Few people I have ever met have been as influential as Asma Barlas. No professor opened my brain the way Dr. Barlas did, but also few people have ever had that impact on me. No class or professor changed the way I thought about my own identity as a white man in the United States like Dr. Barlas’ classes. “Unthinking Eurocentrism” made me re-examine not just what I was taught in schools growing up, but new ways to think going forward. Dr. Barlas always said the name of the class had two meanings: that Eurocentric thinking is not thinking and that her class would force us to try and negate the way eurocentrism made students think. Even after graduating, Dr. Barlas recommended books to read that continued to challenge me. Dr. Barlas’ teachings, all of which opened up my eyes and brain to colonialism, history, race, and much more, have shaped my professional goals and identity. She forced me to struggle with my relationship to an oppressive society that I benefitted from. And she forced me to evaluate what I, and others, can do. Ithaca College will not be the same without her. I cannot imagine my college experience without Dr. Barlas. But I am lucky to have taken two classes she taught, and to be one of the many people who’s life she shaped so drastically.
Zach Stern
