Samhita

She/They (equal preference to both) Age: born in 2001

My name is Samhita, or Sam. I was born in New Jersey but grew up in Hyderabad, India for most of my life, then went to Singapore for undergraduate studies before moving to Chicago to get my masters in art history. I love reading, drawing, spending as much time as possible with my friends, the color blue, and cats.

I truly believe finding community and understanding history is the best way to combat systems of oppression and achieve liberation. Coming from an Asian country where queerness and LGBT issues are a rich part of pre-colonial history but are not discussed at all in current society, having queer friends saved me from a lot of angst as a young person. Due to this invisibility, I was never able to meet queer elders in my home country. It is an honor and privilege to be able to learn from them here. I would like to bring the perspective of non-Western queerness to this class, as well as learn from my peers and the elders.