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Gender Equity as Partnership in the Religious Training of Christian Leaders in Africa
Full text linkReligion has shaped society’s patriarchal attitudes and related sociocultural values and norms. Religious and theological institutions should be held accountable for tackling gender injustice and discrimination as trained religious leaders are key players in fostering social change. Scholar-activist Mercy Oduyoye, known as the mother of African women’s theology, advocates for gender transformation that engages both men and women in the struggle. Through a literary analysis, this article expands on the idea of shared responsibility and the need to engage men as allies in gender transformation. It integrates a range of theoretical perspectives, including feminist theology and gender studies theory, providing a nuanced discussion of how both men and women must collaborate to address gender disparities in theological education. Moreover, this article challenges the gender norms that exist within traditional theological education. It offers much-needed strategies to integrate new gender perspectives that can push theological discourse and practice towards equity
Campus (Wild)Life
Full text linkSince its beginnings in 1840, Bridgewater State University has been home to thousands upon thousands of students, faculty, librarians, and staff members. Some of us are here for a few years; for others, our time on this campus is measured in decades
Securing Shadows
Full text linkIn the darkroom, my six-year-old lays on the floor. She fidgets as I lay pressed f lowers around her and a paper bird at her fingertips. I carefully arrange her hair as if caught mid-f light and she holds her well-loved bunny. I ask her to be as still as possible and then I turn on a light for five seconds, exposing the photosensitive paper beneath her
Modernity, Domesticity, and Women’s Subjectivity: A Comparative Study of the Fiction of Jane Austen and Ling Shuhua
Full text linkThis study examines how Jane Austen and Ling Shuhua represent women’s conceptions of selfhood through domestic narratives during periods of modernization in their respective societies. Drawing on Anthony Giddens’ theory of modern intimacy and Gary Kelly’s analysis of the bourgeois cultural revolution, this comparative analysis explores how their works reflect broader societal transformations through the depiction of intimate domestic spaces. Through detailed textual analysis of Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice and several of Ling Shuhua’s short stories in Collected Essays of Ling Shuhua, this study demonstrates how both authors employ domestic settings not merely as backdrops but as dynamic spaces where women negotiate identity and challenge patriarchal structures. The analysis reveals that while both authors strategically use domestic spaces as sites of contestation between tradition and modernity, their approaches reflect distinct cultural contexts and varying stages of social transformation. Austen’s novel suggests possibilities for achieving modern, egalitarian relationships within domestic spaces, particularly through Elizabeth Bennet’s journey toward a marriage based on mutual respect and self-improvement. In contrast, Ling’s stories emphasize the persistent tensions between modern consciousness and traditional constraints, portraying educated women who remain bound by internalized traditional values despite their modern sense of self. The study examines how both authors faced similar criticisms for their focus on domestic “triviality” yet transformed these seemingly minor details into powerful vehicles for social critique. Their different narrative strategies—Austen’s free indirect discourse versus Ling’s detached third-person narration—reveal distinct approaches to exploring women’s psychological development and social constraints. This comparative analysis illuminates how domestic narratives can serve as crucial sites for examining women’s negotiation of identity during periods of social change, while also highlighting the culturally specific manifestations of women’s agency in English and Chinese cultural contexts. Through close examination of their literary techniques and thematic concerns, this study contributes to our understanding of how women writers across different cultural and temporal contexts have employed domestic narratives to engage with broader questions of modernity, gender, and social transformation
Homophobic and Transphobic Bullying: Impacts on the Mental and Physical Health of Queer Black Adolescents in Kacen Callender’s Young Adult Fiction
Full text linkThis paper examines how homophobic bullying profoundly impacts the mental and physical health of Black queer children, with a particular focus on the rising suicide rate within this marginalized community. Analysing the representation of homophobic and transphobic bullying in Kacen Callender’s young adult fiction, this study explores the devastating impact of both verbal and nonverbal forms of abuse, including rejection, intimidation, and social isolation. These negative experiences contribute to long-term emotional distress, leading to an increased vulnerability to anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Meyer’s minority stress theory is used to examine how systematic ignorance and rejection of queerness render Black queer children more vulnerable, resulting in insecurity, psychological anguish, and marginalization. This analysis underscores the importance of positive interactions with peers and a safe environment to lessen the damage of bullying. Studies show that having inclusive spaces in schools, communities, or families can foster resilience and higher self-esteem in Black queer adolescents. Supportive networks offer validation, emotional safety, and a sense of belonging, helping to mitigate the impact of discrimination. Based on these findings, this paper highlights a need for comprehensive anti-bullying policies and implementation, increased education and awareness campaigns, and an inclusive education system that embraces diversity. By prioritizing these actions, societies can create equitable opportunities for well-being and development, ensuring that all children, regardless of their racial, gender, or sexual identity, have the right to grow up in a world free from fear and discrimination
Book Review: To Advance the Race: Black Women’s Higher Education from the Antebellum Era to the 1960s
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The ‘ART’ of (Re)Production: Understanding Motherhood Beyond Biological Destiny
Full text linkThis article examines how the technological intervention of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART)has had a profound impact on the sociocultural practices surrounding motherhood in India. The experience of motherhood has now been divided among different individuals: the genetic mother, the gestational mother, and the social mother. This expansion of motherhood roles has led to the re-emergence of co-mothering practices, where a child is nurtured by someone other than the birth mother. As nuclear heteronormative families became the norm in India, traditional co-mothering by grandmothers and aunts went out of practice. With rising infertility and the rearrangement of familial structures through single and queer parenting, ART treatments have become socially endorsed alternatives. This article examines the representation of ART-enabled mothering in Bollywood to understand its reception and practice in the Indian sociocultural context. Through a thematic analysis of Filhaal (dir. Gulzar, 2002), Good Newwz (dir. Mehta, 2019), and Mimi (dir. Utekar, 2021), this article explores how the biological experience of motherhood is being reinterpreted by mothers, and how they navigate the stigma associated with infertility and non-biological mothering. Most importantly, this article probes how traditional family structure and gender roles are being restructured following the advent of ART-enabled motherhood