UTM graduate in English and psychology investigates cultural connections in literature and human behaviour.
Literature has always played a big role in Whitney Buluma’s life: she says she can’t remember “a time before [she] loved reading.”
Her deep passion for literature intensified in a first-year English course at U of T Mississauga (UTM) where she discovered a community of similarly enthusiastic students on campus.
“It was so enriching to be in a room with others who cared deeply about literature,” says Buluma.
“They weren’t just thinking about the books, but literature and social justice, literature and the environment – literature as a lens to look at everything else that you’re interested in.”
Also harbouring profound fascination for health and human behaviour, Buluma’s passion for the intersection of literature and human psychology informed the remainder of her university journey, which just wrapped up earlier this year.
As part of a Capstone Seminar which Buluma participated, her research with Emeritus Professor Neil ten Kortenaar considered the concept of modernity through Western and non-Western lenses. Her research is titled “The Problem of Humanness: Triangulating Ubuntu.”
“There are competing meanings and ideas about modernity, so I was interested in seeing when we look at these understandings, how do they shape what people think is possible politically?” says Buluma.
In her work, she investigates two theories regarding modernity: the first posits modernity to be a narrative and something we all look towards, rather than a historical moment. In this argument, the emphasis is placed on building connections and striving for modernity together. The second line of inquiry in her research explores whether modernity is a historical event – one that she has found has eluded the African subcontinent – or if it is a developing event that one tries to achieve and embrace.
Buluma’s focus in this area stems from her experience growing up in Kenya.
“My research emerged from my interest in decolonization and understanding myself as a colonized subject,” says Buluma.
“I think about this both in the work I produce as a writer, but also psychologically – how I felt after the effects of colonization.”
During her academic journey, Buluma did not shy away from branching out from her coursework. As Co-Editor-in-Chief of With Caffeine and Careful Thought, the academic and literary journal of the English and Drama Student Society, Buluma engaged with the literary community at-large.
“It was gratifying to see the transformation of people’s work before and after the editing process,” says Buluma.
“The contributors place a lot of trust in you as editor, which is also a confidence booster.”
Upon graduation in 2024 with a BSc and majors in Psychology and English, Buluma is eager to continue her research and investigate the implications and applications of either perspective with her expertise grounded in both, and how they shape the ways in which people perceive things and think.
“Living in an increasingly dense information environment, I am interested in the narratives we create and the ways in which we understand the world,” says Buluma.