Student testimonials

Emoni Harmon (she/her) 

Religious Studies and World Politics dual degree, Class of 2023 (currently pursuing an MA in WGSST at Ohio State!) 
 

Research lab/topic: 

My research broadly focuses on how religious women, specifically Muslim and Christian women, mobilize embodied forms of feminist or anti-feminist rhetoric to respond to the discourse of the sexual female body in the West. However, I have most recently been focused on how specifically #tradwives, who are mainly white conservative Christian women, utilize embodied and traditional forms of rhetoric online to promulgate anti-feminism in the name of restoring/reviving the West’s 'traditional' understandings of gender, family, and culture.
 

My favorite part about research: 

I think my favorite part about pursuing research is getting to contribute to the discourses I am passionate about because I am subject to/involved in shaping them as a religious woman and feminist. Thus, I like to think of my work as an extension of both my religious and feminist commitments, which helps me to stay motivated and ethical/responsible as a researcher, given how much is at stake for myself and the communities I focus on. So, while I fully recognize the contentious nature of my research, I find it necessary because it is contentious. What we find difficult to talk about is exactly what we should be discussing, as silence creates space for harm to thrive.
 

I’m pursuing a thesis because: 

I decided to pursue a senior thesis because my earlier papers, which focused on how hijab-wearing Muslimahs in the West navigate the politicization of their bodies and religiosity in light of the discourses of feminism, secularism, and multiculturalism, left me fascinated with the real potentiality of an intersectional approach that holistically addresses religion/religiosity as a component of identity. In my own life, religion is a big part of how I understand myself a black woman, so I wanted to explore if and how religion shapes the lives of other women.
 

Advice for undergrads: 

I would say to undergraduates looking to get involved with research to do so sooner rather than later! I know I waited till my senior year because I felt like I did not have anything significant enough to contribute to my fields when, in reality, what I had to contribute was significant not because it was novel but because it built upon, challenged, and expanded the thoughts of scholars who came before me. In realizing the thoughts of every intellectual were not generated alone, I came to not expect mine to be either. So, please do not expect yours to be built alone; please contribute to the discourses and disciplines that matter to you.