Department of Gender and Race Studies
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Browsing Department of Gender and Race Studies by Author "Cooper, Brittney"
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Item Creole bodies and intersecting lives and oppressions: an intertextual dialogue between Kate Chopin and Alice Dunbar-Nelson(University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) Watts, Rachel; Fulton, DoVeanna S.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaDiffering and contentious definitions of the term "Creole" have tried to produce rigid boundaries defining who to include and who to exclude within a "highly-contested identity space" (Stouck 272) by historians, writers, scholars, and even within Creole communities based on hegemonic dichotomous "either/or" structures. Moreover, these differing attempts at forming exclusive definitions have only revealed Creole to be a category that resists and complicates dichotomous structures. This project compares the nineteenth century Creole short stories of Kate Chopin and Alice Dunbar-Nelson to show how these boundaries are complicated and fissured by the ambiguities of race, gender roles, and female sexuality embodied by the colorful characters portrayed in their fiction. Through their stories, both writers interrogate the social inequalities of gender, race, class, and feminine sexuality, as it existed in the South, specifically in Louisiana. Their stories are more than social commentaries; by centering Creole subjects, they also challenge and disrupt normative standards of proper roles and markings of gender, race, and class. Chopin and Dunbar-Nelson are both identified as "women" who lived in the same region, but this shared identity does not mean shared lived experiences: the constructed categories of race, class, and sexuality greatly affect and cause individuals to experience oppression in different ways. An intertextual dialogue between these two writers illustrates how they each create different texts of race and human experiences within a common Creole community. Because of such hegemonic control of what is published, read, and studied, only certain voices are heard, while others are silenced, therefore, forming a narrow, one-sided commentary of lived experiences--an incomplete picture. To study Chopin while ignoring the work of Dunbar-Nelson only offers one side to a subject whose multiplicity of meanings foster considerable academic debate. Only by placing the stories of these two different authors, one widely anthologized and one not, side by side to see how they interact or contrast with each other, can we then attempt to formulate answers and thus gain a clearer, more whole, picture of the oppression and privilege structures of domination have on women's lives.Item Fannie Lou Hamer, Dorothy Height and Viola Liuzzo: not just a dream, initiators for equality(University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Barnett, Jennifer Michelle; Fulton, DoVeanna S.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaThis thesis uses the standpoint theory and lived experiences method, introduced by Patricia Hill Collins and Sandra Harding, to examine the lives of three women who were active in fighting for freedom, equality, and a more democratic society for all citizens. It is argued that these women were concurrently combating issues associated with sexism, racism, classism, and disabilities in order to create a more fair society. My research indicates their motives for publicly fighting racism stem from their childhoods, a strong sense of social justice, and the desire to create a safer world. They envisioned a world where nobody feared for their lives simply for casting a ballot or dining at a lunch counter. The first chapter briefly discusses the history of the Civil Rights Movement and actions taken when systematic forms of redress do not create results. The chapter also discusses gender roles, coalition building, the need for allies and their roles, as well as race, class, and gender politics. The discussion of using structural violence, systematic oppression, accusations of mental instability, and disabilities are also introduced; showing how they all intersected during instances of political and social turbulence. The chapter presents the concept as whiteness as property, a concept researched and introduced by Cheryl I. Harris, and how bodies are racialized. The second chapter acknowledges the work of Dorothy Height. Height used her education, class standing, and knowledge to fight for equality for Black people within society and politics. Facing sexism and racism, Height instigated many of the most well-known marches and platforms for equality among races. Sharing the stage with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Height in some ways accepted oppressions of sexism, but rallied against racism. The third chapter recognizes Viola Liuzzo, wife and mother to five children, from Detroit, Michigan. Liuzzo came south to challenge the violence and mistreatment accompanying the struggle for civil rights. Using her voice, dedication, and car to transport marchers, Liuzzo would become noted as the only white woman to lose her life in the Civil Rights Movement. The discussion surrounding Liuzzo will include how bodies are racialized and discredited when white women joined the ranks with Black freedom fighters. The fourth chapter discusses the role that Fannie Lou Hamer had toward empowering Black and poor white people. Hamer had a vision of a more just and democratic society. Facing racism, sexism, classism, and disability issues, Hamer used her experiences and rhetorical talent to break societal barriers. Becoming a victim of structural violence herself, she told her story in order to protect others. The fifth chapter conceptualizes why I chose to bring these three women together for discussion. The chapter discusses common experiences and ideas these women shared and draws conclusions about their similar motivations. Another major aspect discussed in this chapter is how these women crossed class, geographical, and race lines to work toward a common goal. This research suggests that all three women were aware of the dangers they faced when crossing these boundaries, but did it anyway for a need much greater than their own.Item Motherhood on the inside: exploring the challenges facing incarcerated women at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Unnasch, Emily Ann; Cooper, Brittney; Johnson, Ida M.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaIn this thesis, I argue that the criminal justice system is deeply entrenched in racist and classist perceptions that make incarcerated women especially vulnerable to policies and ideologies that regularly involve the denial of their reproductive and parental rights. With shifting public policies and sentencing reform in reaction to the "war on drugs," women, the poor, and people of color have disproportionately become caught in the net of the criminal justice system. The subtle fusion of the war on drugs with the fetal protection movement has furthermore positioned pregnant women and mothers quite precariously within the criminal justice system, and Alabama's own chemical endangerment law provides a useful case study for exploring this topic. This thesis highlights the unique challenges facing women in correctional institutions, focusing on women's reproductive rights and claims to motherhood in particular. An elaboration of the history of Alabama's Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women helps to reveal these broader issues. In this thesis, I argue that motherhood can provide a means for incarcerated women to strategize resistance and claim agency from the space of the prison, suggesting that programs such as the Montgomery-based organization Aid to Inmate Mothers help meet the specific needs of incarcerated women that are otherwise neglected by the prison system. I use data that I collected from fifteen interviews conducted with inmate mothers at Tutwiler Prison, drawing on the experiences of these women to make an argument about the nature of incarceration for women and the potential for motherhood to be an empowering identity.