Who am I?

My name is Kaitlyn O’Hagan, and I’m an undergraduate at Hunter College, taking a course called “Feminism, New Media and Health.” If your question is “What’s that course about!?” I’ll refer you to the course description (it looks great!). But why am I in the class?

First, the basics: I’m a senior, studying History and Public Policy. No, I don’t know what I’m doing when I graduate yet (so don’t ask).

My main area of historical interest is American women’s history. This combined with my interest in public policy is the short answer to why I decided to take this course.

The long answer includes the fact that my best friend and partner both refer to me (lovingly) as a “raging feminist” (hence the blog title) and the fact that I am an avid user of “new media” both in my personal life, and my work life: I’m the CIO (Chief Information Officer) of the Public Policy Program (P-cubed) at Hunter college, which basically means I’m responsible for managing the email, Facebook and Twitter account.

How does the “health” component of the course factor into my interests? Most obviously, I’m a woman, so women’s health inherently includes me and my body. But health (and perhaps more so health care and health policy) impacts me on a deeply personal level for other reasons as well: I am a Type 1 Diabetic, in addition to having other non-life-threatening but serious medical conditions. While diabetes might not be traditionally considered a women’s health issue, in my case (and the 12.6 million other women with diabetes) it is.

Despite my interest in these different subjects, I have never really considered their intersection, at least not in a serious, academic way.  I’m excited to begin doing so, and am looking forward to a fabulous semester!