Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Emancipation Of A Harem Girl: Resisting The Gendered Division Of Space In Wafa Faith Hallam’S The Road From Morocco, Rachid Lamghari

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article examines the challenging of Orientalist and Western discourses and of patriarchal authority over Eastern women in Wafa Faith Hallam’s memoir The Road from Morocco. The conventional representation of these women is revisited as Saadia in the memoir debunks the passivity and docility with which they are associated by exercising her agency and trespassing the sacred cultural and physical frontiers. Regardless of being introduced to confinement in the private space of a harem since her infancy, Saadia manages to liberate herself first through leaving the allegedly sacred frontiers of the house and trespassing in public space which is discursively …

Balancing The Protection And Participation Of Refugee Women Through The Women, Peace, And Security Agenda: Notes From Turkey, Ebru Demir, Bilge Sahin, Irem Sengul

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article examines whether incorporating the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda of the United Nations Security Council into the international refugee regime may give refugee women greater potential to participate in decision-making processes. In addition to recognizing the need to protect women in conflict settings, the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda also promotes women’s participation in order to achieve sustainable peace. The article focuses on Turkey, which hosts the largest number of refugees globally. The article explores the extent to which the protection and participation of refugee women in Turkey are balanced in the activities of national and international actors, …

Gender Empowerment In Transoceanic Feminine Folklore And Shrines: A Kin Study Of Siddi Women’S Participation In Mai Misra Worship In Gujarat, India, Sayan Dey, Tias Maity, Tanmay Srivastava

Journal of International Women's Studies

The term Siddi refers to the African diaspora communities in India, who initially arrived in the 13th century with the Islamic invaders in Gujarat (then Sindh) as slaves, palace guards, traders, and musicians from the eastern parts of Africa, including Ethiopia, Zanzibar, Sudan, and Tanzania. In the 15th century, another group of Africans from South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique were brought to India by the Portuguese colonizers as slaves. The majority of the histories of the Siddi community are androcentric in nature, focusing on the contributions of African men and male spiritual figures towards the development of the Siddi community …

Reproductive Homonationalism And In/Ter/Dependence In Spain And Catalonia: “Feminazis” And Queer And Trans Reproduction, Doris Leibetseder, Leon Freude

Journal of International Women's Studies

Spain and Catalonia are timely and crucial examples for analyzing homonationalism and queer and trans reproduction with Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). This essay employs Puar’s (2013) formulation of “homonationalism” as an ideology that privileges LGBTIQ people while simultaneously discriminating against other types of people. The Catalan independence process provides us with important insights into the relationship and interdependence between queer and trans reproduction and the state or nation. Queer and trans people’s reproduction is dependent on the laws of the state, the state depends on the reproduction of its population, and most Western EU-states want to appear as LGBTIQ-friendly. A …

The Other Dimensions Of Dalit Oppression: Tracing Intersectionality Through Ants Among Elephants, Arundhati Sen

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper demonstrates how gender abuse is not merely restricted to hierarchical gender oppression but also operates within an intersectional framework where gender is intertwined with hierarchical caste exploitation. While revisiting White bourgeois feminism, bell hooks emphasizes the incorporation of different marginal perspectives to make feminism an all-encompassing radical movement, accessible to everyone. Inspired by the lens that hooks uses to interpret Black feminism and the Indian scholars who approach Dalit feminism from an intersectional standpoint, I analyze Sujatha Gidla’s autobiography Ants among Elephants (2017), a family story of a lower-middle-class rural South Indian Dalit woman. I argue for the …

Editor's Introduction, Kimberly Davis, Priyanka Tripathi, Catherine Ndinda

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

The Bridge, Volume 21, 2024, Bridgewater State University

the bridge

Designers:

Mollie Rose Burk

Liz Cowden

Zachary Lucius

Colm McDonough

Arlene Perez

Editor-in-Chief

Ashley LaVergne

Editors:

