Jeffrey Coltman-Cormier

MAJOR:  History, Political Science; Minor in Arabic language
CURRENT STATUS:  Senior
WHY ARE YOU STUDYING HISTORY: Things do not come out of nowhere or happen for no reason; they tend to be connected to past trends and processes.  Simply put, an essential way to understand the present is to study history.  This important lesson is why I study History in pursuit of my career goal of entering the realm of academia.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT IT: I really enjoy exploring past events that explain why I experience what I experience, whether that means studying colonial conquest to help explain why a place that I may be in is under the jurisdiction of a particular state or studying immigration to help explain why I can access certain types of cuisine.
HOW WILL YOU CHOOSE TO USE IT:  Although I plan on entering a Political Science graduate program with a focus in the field of border studies, having a background in History will help ground my thinking in historical context and will strengthen my qualitative research skills.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE:  My biggest challenge has been to get enough sleep and feel like a functional human being while at FAU!  GOAL:  My goal is to become a border studies scholar and combine research and real-life activism to hopefully impact government policy in such a way that combats inequality and upholds human rights.
FAVORITE BOOKS:   Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree by Tariq Ali, The Devil's Highway:  A True Story by Luis Alberto Urrea, and Violent Borders:  Refugees and the Right to Move by Reece Jones.
PERSONAL:  Music is fun and incredibly important for understanding other people and places.  One of my hobbies is finding and listening to many kinds of music, ranging from James Brown-inspired funk in Morocco to mixes of electronic dance music and the music of indigenous groups in the United States.