Susanna Penfield

Senior Spotlight: Susanna Penfield

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I’m Susanna Penfield, a current senior graduating with a double major in Political Science and Feminist and Gender Studies – and yes I did write two senior theses in order to complete both. Phew. For Political Science, I used national public opinion data to examine public perceptions of human trafficking in the United States. For Feminist and Gender Studies, I deconstructed my own work in Political Science by critiquing quantitative research processes and instead using postcolonial theory and feminist epistemologies to analyze the harm enacted by public awareness campaigns meant to raise awareness for human trafficking. Basically I spent A LOT of time this year thinking about yes, human trafficking. While this was exhausting at times, I owe everything to the backing of FGS. As written in the acknowledgment section of my final capstone: First and foremost, this project would not have been possible without the constant support and encouragement of my advisor, Dr. Nadia Guessous. I have never had a professor set higher standards, nor have I felt more belief in my ability to meet those standards. I also want to thank Dr. Heidi Lewis for introducing me to this field of study and pushing me to persevere within it, Dr. Rushaan Kumar for providing consistent and candid insight and feedback throughout the entire process, and my fellow majors for sharing stress, tears, laughter and lots of take out food. Thanks to all I have pushed harder, dug deeper, and developed faster than I ever could have anticipated when entering CC. I’m leaving inspired, grateful, and bloated from too many ID house snacks.

The Un-American “Other”

The Feminist and Gender Studies Department presents “The Un-American ‘Other'” with Malone DeYoung and Susanna Penfield on Wednesday November 6, 2019 from 4-5 at Sacred Grounds.

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Throughout history, the United States government has constructed human rights issues in ways that uphold American nationalism. By creating enemies out of non-US citizens, administrations justify violent action against those deemed “outsiders.” This talk will explore two areas of harmful construction: Human trafficking, discussed by Susanna, and US military intervention in Chile, discussed by Malone. In each example, the bodies of both victims and perpetrators become politicized by the US government. Anti-human trafficking efforts become anti-immigrant antagonism. The US military becomes a site to indoctrinate Latin American soldiers with heteronormative, white, middle-class values. Join us as we interrogate the harm caused by these constructions.

FGS ’20 Senior Spotlights

In this issue of the Monthly Rag I would like to highlight some senior FGS majors. Our last first block!

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Mekael Daniel (FGS ’20)                                                                                                                        I am Black and Comely                                                                                                                  look upon me because I am Black,                                                                                          Because the sun hath looked upon me                                                                                       because I find poetry lovely                                                                                                      Because I’m sweet as honey

 

 

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Hello! My name is Malone DeYoung and I am a Feminist and Gender Studies major from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Since FYE when Heidi told me my paper about Hillary Clinton was sexist, I can say that I’ve grown a lot. Some things I’m proud of are bringing a current events class to the county jail, participating in FemCo, and being the only CC student ever to work at the same calling job coercing alumni to donate to our school for all four years. Some of my other highlights include never speaking in Nadia’s class and dreaming about my essays every night for Dr. Kumar. Something I look forward to this year is explaining to adults what I will be doing with my major after graduation. That said, my sage advice to CC students would be to major in FGS, or at least minor.

 

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Hi! My name is Hailey Corkery and I am a senior double majoring in Sociology and Feminist and Gender Studies from Reston, VA. This past summer, I interned at an immigration firm in New York City and I hope to someday go to law school to study civil rights law. I’m very excited to spend my last year at Colorado College working on my senior thesis, leading Ellement (one of CC’s acapella groups), and hanging out with my wonderful friends!

 

 

 

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I’m Judy Fisher and I am a senior FGS major from Oklahoma. I’m a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and I spent part of my summer in Germany conducting research for my senior thesis which focuses on transnational representations of Native people. I’m excited to end my undergraduate experience where it began, in the FGS department, with wonderful professors and mentors like Heidi who I’ve known since day 1 at CC and with some of the friends I made in bridge.

 

 

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I’m Susanna Penfield, a current senior double majoring in Political Science and Feminist and Gender Studies. Born and raised in central Vermont (in a town with a population smaller than CC), I appreciate fiery fall foliage, houses with no neighbors, and the taste of local maple syrup. On campus, I serve as co-chair of the Student Title IX Assistance and Resource Team (START), prose editor for Leviathan literary magazine, vice president of Cutler Publications – the board that oversees student journalism at CC – and member of the Cutthroat Rugby Team. On weekends, catch me hanging with my roommates and our pet snake.

Pizza Face

Pizza Face (Cover)

Created by Malone DeYoung (Editor), Jules Olliff (Editorial Assistant), Susanna Penfield (Journalist), Rachel Mintz (Journalist), and Hailey Schramm (Graphic Designer) in Block 6 2018

“I’d like to welcome you to the first issue of Pizza Face, a magazine designed as a space for you, youth of all gender identities, to learn, experiment, and come together in the process of shaping your identity in this big and sometimes scary world! Many years ago, a band called Bikini Kill said that “doing/reading/seeing/hearing cool things that validate and challenge us can help us gain strength and a sense of community.” They said these cool things help us figure out how to be happy in the world, and we agree! We hope Pizza Face can show you some cool things that will both encourage and challenge you (and that are also just plain fun)!”
—Malone DeYoung, Editor

Click here to read Pizza Face!

Pizza Face (ToC)

Straight Best Friend: Inverting G.B.F.’s Failed Attempt at a Political Statement

original-print“The presentation of this fairy-tale ending, where everyone lives happily ever after, neglects to address the conflict between the three girls and their horrific treatment of Tanner. This quick and sloppy resolution trivializes the abuse Tanner faces and thus normalizes gay submission to those in dominant social roles.”
—Susanna Penfield, Jules Olliff, Jess Keniston, and Winston Xu (Block 4 2016)

“The color scheme of the poster, and entire movie, is itself a binary that further enforces gender and societal divisions. Despite the sparkles and pastel-tint that render the title and background slightly more effeminate, and thus more gay, the primary colors are still blue and pink. Due to its predominate size and position, the pink title G.B.F. fills the upper half of the poster while the bottom is predominantly blue. This contrast points to the constructs society has imposed on male-female relationships and the separation that is maintained between behaviors of the two sexes.”

“Although the trailer for G.B.F is an attempt to satirize the behavior of individuals who sensationalize sexuality, the trailer devotes little time to showing Tanner’s plight, treating him like a minor character. The trailer’s focus on the other characters’ struggles detracts from Tanner’s own journey. The trailer reiterates several times how having a G.B.F is beneficial to one’s social status. ”

sbf“The difference lies in the character’s sexuality as Tanner has now “come out” as straight in a society that has embraced queer to be the status quo, meaning that the three depicted women are all meant to be homosexual. This, however, is not evident in the revised print as each character is presented as confident and autonomous, firmly grounded and perpendicular to the surface they stand on regardless of gender or sexual orientation.”

“By creating a world where queer women possess the mainstream narrative, we lend voices to individuals that are typically overlooked by the media. This, in turn, highlights the widely accepted notion that heterosexual men naturally occupy a dominant space. This choice counters the heterosexual norm, while pointing out the ridiculousness of normalized shock and tokenization that are common reactions to homosexuality.”