Jaina Hicks

Emma Voelker

Faculty Advisor:

Jessica Melendy

Design Advisor:

Professor Alain Blunt

Guide To The Winston F. Bolton Papers, Olivia Englehart

Archives & Special Collections Finding Aids

The core of this collection comprises the literary works of Winston F. Bolton, encompassing poetry and short stories crafted over a span of six decades. Additionally, Bolton's repertoire extends to the creation of short scripts for skits, plays, and screenplays. Intertwined within this collection are letters exchanged between Bolton and his longtime companion, Faye George, including a jointly authored letter addressed to President Ronald Reagan. An equally substantial component of this series comprises Bolton's ideological essays, delving into significant social, Finding Aid: Winston F. Bolton Papers (MSS-056) 3 Maxwell Library Bridgewater State University / 10 Shaw Road / Bridgewater MA …

“Every Man Must Play A Part”: A Character-Centered Approach To The Merchant Of Venice, Megan Moore

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

“The Road Less Travelled”: The Longevity Of Anti-Apartheid Activism In The Life Of Helen Joseph (1905-1992), Sadie Marchesseault

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

“Homes For Ukraine”: Gendered Refugee Hosting, Differential Inclusion, And Domopolitics In The United Kingdom, Megan Crossley

Journal of International Women's Studies

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many Ukrainians have been displaced and sought refuge in other European countries, including the United Kingdom. Analyzing newspaper articles, public opinion polls, and emerging reports on the scheme, I argue that this policy draws on a particular conception of home, blurring the distinctions between private and public forms of hospitality towards certain kinds of migrants. In this moment of intensified public engagement with border politics, through a crisis displacing primarily women, this essay considers the “Homes for Ukraine” scheme as an overt manifestation of gendered domopolitics. In comparing the response to …

To What Extent Does Labor Force Participation Empower Women?, Karolin H. Lehmann

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper critically examines the relationship between women’s labor force participation (LFP) and empowerment, particularly in the Global South, utilizing Naila Kabeer’s empowerment framework. By challenging the orthodox conceptualization of LFP, the study reveals its methodological limitations as a measure of women’s economic engagement. By emphasizing the dynamic nature of empowerment as a multifaceted process within the formal and informal sector, this paper highlights the interplay of agency, resources, and achievements within Kabeer’s framework. Drawing from global examples, it demonstrates the varied impacts of paid work on women’s decision-making in both private and public spheres. While acknowledging the potential of …

Leaning In And Bouncing Back: Neoliberal Feminism And The Work Of Self-Transformation In Ottessa Moshfegh’S My Year Of Rest And Relaxation (2018) And Halle Butler’S The New Me (2019), Isabel Sykes

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article is concerned with the capacity of contemporary fiction to reveal and oppose the ubiquity of work in Western culture. I conduct a comparative literary analysis of two contemporary novels that expose how neoliberal rationality has transformed work into an all-encompassing project, endorsed by a corresponding manifestation of feminism. Rather than challenging gendered labor relations through collective action, this “neoliberal feminism” incites women to turn their critical gaze within and transform themselves into resilient citizens and workers. Its sensibility is disseminated through popular literature, from “chick-lit” to self-help books, via narratives of physical and psychological self-transformation. This article builds …

“I’M One Of Those Crazy Feminists!”: Young Women’S Embodiment Of The Feminist Killjoy During The Transition From Secondary School To Higher Education, Abigail Wells

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Performance Art As A Site Of Socio-Spatial Resistance: Challenging Geographies Of Gendered Violence, Egle Karpaviciute

Journal of International Women's Studies

By researching the intersections of art, geography, and violence, this paper interrogates performance art and its capacity to question one’s gendered existence in space/place. Through an analysis of two performance art pieces—J. Hawkes’s Playing Kate (2018) and Cassils’s PISSED (2017)—I explore the connections between art, gendered bodies, and space/place, while establishing a link between and across feminist and trans* gendered tyrannies. While discussing feminist and trans* performance art, this paper probes the felt and lived harms that are experienced by feminist women and trans* individuals in gendered locales and addresses ways in which art can challenge socio-spatial violence. Overall, through …

