Gender, Sexuality & Women's Studies

Session I

Ragan Tankard, "The Black Women's Diaries Project"

The Black Women's Diaries Project is a digital humanities project focused on transcribing, editing, encoding, and publishing of African American women from the mid eighteen hundreds to the early nineteen hundreds. Throughout the summer I worked on diaries from a woman named Sallie Sanders Venning spanning from 1890 to 1892. Born in Philadelphia, she and her siblings grew up part of the black middle class. My main task was researching those mentioned in her diaries in hopes of being able to publish the information so those reading them will have context to who the people in her life were and a glimpse into their relationships. 

Student Major(s)/Minor: English and Gender, Sexuality, & Women's Studies Major

Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Putzi

Session II

Maya Sakai-Chen, "Documenting Anti-Abortion Bills in Texas, Pre- And Post-Dobbs"

Texas law was the subject of Roe v. Wade and the state has since been the laboratory for new abortion restrictions. In 2021, Dobbs v. Jackson repealed Roe v. Wade and eliminated the constitutional right to abortion. This project will explore what the history of failed and successful abortion legislation in Texas tells society about how abortion has changed as a political issue. My research project creates a database documenting abortion bills in Texas from 2019-2025, including a description of each bill, what action was criminalized, the modes of punishment, and the target of punishment. My project analyses the changes in criminalization of abortion before and after Dobbs v. Jackson. Closely tracing the legislative history of abortion can give insight into what issues are important and how the focus of legislation has changed over time. 

Student Major(s)/Minor: Public Policy Major

Advisor: Professor Claire McKinney