Finch, Regan (Regan)

Hi everyone! My name is Regan Finch, and my preferred pronouns are she, her, and hers. In terms of my preferred name, feel free to just call me Regan! I am a senior at UCLA, double majoring in World Arts & Cultures and Economics. My majors are very different from one another, but I love trying to incorporate them together. For example, one of the clubs I am involved with on-campus is an impact investing club.

Although I am still deciding how to approach my WAC Senior Project in the Winter and Spring quarters, I plan to do something with activism and mental health. In the past World Arts and Cultures classes I have taken, my research has focused on a variety of topics: different aspects of mental health, the culture within the education system, gender imbalances, and also activism for students with learning disabilities.

I love opening myself up to new topics and also thoroughly enjoy learning about new cultures. During my time at UCLA, many of the classes I have taken touched upon art as a form of activism and the role art can play in expressing one's culture. We focused on art in a broad context in these classes, encompassing multiple, different identities and cultures. I have enjoyed these classes and was excited when I saw this class offered during the Fall quarter. 

I found Linda Nochlin's piece, "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists," captivating. I found it particularly interesting when she wrote, "...women ... in other realms of endeavor, are not a "problem" to be viewed through the eyes of the dominant male power elite. Instead, women must conceive of themselves as potentially, if not actually, equal subjects, and must be willing to look the facts of their situation full in the face, without self-pity, or cop-outs." The shift in mindset is empowering: shifting from the normalized patriarchal way of thinking to treating women as the main agents in their lives.