Verna Miller Case Symposium

Celebrating Student Research, Community Projects and Creative Work

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2019

Black Queer Film Theory: Analyzing The Wound and Other Modern Black Queer Films

By

Leigha Nortier

Faculty Sponsor: Gary Bertholf

The Wound reveals the inherent queer nature of the practice of Ulwaluko that is couched in the language of heteronormativity. The environment of this practice is a location in which same-sex desire and heteronormative expectation collide. The potential intentions of this film are to shed a light on the fact that there is actually queer space within these practices that are built to be rigidly heteronormative and masculine. But, what can be problematic with this analysis or perspective is that much of the true meaning of the language itself used in this environment can not be directly translated to English, thus there are potential moments that the western viewer believes they understand but truly do not.

Better Serving Our Students: Supporting Homeless Youth in North Carolina Public Schools

By

Jennifer Griffin

Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Stacey Riemer The purpose of my project is to raise awareness on the topic of youth homelessness in North Carolina and to propose increasing statewide support of this population through creating safe spaces and providing resources. The project was inspired by the week I spent volunteering with a homeless shelter in Atlanta, Georgia. While this shelter was not designed specifically for homeless youth, I spent much of the week interacting with the children of the mothers who were the primary residents. These interactions, paired with my experience working with children from low socioeconomic families, some of whom did and continue to face the threat of losing their home, spurred my interest of wanting to further understand the situation that homeless youth face in my home state. I encourage all North Carolina public schools, with an emphasis on public schools in a rural areas, to develop or adopt a program specifically for supporting homeless students, including students at risk of becoming homeless.

Gendered Migration and the Feminization of Poverty in Nepal

By

Out-migration, both national and international, has become the new normal for rural communities in Nepal, greatly impacting the demographics of many rural communities as young men are increasingly absent and villages are occupied by women, children, and the elderly who are left behind. The existing literature demonstrates that gendered migration in Nepal particularly impacts the women left behind. In Nepal specifically, migration shapes not only the positions of women in rural communities, but the ritual and practical roles of women in Nepalese culture. These changes are, above all, characterized by an increase in the burden of agricultural labor – born entirely by the women left to tend homes, children and field while men are both pushed and pulled into the global labor market. There is some evidence that male out-migration has resulted in greater roles and decision making for women in the public sphere, but due to the traditional patriarchal social structure women are still subject to male domination in key decision-making and labor market participation despite male out-migration. Research shows that gender inequality in Nepal is affected by gendered streams of migration, but how has removing men worked to change relationships between genders – and with poverty?
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Natalie Delia Deckard

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