me because it is something that is rarely considered. Just in my everyday life, I have a limited perspective within Women’s Leadership Program. We have women from all over the world-Nigeria, United Kingdom, Mexico and Korea. Unfortunately, I have not taken the time to get to know or understand these different cultures. My perspective and appreciation of these cultures and their efforts, is thus, limited. It is important to be conscious of this reality and make an active effort to change and expand my outlooks-we forget how easy it is to be trapped in our own bubbles. This applies to other areas of my life such as theatre, film and family-there is always room for expanding one’s bubble."
- Miranda Nazzaro, IAC 2018-19
"The most memorable aspect of Dr. Moyd’s talk was the impression that expanding our great capacity for empathy does not mean overstepping your boundaries. Helping others is incredibly important, but it is each individual’s responsibility to educate themselves before trying to make changes in someone else’s life. I appreciated how Dr. Moyd challenged common perceptions of military humanitarianism, especially given her unique background as a veteran, a child of a veteran, and an academic. She expressed how people go into the world thinking they know the best way to help, but are so often ignorant of what that means for the struggling groups they encounter. Though I learned about the damaging nature of modern colonialism and missionary work in underdeveloped nations, I never find myself truly considering the adverse effects that can impact these communities.
With her presentation, Dr. Moyd gave all of WLP the ability to step back and think about how our individual deeds, albeit good-hearted, can have unforeseeable consequences. It made me reconsider some of my past actions. I always pride myself on being a person who can be very sympathetic, but I’ve realized that this emotion is not always helpful if it is not manifested correctly. Approaching every interaction by considering someone else’s perspective is a lesson that I believe everyone should be taught. I appreciated having Dr. Moyd come and share her perspective with us, and I hope she continues to spread her message."
- Ruby Dietz
"In addition to deftly honoring the legacy of the late Dr. Fujii, Dr. Moyd prompted reflection on a variety of topics throughout her speech. She spoke to the importance of one’s own perspective on history, as well as the fluid nature of one’s perception of life events. I was also struck by her emphasis on the importance of not imposing ‘help’ from the top down, or from the outside in. Instead, Dr. Moyd, in a move reminiscent of Ambassador Mula-Mula, advocated for taking the receiver’s perspective into account as well, prioritizing listening and compassion above all. Dr. Moyd’s talk raised multiple questions for me, while also revealing the importance of perspective in my own personal and academic life.
I left Dr. Moyd’s speech with very few questions. For the most part, her talk was very informative and my fellow audience members asked intriguing follow-ups, but there are always more questions to be asked. I wonder if Dr. Moyd ever had a conversation with her military father about her shifting perception of military intervention? Given that her father was supportive of other, less straight-laced ideas such as the Black Power movement, I wonder if they ever found common ground in questioning the military’s morality. Additionally, I would be curious to hear Dr. Moyd’s advice on how best to value your own perspective and your desire to help others without disregarding or undervaluing the perspectives of those you are trying to help.
Dr. Moyd’s speech also opened my mind to the importance of perspective. In my academic life, I can now better acknowledge the merit of my own point of view. I believe that appreciating one’s own perspective, especially as a woman or a person of color, is vital in academia. When one’s voice is already viewed as less significant, informed, or qualified, it pays off to have self-security. Believing in one’s own validity is the first small step towards being taken seriously by white, male academia. These lessons are not limited to academics, either; in professional or personal life, knowing one’s worth is almost universally helpful."
- Anonymous
"Dr. Moyd’s talk on Thursday resonates with me when she spoke about her childhood. I am not of mixed race, but I did grow up with parents in an interracial marriage. Though it is very different in the 2000’s than it was in the 1970’s, I still saw many parallels in our experiences. I saw a distinct lack of African American history taught to me in school, but my parents approach to exposing me to the culture was not through flash cards and quizzes, as Dr. Moyd’s was. My parents’ way of exposing me to culture was largely through religion, as we were a part of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion church since I was about 7 years old. I did not notice Dr. Moyd discuss any particular experience with religion as a child, and I wonder how her identity may have changed if she had a large community from a young age. She had support in her community as person of color, she described prejudice being a result of her parents’ military status rather than her race. I also wonder if growing up abroad influenced her ability to feel comfortable with herself. Many people of color describe a sense of dysphoria in a predominantly white culture which champions white traits and culture. I think that growing up outside of American culture, she may have been allowed to reconcile her racial identity more freely than people of color who grow up in the United States.
Overall, I really valued her opinions because they presented a generally uncovered section of opinions and problems which we are all aware of, but rarely critique. Like the lack of African American history taught in schools, or colonialist ideas of how to assist communities in Africa."
- Anonymous