Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Beware The Cat In The Hat: How Children's Literature Is The Modern Form Of Segregation, Lucy Kebler

Celebration of Learning

Every person grows up exposed to children’s literature. Unfortunately, much of the children’s literature that is published is racially discriminatory, historically inaccurate, blatantly offensive, or pure propaganda. The research for this presentation began in Augustana College’s library and has transitioned to a much broader space: The Saint Louis Country Library. Through this research, it has become obvious that diverse literature is hard to find and is often marketed as only readable for those in the minority race depicted. Many libraries mark literature that contains African Americans, as to help “guide” readers in their selections. Books labeled in this way make …

Feminism And Faith: How Women Find Empowerment In The Roman Catholic Church, Amanda Schar

Celebration of Learning

This project examines the relationship between feminism and Catholicism, focusing on whether or not women feel empowered by the Roman Catholic Church. Female members of the Augustana community were surveyed and asked to share their own experiences with their Catholic faith.

Themes discussed include the decision to stay in the Church versus the decision to leave, the importance of Catholicism as a cultural identity, and the multitude of ways women have found to empower themselves within the existing Church structure.

The Real Period Stain: Menstrual Stigma And Its Pressures In South Asia, Ila Mostafa

Celebration of Learning

This research project looks to answer the question: How does menstrual stigma in rural and urban Bangladesh affect women’s access to menstrual health care?

The research question was borne from personal experiences with menstrual stigma and seeing it firsthand in many areas of Bangladesh. These firsthand experiences come from women whom I interviewed in urban and village locations in Bangladesh in 2017. The research question looks to explore how women feel about seeking help for or talking about their menstrual issues. In asking this question, I want to explore what is at stake for women due to the powerful presence …

Paper: Investigating The Work Of William Styron: The Perpetuation Of The Fantastic Hegemonic Imagination, William Sikich

Womanist Ethics

William Styron's Confessions of Nat Turner depicts a fictitious characterization of the historical Nat Turner. Styron, a white southerner, assumes Turner's perspective in order to tell a speculative story about his slave rebellion of 1831. Similarly, he tells the story of a fictional holocaust survivor in his novel, Sophie's Choice. The decision to take on these perspective evinces some arrogance on Styron's part, and the way in which he executes the narrative of each novel delivers their stories with varying levels of respect to their subjects: Styron's indirect telling of Sophie's story allows Styron some freedom to speculate, while …

Jesse Routte: Using Style To Signify Injustice, Emma Nordmeyer

Race, Ethnicity, & Religion

Jesse Routte, first African-American student to graduate Augustana, made national headlines in 1947 for wearing a turban on a visit to Alabama. In this paper, I explore how Routte's stylistic choices uprooted and questioned the racism of the Jim Crow era.

Confirmation And Contradiction: A Continuous Recreation Of Gender And Ethnicity In The Works Of Josephus, Taylor C. Ashby

Religion: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

This essay addresses Josephus's The Life as a autobiographical representation of his own masculinity and ethnicity during the the first century.

Intimacy: In Moonlight, Black Boys Look Blue, Vanessa Iroegbulem

Sexual Ethics

This paper will analyze the role of hegemonic masculinity and homosociality in order to highlight how these social scripts contribute to the inhibition of expressing or displaying intimacy between men, specifically in the film Moonlight.

Sexual Assault On College Campuses: The Links Between Hegemonic Masculinity, College Sports, And Sexual Violence, Vanessa Iroegbulem

Sexual Ethics

This paper seeks to explore the social and neurobiological factors that shape men into sexual aggressors by rewarding violent behaviors. It will critique the exploitation and the commodification of male bodies through sports, namely football.

Looking Beyond Binaries To Avoid Polarization In The Sex Work Debate, Laura Keenan

Tredway Library Prize for First-Year Research

This paper considers both sides of the debate surrounding sex work--the argument for criminalizing sex work and the contention for legalizing sex work--in relationship to policies aimed at combating sex-trafficking in America as well as globally. A queer theory concept of recognizing and removing linguistically created binaries is applied to this debate to offer a more productive perspective on the matter.

Give Name To The Nameless So It Can Be Thought, Lalini Shanela Ranaraja

Audre Lorde Writing Prize

No abstract provided.

Proof Positive, Lalini Shanela Ranaraja

Vázquez-Valarezo Poetry Award

This poem is an exploration of the aftermath of sexual assault and the myriad factors which determine how women, especially women of colour and Asian women, cope with that aftermath. I am particularly concerned with how the testimony and literature of Asian women can prompt other Asian women to unravel their own stories by reflecting these stories back to them and giving them a medium through which to have this confrontation. With this piece I attempt to communicate that the act of confronting and sharing trauma is a continuous and absolutely vital process for survivors of sexual assault.

