TED Community » Elena Khaled
About Me
In the fall of 2009, while studying in Burkina Faso, I spent four days in Bolgatanga at a library promoting literacy in north-eastern Ghana. I spent the weekend classifying donated books, learning lessons on zero sum aid and growing a profound appreciation for walled-in latrines. On the drive back to Ouagadougou, offended by my own odor in the back seat of the van whose door no longer closed, it occurred to me that the events of the weekend had fundamentally reoriented my academic and personal objectives. In Burkina, I experienced the difference between studying a social issue and living through it, between a theoretical classroom discussion and a tangible experience of solidarity. Since then, I have tried, to varying degrees of success, to recreate that mindfulness and the unwavering purposefulness that came with it.
Education has helped me widen my professional ambitions. As an Arabic studies minor, I widened my scope of understanding. I remember tears of rage burning my cheeks as I read Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations and heralding Edward Said's Orientalism as the manual for post-colonial analysis. As I read more, I gained a more nuanced understanding of the deeply intertwined histories of the Eurocentric West and often mislabeled East. In college, I was able to sew together my French and Political Science majors with the thread of Arab-Islamic studies. Through Voltaire's Zadig and Montesquieu's Lettres Persanes, I revisited current stereotypes and prejudices in the context of 18th century French philosophy. As a representative of the United States, I hope to similarly dispel negative attitudes about American culture by emphasizing global stewardship, cultural sensitivity and diplomacy in my personal conduct.
- Location:
- United States, New York, NY
- Gender:
- Female
- Areas of expertise:
- Languages, Writing, compassion
- I am:
- Artist, Brainstormer, Change Agent, Concerned citizen, Explorer, Foodie, Global soul, Job-seeker, World traveler
- Languages:
- French, Spanish, English
- Universities:
- Santa Clara University - Bachelors of Science, San Jose State Univeristy
More About Me
I'm passionate about
freedom of information, any process that enables two parties to better understand each other, languages, the internet, foreign affairs, enriching conversation, sharing the human experience, ponyo
Talk to me about
the quantum computer, empathy, compassion, dream interpretation, horoscopes, etymology, bit-coins, TOR, grammar, college radio, meme culture, travel, food, religion, riddles
People don't know that I'm good at
drawing ink portraits of pets in Victorian costumes
Comments
Favorite talks
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A reply on Conversation: What's Your Favorite Dinosaur?
A comment on Conversation: Our Artists and Musicians of the future at risk of extinction?
I would like to touch on one thing though that I find upsetting. The division between Art and Music and English papers, math problems, and sports. This is not something, Mandy, that I think you are alone in doing. We are all taught that these subjects are separate and completely unrelated to one another. It would be much more fruitful to go back to a pedagogy that highlights the intersection of all these schools of thought.
Art = Geometry = Math = Music = Poetry = English = History = Geography = Geology = Chemistry = Physics = Sports
you get the idea! haha, I think some of the subjects are a bit of a leap, but I hope I illustrated my point.
Thanks for your question Mandy!
A reply on Conversation: What's Your Favorite Dinosaur?
A comment on Conversation: How immune should science be from the political environment of its time?
Science, not just research and medical advances, but also technology and its impact on our community, cannot operate outside of the social constraints that govern us. Humans, in my experience, are political animals most often motivated by their own prejudices and priorities.
We (as a community, country, society what have you) also need to redefine/ clarify what we mean by science...The ability to do something does not always have to translate into a policy--but more often than not, people who feel they "don't understand science" feel compelled (often by fear) to stop it.