To date, the Institute for Women's and Gender Studies has supported over 25 projects related to Building Southern Intersectional Futures. These projects incorporate the research of 50+ undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty mentors, across a truly stunning array of disciplines and practices. Here is a sampling of their work! “Learning Lessons from Sister Song” This project asks: How can southern qualities such as valuing intersectionality and organizing community be productive tools for future socio-political progressive frameworks? By examining the relationship between political activism and Southern community values using Sister Song as a case study, we can see how these qualities align with progressive understandings. “Yesterday is Dead” This project is a one-woman show called "Yesterday is Dead," which compares lesbian experiences from the 1920s to now. The show has been performed at UGA, at the Lavender Fest in Atlanta, at the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, and at Rec Room Books. “Go’n by the House” This project on the solidarities of Black southern and Appalachian women through material culture was shared in an exhibition at Lyndon House Arts Center. By examining the material artifacts and cultural expressions of these two distinct yet interconnected communities, the project seeks to illuminate shared histories, foster solidarity, and honor the resilience and creativity of Black and Appalachian women. The exhibition was featured in spring 2025. “Ida B. Wells Barnette: Migratory Personas” This project explores Ida B. Wells-Barnett as a public and private figure who created her social justice rhetorics to address violence against Black people. Specifically, Flemming looks at how Wells-Barnett’s travel and migration experiences shaped her public speaker’s and writer’s identity to help her address domestic and global audiences. “9 to 5: The Musical Dramaturgy” “Throughout my time as Dramaturg for UGA's production of "9 to 5: The Musical", the Mellon Grant allowed me to delve further into my research than I ever thought possible. I learned about the 9to5 movement in America, the oft-forgotten time that shaped the way offices work today and started the fire for workplace equality that is still burning. Dolly Parton's well-known song is a household name, but the Mellon Grant allowed me to bring the spotlight to the real challenges faced by women clerical workers of the time, and continue the push for workplace equality today, for everyone.” –Dyllon Glaze “Postpartum Storytelling Project” What metaphors do people use to describe their postpartum experiences? Postpartum parents, generally, are a chronically stressed and under-resourced group—a situation exacerbated by other stressors such as poverty, racism, homophobia/transphobia, ableism, and lack of access to quality medical care and mental health resources. With reproductive healthcare and healthcare generally under threat in Georgia and nationally, this situation may only get worse. This project gives a voice to a variety of local caregivers and illuminates avenues to improve local systems of care. “Feminist Sonic Materialist Analysis of Gone with the Wind” How is womanhood produced on screen in Gone with The Wind? In what ways does vocality shape depictions and understandings of muliebrity, race, and domesticity? How do spoken appellations of people and places figure into utterances? This project explores the role of women’s presence and work in capitalist production, including that of the domestic spheres for both the characters of the film and the female identifying contributors of the projects themselves, (of both the film and the novel) such as writer Margaret Mitchell as well as actresses Hattie McDaniel, Butterfly McQueen, and Vivien Leigh. “The Dress Dilemma of Bengali Middle-Class Women” This project investigated the consequences faced by urban middle-class Bangladeshi Muslim women who deviate from the religious norm of purdah and the class-specific cultural norm of respectability in their clothing choices. Specifically, it seeks to answer the question of how different elements of the normative culture and the actions of ideological dominant groups are affecting Bangladeshi women’s agency and autonomy in making personal clothing choices. These issues are vital for building Southern Intersectional Futures because they delve into the complex interplay of gender, power, and contextual cultural norms in the Global South. “‘You don’t know what you don’t know…’ Exploring Pre-Health Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Reproductive Physiology” This project explored how life experiences and educational backgrounds influence students' viewpoints on reproductive health, education, and access in the southern United States, and how community resources can be optimized to effectively educate and inform students on these matters. By investigating how various factors such as access to education and healthcare intersect with individual identities, this research aims to shed light on systemic inequalities and inform educators on effective strategies for promoting equity. “Financing Democracy: The Construction of Viable Campaigns in Democratic Politics.” This project used qualitative methods to help understand the roots of women’s low political representation in the Deep South. Focusing on the Democratic party, this research looked at the role women's organizations play within political party structure, and sought to understand how women envision political futures in the South. "Traditional South Indian Birthing Practices and Their Relevance to Contemporary Indian American Women" This project looked into traditional birthing practices in South India, their differences across regions and subcultures, and how they can be applied to the lives of Indian American people today, in an age where globalization/Westernization has made many lose their roots. "Judia Jackson Harris Memoir" This project focused on the life and work of Judia Jackson Harris (1870-1960), an Athens-born educator, community builder and activist who dedicated her life to pushing for Black representation and community, human equity, and inter-racial dialogue and cooperation. In editing and annotating Harris's unpublished memoir, the researcher asked: What was it like for a community of Black farmers to buy land and build a school in 1900 Clarke County? What were Jackson Harris’ experiences as she encouraged, collaborated with, fought for, funded, and protected these projects? "Reducing Intersectional College Graduate Poverty" A college degree is often viewed as the perquisite for a stable job and ultimately, an economically prosperous life. However, the job market outcomes for college-educated individuals in the United States are not equal among all people. This project looks at leveraging social network analysis to improve job prospects for African refugees through higher education.