Survivors Of Sexual Assault On The Stand: A New Feminist And Victim-Centered Bioethical Framework To Discuss Justice And Trauma, Mathilde Genest

Journal of International Women's Studies

This essay argues that neuroscientific knowledge of trauma should be utilized to address injustices experienced by survivors of sexual assault (SA) in the courtroom and introduces a new feminist and victim-centered bioethical framework. Survivors face several injustices during a SA trial. Rape myths and victim stereotypes, which stem from gender discrimination, create unrealistic expectations for survivors’ behaviors and engender epistemic injustices. Other injustices are inherent to SA trials. Notably, the justice system fails to protect survivors and actually harms them by granting them little agency while risking secondary victimization. Many injustices experienced by survivors are linked to their reactions to …

Sober Women’S Feminist Resistance To Alcohol Marketing And Cultural Representations Of Women’S Drinking Practices, Claire Davey

Journal of International Women's Studies

Alcohol is marketed to women as a glamorous and empowering reward for juggling the demands of work and family life. This essay explores the ways in which women who do not drink reject the feminization of alcohol and drinking practices and frame this rejection within discourses of feminist resistance. This essay draws on data collected as part of a mixed-method ethnographic research project that investigates women’s use of, and participation in, online sobriety communities. Findings suggest that women who lead or utilize online sobriety communities have considerable awareness of the feminized marketing of alcohol, and some express strong ideological opposition …

Introduction To The Special Issue: Feminist Studies Association Of The Uk And Ireland, Deirdre Niamh Duffy

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

The Balance Of Spectacle And Empathy: Writing And Revising The Stone Skinned: A Novel, James Tickle

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

The Benefits Of Drama Therapy With Children And Adolescents, Rebecca Gallant

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Drama therapy, as defined by the North American Drama Therapy Association is “the intentional use of drama and/or theater processes to achieve therapeutic goals…an embodied practice that is active and experiential. This approach can provide the context for participants to tell their stories, set goals and solve problems, express feelings, or achieve catharsis” (NADTA 2021). NADTA was established in 1979 as an organization to advocate for drama therapy and to ensure that drama therapists are upholding the proper qualifications to practice. As noted by the organization, drama therapy can be used in a variety of different settings, including classrooms, nursing …

Shall Her Eyes Rest: A Story Of A Syrian Refugee, Hamza Qasem, Manal Al-Natour

Journal of International Women's Studies

“Shall Her Eyes Rest” is a short story about a Syrian refugee woman, Maryama, who overcomes challenges in her journey as a refugee in the USA through hard work, dedication, and resilience. The story reveals how she displays agency by asserting herself in a foreign community, becoming independent, and sharing her Syrian cuisine and culture with the American society. Moreover, Maryama’s story reveals a nightmare that some refugees face—family separation. She and her children and husband were able to board their flight to the United States, but one of her sons was denied entry and was not allowed to join …

Book Review Essay: A Kick In The Belly: Women, Slavery, And Resistance, Alexandra Smithie

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review Essay: Feminist City: Claiming Space In A Man-Made World, Hale Demir-Doğuoğlu

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review Essay: Race And Reproduction In Cuba, Zyanya Gutiérrez

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review Essay: The Transnational Redress Movement For The Victims Of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery, Boram Yi

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Bad Gays: A Homosexual History, Jacob Koski

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Daddy Issues: Love And Hate In The Time Of Patriarchy, Andrea Rosales

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Inside This Place, Not Of It: Narratives From Women’S Prisons, Marella Pinto

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Women In Financial Services: Exploring Progress Towards Gender Equality, Jessica Ye

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Thappad: A Tale Of Women’S Resistance Against An Abusive Social System, Avishek Deb

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.