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Galloway, N.J. – Three �鶹��ý students were selected to present their research at the 20th annual New Jersey Women & Gender Studies Consortium’s (NJWGSC) Undergraduate Colloquium on April 12 at Drew University.

Students I’Yanah Barnes, Sarah DeRoide and Victoria Orlowski  discussed research they conducted for their courses “GIS 3614: Seminar in Feminist Theory” and “HIST 3103: 1930s America” with School of Arts & Humanities faculty members Deborah Gussman and Sharon Musher.

Betsy Erbaugh, associate professor of Sociology and chair of the Women's Gender & Sexuality Studies program, said the students demonstrate the WGSS program's interdisciplinary nature.

“I’Yanah, Sarah and Victoria have majors in , and . Having that interdisciplinarity represented at the WGS state colloquium this year was unique,” Erbaugh said. “They did a great job representing Stockton, and it’s always exciting to see students networking across institutions with other students and faculty from an array of fields.”

Computer Science major Barnes wrote about Black women in media and the hypersexual tropes dominating their storylines. The junior from Garfield says the sexualization of Black women is present in even today’s media.

“I hope the audience at the colloquium is left with a new awareness and sensitivity to the way Black women are shown in the media around them,” said Barnes, who received a first-place award for her presentation.

DeRoide, a History major from Jackson, centered her research on how women in the 1930s navigated New Deal policies in the United States despite a lack of support. 

“I am aiming to teach the audience that American support systems in times of economic failure were set up to aid men,” DeRoide said.

Somers Point native Orlowski was unable to attend the colloquium but was still honored for her analysis of bisexual representation in media. The graduating Literature major’s presentation encouraged attendees of the colloquium to think deeply about the nuances of the romantic genre and how it can brepresent all.

“I think there are valid critiques to be made of how the romance genre is flawed and, in a lot of ways, reinforces heteronormativity and heterosexuality,” Orlowski said. “However, I think to view romance solely as this big bad is counterproductive when the genre also provides a setting for representation — not just for queer individuals, but also people of different races, genders, abilities, etc.”

Musher, an associate professor of History, is proud of the students and said they did a “wonderful job” presenting their research.

“In addition to making their findings accessible and relevant to a diverse audience, they adeptly fielded questions, some of which they might not have considered before that moment,” Musher said. “It was a great professional development opportunity for them and a nice chance to network with peers and faculty from other schools and fields.”

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– Story by Loukaia Taylor

– Photos submitted