Joshua Truett and Hannah Dodd, two students currently studying at OSU for their doctoral degrees, are the winners of the 2017-2018 Dana Greenblatt Feminist Media Award!

The Dana Greenblatt Award, named for WGSS alumna Dana Greenblatt, is awarded to chosen undergraduate, graduate, and faculty applicants each year. In order to be considered, the applicant must submit a narrative proposal of their research regarding feminist analysis and the production of cultural representations across visual media. Applicants can request a budget up to $3,000 to accompany the award, intended for continuing their academic research.

Josh Truett, who is currently pursuing a PhD in Performance Studies and teaches the course “Criticizing Television,” is researching “muxes” of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, an indigenous society in Oaxaca, Mexico. Muxes are a native third gender in the area, and Josh’s project explores the problematic ethnographic gaze that documentaries and journalists have projected onto this group, casting them merely as “gay” or “trans.” He intends to continue his research by conducting interviews and filming his own documentary in Oaxaca.

Hannah Dodd is a PhD student currently specializing in Japanese sociolinguistics in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures. She submitted her proposal on the “yuri” genre that can be found in Japanese manga, which features female-oriented narratives and same-sex romantic or erotic relationships between female characters. In particular, she cites the comics magazine Comic Yuri Hime in order to analyze this type of media and the language used in the stories. Hannah intends to study this further by importing the magazines from Japan for a closer look.

Congratulations to this year’s winners, and all the best in continuing your research!