Spouses Dr. Darrin and Whitney Hunt have joined the ����vlog���� faculty, beginning the 2023 Fall Semester.

Whitney joins Ozarks as an assistant professor of sociology and Darrin as an assistant professor of biology. ��

The Hunts, who met as undergraduate students at Wayne State University in Michigan, are moving from New York, where Whitney most recently served as a visiting assistant professor at Colgate University and Darrin was a full-time lecturer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Born and raised in Ohio, Whitney spent much of adulthood and higher education in Michigan, earning her bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and Ph.D. in sociology from Wayne State. Her areas of specialty include, gender and sexuality, race/ethnic studies, science and technology, and media and culture.

“I am thrilled to be part of a University community whose mission has always been centered around diverse and inclusive praxis,” Whitney said.

Whitney also has teaching experience as an instructor and lecturer at Monroe County Community College, University of Michigan and Wayne State University, where she was a recipient of the Dr. Sumareh Award for student teaching and activism.

Darrin was born just outside Detroit and earned his bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. from Wayne State. His dual title Ph.D. is in biological sciences and urban sustainability. His areas of academic interests include, aquatic ecology, community ecology, invasive species biology and urban environmental system.

A stream ecologist and invasive species biologist, Darrin said “growing up in the Great Lakes region, where over 180 invasive species have established in its lakes, rivers and wetlands, has informed my research.” ��

“We are looking forward to starting at the ����vlog���� this fall,” Darrin said. “Both of us are interested in guiding students towards great careers and preparing them for professional school opportunities.”

The Hunts have two dogs and a cat — Freya, Fred and Frank. Outside of academia, they both enjoy running, hiking, kayaking, listening to music, and spending time with their animals.

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When ����vlog���� junior Solange V. Avalo M. was thinking about a way to honor her beloved hometown of Masaya, Nicaragua, she turned to her passion for documentary photography, ethnographic studies, and research.

The result was “Yo Plural: Laberintos Múltiples de Nuestros Pasos” (I Plural: Multiple Labyrinths of our Footsteps), a black and white photography book that Avalo self-published. The book is a sentimental tribute to historic Monimbó, an indigenous community within Masaya.

“It was very important to highlight Monimbó, the community that inspires me every single day, which is also the very community that served as the foundation for the creation of this book,” Avalo said. “Monimbó, nestled in my beloved hometown Masaya, holds a special place in my heart. It enchants me with its mystique, evoking fictional towns such as Rulfo’s Comala, García Márquez’s Macondo, or Garro’s Ixtepec. Monimbó, like these towns, possesses a timeless allure, and brims with culture, perseverance, humility, and mysticism. It stands as a glowing testament to the unique idiosyncrasies that are woven throughout Nicaragua and embodies the distinctive qualities of Latin American heritage.”

From mid-May to late August of 2022, Avalo captured more than 5,000 photographs and nearly 200 video interviews, with a primary focus on Monimbó.

“This book is a labor of love that is born from an immersive ethnographic study of the community of Monimbó,” she said. “Its pages are filled with black and antique white documentary photography that illuminates the rich and diverse lives of the community members. From their cherished traditions, history, and unique relationship with death to their architecture, handicrafts, music, art, religion, sustainable work, interdependence, and more; every aspect of their daily lives is explored with care and respect. By listening closely to the community members themselves, this book serves as a powerful mosaic that reveals the complexities and wonders of life in Monimbó.”

Avalo said that she hopes readers “will not only gain a deeper appreciation of this extraordinary place, but also come to understand the social dynamics that are at play throughout Nicaragua, and by extension, through Latin America as well. Ultimately, this book is a tribute to the resilience, beauty, and cultural heritage of the Monimbó community members, and a celebration of their enduring spirit and efforts to uphold our idiosyncrasy, our social identity. “

Avalo, who is majoring in psychology, sociology, and philosophy, said the inspiration for the book title came from Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges’ works “L����������Գٳ��” and “The Other.”

“Just as one might navigate through a labyrinth to find its center, I view my life as a labyrinth with Monimbó at its heart; a place that inspires me and calls me back to my origins,” Avalo said. “No matter how many paths I may take, I am drawn to the community members of Monimbó, who have served as my role models and whom I deeply love and respect. Now, even when I trace my footsteps through Monimbó, the main function of the book is to highlight the historical and current paths taken by these community members, whose unique idiosyncrasies represent Nicaragua and extend to other Latin American countries. In exploring their stories, I hope to uncover the threads that connect us all, transcending our differences and fostering a sense of shared humanity.  ‘The Other’ reflects the constant encounter with oneself. In embarking on this project, I approached it with a mindset of humility, seeking to learn more about myself through the stories of others.  Through this book, I hope to share this same dynamic with readers, inviting them to see themselves in the lives of others and encouraging them to embark on their own journey of self-discovery. It is my hope that in acknowledging the contributions of communities like Monimbó, we can come to a greater understanding of our social identity and the role we each play in shaping it.

Avalo said that as long as she can remember she has been captivated “by the magic of books.”

“It has always been my dream to pen one myself,” she said. “My first foray into the craft was at the age of 13. Influenced by the works of Orwell and Kafka, I penned a slightly offbeat novella.”

Avalo said that the idea for the book came in the spring of 2022.

“That’s when my social consciousness underwent a profound transformation,” she said. “It dawned on me the crucial significance of cultural and social identity, and how the communities that uphold this identity are often overlooked and undervalued. The consequence of such marginalization can be disastrous, leading to the gradual erosion and eventual loss of our collective identity. As a result of this ‘awakening’ of social consciousness, I realized that having innate empathy is not enough, it’s also necessary to have resources such as education to know how to channel it. Due to this, I came to understand that having the opportunity to acquire academic knowledge and having the unconditional guidance of my professors and the support of the University put me in a very privileged position. Because of this, I considered that using these resources correctly was an obligation to honor a community that I love so much, by attempting to narrate their story in their own voices, while also honoring my younger self and the human being I am now. For this reason, I decided to start this project of ethnographic research and community development once I returned to my home country that summer.”

