Wellesley College Mellon Fellows

Deyra's research project is an analysis of masculinity as portrayed in rap, using lyrics and aesthetics, from artists like LL Cool J, 50 Cent, and Lil Uzi Vert. This analysis will not only look at how portrayals have changed over time but also how we can look at them as a form of resistance to white supremacy and social issues. 

Amy’s current research focuses on Lea Ypi’s paper, “What’s Wrong with Colonialism”, and the current debate amongst political philosophers who are discussing what, if anything, is the distinctive wrong of colonialism.

Bella's research seeks to examine the interactions between the military and Mexican/Filipinx communities in San Diego. They use a comparative ethnic studies framework to understand interactions of resistance, community, recruitment, migration, and empire, to name a few. Using the methodology of portraiture, they plan to gather data via interviews with community members in addition to literature in history and ethnic studies.

Taylor Quaye is a rising senior, majoring in Philosophy, and minoring in Studio Art. Her research investigates how Black artists are able to reconstruct false narratives and stigmas about blackness and black people in the United States. Relying on theoretical frameworks from philosophy of language, she explores how epistemic violence — such as the practice of silencing — impacts the success of linguistic communication/conversation amongst Black people. Through her research she hopes to demonstrate how the works of Black artists are able to combat the issue of epistemic violence, and improve the success of linguistic means of communication — illustrating the importance of the Arts in Black communities.

My research focuses on how low-income women of color, especially black women and mothers, resist the welfare state while receiving benefits from welfare programs. I analyze the survival strategies and practices undertaken by these women, but deemed illegal by the state, as a means of claiming agency and resistance under a white supremacist, surveillance state. I am particularly interested in situating these acts of resistance within the black feminist radical tradition to reveal how poor black women on welfare contribute to black radical feminism. As an Afro-Latina raised on welfare in a predominately low-income community of color, I am passionate about learning and drawing from the very communities that face state oppression daily. I believe that my family and my greater community offer indispensable insight into how scholars should understand political activism and resistance. 

Cecelia's research focuses on exploring the intersection between constructions of femininity and Mexican Regional music. She will be specifically researching how the careers and music by Selena Quintanilla Perez and Jenni Rivera contradict and perform expected expressions of gender throughout their life and in death. 

Angelica is a Junior from Phoenix, Arizona majoring in Anthropology with a socio-cultural focus. Her research focuses on analyzing similarities between cultural death practices in Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos and Japan’s Obon or Bon Odori while celebrating their differences. She will look at these in terms of tourism and the importance of memorialization of the dead in each tradition. Angelica is also a student assistant at the Suzy Newhouse Center for the Humanities. 

Alexa’s current research works to uncover how horror video games as a medium for expressing Japan’s social and cultural attitudes created from World War 2 can be used to understand the role of horror video games globally. Resident Evil and Silent Hill are 2 franchises that allow for players to understand the contemporary social politics within Japan surrounding nuclear power and militarization due to the ability of horror as a genre to convey social ideals inseparable from trauma.

Heather is a junior from the South Texas-Mexico border whose experience has fueled her research interests in examining the importance of language in establishing socioeconomic statuses in the United States through Spanish sociolinguistics via local, state, and federal legislature as well as day-to-day life on the border.