Women and Gender Studies Program
Rachel Lebron
Professor Elisabeth D„umer, sponsor
Broken Love Laws and Consequences in Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy's novel, The God of Small Things, tells the story of the twins, Rahel and Estahappen, living in Kerala, India, whose lives are tragically torn apart. As the story unfolds, the reader becomes aware of the significance of Ammu, the twins' mother. My exploration of her multiple, contradictory roles helps us understand the novel's turning point, when Ammu becomes a scapegoat whose downfall is spurred by a sexual reawakening that prompts her to cross social boundaries in violation of the "Love Laws."
Session B - 10:15 a.m. - Kiva.
Danielle Nicholls
Professor Margaret Crouch, sponsor
Woman Lost: A Moral Theory of Rape
Moral theories of rape are prevalent in academia, from Catharine MacKinnon's legal feminist theory that abusive group relations perpetuate and normalize rape in society to the evolutionary psychology account that rape emerged as a way for animals to ensure the propagation of the species. What none of the theories completely address, however, is the loss of autonomy that victims of rape experience, and the ways in which that loss relegates them to a subhuman status.
Session B - 10 a.m. - Room 302.