Complete Conference Program - Wellesley College

3–4:10pm
time away from their "home" nation? Is it
possible for an individual to be nationalistic
and cosmopolitan simultaneously? This study
examines Korean students attending college
or university in the U.S. These students grew
up in a “one-blood” nation but now find
themselves in a far more racially and ethnically
diverse nation. My research explores how the
U.S. experiences of these students influence
their nationalistic versus cosmopolitan worldviews.
Data come from survey and interviews
with Korean students across the U.S.
(mis)representations of Hitler in India
Abigail R. Weitman ’13, Peace and Justice
Studies and South Asia Studies
AdvisoR: Neelima Shukla-Bhatt,
South Asia Studies
With over 10,000 copies of Hitler’s Mein Kampf
sold in Delhi annually, Hitler has become
somewhat of an unlikely celebrity in India.
Indian T.V. shows, films, restaurants and clothing
apparel stores have sparked controversy by the
representations of Nazi insignia and glorification
of Hitler’s dictatorial leadership. In what setting
has Hitler become of interest to the youth culture
and why have lessons from the Holocaust been a
disconnected narrative? In this presentation, I will
share examples of Hitler’s popularization in India
and provide possible theories explaining where
this interest in Hitler stems from.
Wearing Native: misappropriated
Indigenous Cultural Property in the
fashion Industry
Kalina Yingnan Deng ’14, Philosophy
AdvisoR: Anastasia Karakasidou,
Anthropology
For First Nation peoples, native cultural property
– aesthetic designs, rituals, and symbols
– are intrinsically connected to their spirituality
and to their sovereignty as indigenous people.
However, fast fashion labels and haute couture
houses alike have “borrowed” sacred native
designs to cater to increased demands for
“native” and “tribal” trends. A few examples of
this exoticism in the fashion industry include
Karli Kloss's wearing a decorated war bonnet
in the 2012 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show,
Ralph Lauren's romanticized "Southwestern"
prêt-à-porter collections, and ASOS's marketing
mantra for consumers to "Go native with
Aztec & Navajo prints." In light of this
fashion grievous faux pas, I argue that fashion’s
consumption of indigenous cultural property is
a modern continuation of colonialist discourse.
Furthermore, I argue that the commoditization
of sacred native arts attributes to the neocolonialist
phenomenon termed by Rosemary
Coombes as cultural cannibalism and by bell
hooks as “eating the other.”
Gender in a Transnational
Context
(panel discussion) Jewett Arts
Center 454
Re-Imagining Immigrant Identity
formation within a Danish and
American Context
Jenny Jean ’13 Women’s and Gender Studies
AdvisoR: Irene Mata, Women’s and Gender
Studies and Rosanna Hertz, Women’s and
Gender Studies
Forced or voluntary immigration forces
individuals to renegotiate their identity as
their psychosocial context changes. While
forming a renegotiated identity may be
uneventful for many immigrants, it may be
more arduous for those immigrants whose
physicality continuously marks them as
“other.” By examining the modes through
which immigrants negotiate their identities
through spaces of visibility and invisibility we
can begin to understand the ways immigrants
attempt to create a non-fragmented sense of
self. We can also begin to understand how
these tools of identity formation are both
a product of and a challenge to the societal
structure in which they find themselves.
Natural Disasters as Social Disasters:
the Political economy of Gender-Based
Violence in Post-Disaster Settings
Monica Setaruddin’14, Psychology and
Health & Society
AdvisoR: Irene Mata, Women’s and Gender
Studies and Rosanna Hertz, Women’s and
Gender Studies
Previous research demonstrates that natural
disasters increase women’s risk of violence.
It has been surmised that poverty and
lack of resources exacerbate gender-based
violence. In addition to these factors, the
political economy of gender inequality
plays a crucial role in explaining why
women are particularly vulnerable in
post-disaster settings. Using a political
economy framework to evaluate post-Haiti
earthquake, South Asian tsunami disaster,
Sri Lanka Tsunami disaster, and Hurricane
Katrina, I will discuss the gendered impact
of natural disasters. Its implications for
gender-sensitive planning recommendations
will also be discussed.
Chinese Women leaders Against
oppression
Elizabeth Torres ’14Women’s and Gender Studies
AdvisoR: Irene Mata, Women’s and Gender
Studies and Rosanna Hertz, Women’s and
Gender Studies
This paper is based upon an analysis of interviews
collected by Professor Hertz about the
lives of women founders of various NGOs in
China. Along with historic events including,
the Cultural Revolution, Tiananmen Square
and the World Women’s Forum, I will draw
a parallel between the history of these NGOs
and that of China. By studying these three
generations of NGO women leaders who
challenged organizational and cultural norms,
I show how people or women who became
leaders in China gained agency and learned
how to navigate the Chinese government
system, how to garner support, and how to
lobby for the people they served. I suggest
that it is the experiences they underwent –
not their personality -- that motivated them
to become leaders. Therefore, my research
lobbies for the historical, cultural, and
gendered impacts of “experienced struggles”
undergone by these women.
“out of many, one People”: A Gender
Analysis of Jamaica from outside
and Within
Wendy West ’13, Women’s and Gender Studies
and Biological Sciences
AdvisoR: Irene Mata, Women’s and Gender
Studies and Rosanna Hertz, Women’s and
Gender Studies
Jamaica’s national motto is “Out of Many, One
People.” This aphorism embodies the diverse
populations of people that identify with the
Jamaican heritage. However, gender-based
issues on the island arise out of the lack of
representation of women in positions of power
and an increased rate of sexual assault and
gender-based violence. This gender-based
violence is, in part, a result of the normalization
of a hyper form of masculinity within Jamaican
society. Returning to the country during
Wintersession helped me gain insight into the
manifestations of this female marginalization
and the feminist movement on the island
attempting to redress these gender-based issues.
As a Jamaican-born United States citizen,
I have the unique experience of studying
Jamaican culture through the lens of both an
outsider and a partial member of the society, a
positionality that allows for a complex analysis
of gender in this Caribbean country.
WELLESLEY COLLEGE RUHLMAN CONFERENCE 2013 47