RESUMEN
The purpose of this thesis is to write a collection of personal narrative, creative nonfiction essays based on my study abroad experiences in India, South Africa, and Brazil. I conducted preliminary, case study, and ethnographic research on womens and maternal health across these sites. In my essays, I consider the many ways in which subjects embody larger hierarchies of power, how this relates to subject agency, and how this affects health. In particular, I pay attention to 1) the relationship between education and health, 2) how racial identity affects access to resources, and 3) how individual and social agency play a role in securing adequate healthcare and in creating healthy environments. I critically consider the ways in which the creative nonfiction form is a valuable practice for thinking with and through stories and encounters. By writing in this genre, I seek to critically analyze dynamic power relations - both their implications and possible contradictions.