Off To College With August And Ana: Social Change And The Reconstitution Of Feminine Norms At Augustana College In The Postwar Period, 1945-1962, Aaron Donald Hollatz

History: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

This project examines the changing demographics and culture surrounding higher education in the United States in the period following the Second World War and the relationship to normative constructions of femininity at Augustana College between 1945 and 1962. The college used a variety of means to reconstitute feminine norms, including social and sexual control and ritualized expressions of heterogamy, to construct a rigid femininity for women students. This allowed the college to reassert its norms and values in a changing world and to create continuity with the past. The Augustana Coed of the postwar period was white, northern European, middle-class, …

Sr. Jay: Social Justice, Shayna Smith

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

I interviewed Sr. Jay in January 2019 regarding her path to becoming a woman religious, and her experiences within her chosen order. This segment of the paper details her order’s partaking in social justice oriented activities, and how that connected to course content.

Sr. Nicole: Being A Teacher, Sierra Rood

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

I interviewed with Sr. Nicole who spoke about her life experiences as a woman religious. This paper includes a portion of the interview where she spoke about her journey of becoming a woman religious and being a teacher.

Paper: Beware The Cat In The Hat: How Children’S Literature Is A Reflection Of A Bleak Society, Lucy Kebler

Womanist Ethics

Children’s literature is full of messages that are relayed to children. Unfortunately, many of these messages are involve cultural appropriation. Others involve harmful interpretations of sexuality, consent, and identity. This essay explores why classics such as Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat, and Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie. All these books present different problematic material, which must not only be revaluated based on content, but also on the way it is taught and relayed to children. Along with the books listed above, this essay also looks …

The Swedish Welfare State And Women: Is Sweden The Feminist Society The United States Imagines?, Amanda Schar

Scandinavian Studies Student Award

This paper discusses several aspects of the Swedish welfare state and whether or not they represent a successfully feminist form of government. It compares these aspects of the Swedish government to the United State’s government.

Sr. Darlene: Education And Retirement, Jocelyn Plowman

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

This paper highlights part of an interview with Sr. Darlene, who is a member of one of the most hardworking orders in the United States. Sr. Darlene has personally experienced the reforms of the Vatican II Council, increased professional opportunities for women religious, changes in the Catholic education system, and new opportunities in retirement.

Sr. Irene: Teacher And Friend, Mary Ade

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

This paper includes a short piece from interview conducted in December 2018 with Sr. Irene, who has worked in education for 40 years. She recalls her experiences as a sister in her congregation since entry.

Sr. Eleanor: Removal Of The Habit, Samantha Butcher

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

Being a women religious for over 60 years, Sr. Eleanor has had the opportunity to experience many changes associated with Vatican II with one of which being the transition to life without a habit. This paper dives into the personal feelings and social implications Sr. Eleanor experienced with this change.

Sr. Sara: 21st Century Catholic Education, Molly Bastida

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

This paper gives a snippet of the life, discernment, and practices of Sr. Sara. Within this paper, Sr. Sara wrestles with her own discernment story and discusses how she believes Catholic education today should look like.

Sr. Miriam: Community And Habits, Loretta Dantuma

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

This paper includes part of an interview on January 11, 2019, with “Sr. Miriam Drake” – a sister who has served her congregation for almost 60 years – and her views on evolution of habits after Vatican II as well as the role of community in faith.

Sr. Joey: Power Structure Within The Education System, Emily Tokarz

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

I interviewed Sr. Joey on January 17th regarding her experience within the Catholic Church. This paper includes her experiences with the power structure and how it affected her life’s work.

Sr. Anne Jones: Prayer In Action, Chloe Anderson

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

This paper includes part of an interview with Sr. Anne Jones, a woman religious belonging an order with a history in education. This interview includes a key moment in her discernment process and her opinions on the misunderstanding that only cloistered nuns are contemplatives.

Sr. Barbara Joanne: Prison Ministry, Amayrani Lopez

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

This paper includes an interview with Barbara Joanne, a woman part of a Roman Catholic religious congregation and a teacher for about 20 years, and her experiences with prison ministry.

Sr. Ethel: On The Marriage Tribunal, Carter Pease

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

I interviewed Sr. Ethel in January of 2019 regarding her life experiences as a woman religious. This paper includes a portion of the interview where she spoke about her work on a marriage tribunal as one of the most significant jobs in her time as a sister.

Sr. Melissa Anne: Valuing Experiences, Anna Garcia

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

This paper consists of an interview with Sister Melissa Anne. She has traveled around the Western side of the United States, Mexico, and Central America translating (Spanish) with integral evangelization ministries.

Sr. Kelly: Climate Change, Tyler Duggan

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

This paper includes an excerpt from an interview with Sr. Kelly, a woman religious who has worked in education for multiple decades and has been an important activist in the fight against climate change within her community.

Sr. Linda: Interfaith Collaboration, Alyssa Twilbeck

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

By examining the work of Sister Linda with collaboration of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian denominations, this paper analyzes the importance and widespread use of interfaith cooperation by the Catholic Church.

Sr. Sophia Hart: Vatican Ii Interactions, Jason Szara

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

I interviewed Sr. Sophia in January 2019 regarding her experiences and interactions in the Catholic church along with being involved in sisterhood. This paper includes sections of that interview along with discussion of Vatican II and its relationship to its people.

Sr. Sage: Teaching The Word, Rebekah Wilken

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

This paper highlights an interview with Sister Sage and the experiences she has had as an educator in the Catholic school system. After 52 years of service, the retired sister reflects on her career’s successes and what it meant to her.