“Overall, this opportunity helped me develop feminist perspectives and communicate them to conference attendees through speaking to, meeting and learning from others, and helped me develop my own confidence in these spaces.”

Sope Kahn on participating in the 2018 SEWSA Conference

BOONE, N.C. — Sope Kahn, a junior from Chapel Hill majoring in gender, women’s and sexuality studies in the Department of Cultural, Gender and Global Studies at Appalachian State University, has been recognized with the university’s 2017-18 Frances Holland Black Scholarship.

The scholarship, which honors Frances Holland Black (1894-1992), was established by Black’s children and friends as a means of continuing her efforts to champion equality and freedom. Funds from this endowment are used to create opportunities for women students, individually or collectively, to develop feminist perspectives on equality and freedom for all and to create opportunities for their expression.

This past March, Kahn participated in the Southeastern Women’s Studies Association (SEWSA) Conference in Clemson, South Carolina. Kahn submitted two proposals to the conference, both of which were accepted, and the proposal “Bringing Personal Stories to the Public Sphere through Art and Activism: An Examination of Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing’s ‘The Mushroom at the End of the World’” was included in the conference.

“This opportunity gave me important academic experience and aided my development as a GWS student,” Kahn said.

The SEWSA Conference gives students the opportunity to gain important academic, research and presentation experience. The conference is designed for students to meet other professors, students and writers in the field discussing issues of importance and developing methods and solutions. The conference also serves as an invaluable opportunity to receive feedback from individuals from a variety of backgrounds and connect to others in the discipline.

When reflecting on their experience at the SEWSA conference, Kahn stated, “Overall, this opportunity helped me develop feminist perspectives and communicate them to conference attendees through speaking to, meeting and learning from others, and helped me develop my own confidence in these spaces.”

Kahn said they also received the help and support of countless faculty members, including Dr. Sushmita Chatterjee, associate professor of gender, women’s and sexuality studies; Dr. Ellen Lamont, assistant professor in Appalachian’s Department of Sociology; and Dr. Teresa Roach, former lecturer in the university’s Department of Sociology.

Southeastern Women's Studies Association (SEWSA)

The SEWSA is a feminist organization that actively supports and promotes all aspects of women’s studies at every level of involvement. The organization is committed to scholarship on and activism eliminating oppression and discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity and expression, race, age, religion, sexual orientation, ethnic background, physical ability and class. SEWSA is a regional organization under the National Women’s Studies Association serving Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

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About the College of Arts and Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at https://cas.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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