Avalo said the photography aspect of the project involved her confronting issues such as ethics, collaboration and privacy.

“For some years now, I have dedicated myself to documenting what is not usually seen, so with my camera I felt like I was doing something as natural as breathing,” she said. “However, when working with human beings, this time I had to pay much more attention to my ethics, the comfort of the participants, and the respect for their limits, which is simple to do, but due to the nature of the project, the more faithful clarity there is in visually reporting, the better. For this reason, I also used author photography as a visual and stylistic resource that allowed me to play with the angles, inspired mainly by Rulfo, Facio, and Modotti. But above all, the participants and I joined forces to develop representative frameworks that would illuminate reality but respect their privacy. It was a team effort. Similarly with the interviews, first, I had to develop rapport and come up with questions that would be useful for the book’s function, but above all, they would provide a space for them to be heard with care and respect.”

She quickly discovered that she enjoyed the interviews as much as she enjoyed the photography. The interviews served as critical testimonies for the book, while also helping to inform her content analysis, and provide a foundation for future comparative analysis.

“With these interviews as a basis, I am able to gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter, unlocking insights that are invaluable to the work as a whole,” Avalo said. “One of my favorite things to do is to have deep conversations, so I found in the interviews an opportunity to delve into some of the most profound conversations I could ever hope to have. As such, I approached each question with great care, intending for them to hold significance not just for me and the book’s purpose, but above all, for the community members. So, after carefully preparing the questions, I committed myself to develop a close relationship with the participants, creating a space of ease and comfort for our conversations to flourish. Now, while doing the interviews, seeing their musings take shape, waiting patiently as they paused to reflect, and witnessing their faces light up with joy at the end of our discussions was nothing short of magical. To see them revel in this time set aside exclusively for them, to put my world on pause and navigate theirs, was a profound honor, a privilege for which I am filled with unyielding gratitude.”

Avalo’s book contains 185 “carefully selected photographs, each one impregnated with deep significance.”

“While the written portions aim to provide an analytical and accurate socio-cultural, historical, and ethnographic analysis of the community, I humbly believe that the photographs offer a transcendent dimension that I cannot communicate through words. As the narrator, these images serve as a fundamental resource, allowing me to convey the essence of my experience in a profound and meaningful way.  In selecting the photographs included, I sought to share those that resonated most deeply with me and capture the essence of the community. While it was a challenge to choose from among so many meaningful photographs, I treasure all of them with the same love and respect, even those that did not make it to the final cut.  Ultimately, my hope is that these images will speak to readers on a similar level, allowing them to experience the richness and beauty of this extraordinary place through a lens of empathy and understanding.”

The project was funded in part by the University’s student enrichment funds, in which Avalo applied for.

“I am incredibly grateful for the support of the student enrichment fund, which has been instrumental in making this project a reality,” she said. “Not only has it provided funding for the book printing, but more importantly, the committee behind it has shown faith in my ideas and dreams. I am truly humbled by the opportunity to bring this project to life and am grateful to everyone who has helped to make it possible. It is heartening to see our values as an Ozarks family — of service and justice — put into practice in such a meaningful way, helping to amplify the voices of those who might otherwise go unheard.”

Avalo plans to share copies of her book with members of the Monimbó community and, eventually, throughout Nicaragua.

“What I treasure the most from completing this book is the chance to have worked closely with the community members,” she said. “Even though I already held a profound love and respect for them, collaborating with them on this project made me admire and love them even more. This experience also reaffirmed my passion for social work, ethnography, and art, while reinforcing my passion for working with fellow human beings who may face unique challenges. It also showed me that with a combination of hard work and some good luck, it is possible to make your dreams a reality; and when those dreams involve honoring, celebrating, and dignifying the lives of others, especially those in vulnerable positions, the extra effort is all the more important. Overall, I am incredibly grateful for this enriching and rewarding experience.”

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By Odalis Garcia

����vlog���� senior Laura Bruce had an unforgettable experience interning in El Salvador this summer.

The double major in environmental studies and sociology from Panama was an energy efficiency intern at the National Administration of Aqueducts and Sewages (ANDA) in El Salvador.

“I had met the former Walton Scholar and now President of ANDA [Ruben Aleman ’94] when he came to visit Ozarks,” she said. “My advisor then encouraged me to apply.”

Bruce researched energy efficiency indicators used in the United States, the European Union, and the Latin American and Caribbean Regions.

“The objective was to put together a database with this information to create visualizations in Tableau,” she said. “The presentation of the final dashboard consisted of the compilation of these indicators to inform about the current state of ANDA related to energy efficiency and ways to improve its water pumping systems.”

Bruce said this internship gave her the opportunity to immerse herself in the data field and grow personally and professionally.

“I am planning on getting certified in other data visualization tools,” she said.

Bruce also interned with seven other students from Ozarks – Alisone Guzman, Willian Paiz, Josué Maldonando, Juliana Busto, Isaías Ortiz, Fernanda Argueta, and Sarah Bureau

“My internship experience has been the perfect combination/equilibrium of learning and fun; I have met awesome people and found tools that will help me in future endeavors,” she said.

Bruce also had a remarkable time exploring El Salvador and making connections.

“I had a very outgoing roommate who was from El Salvador,” she said. “She helped me improve my social skills and feel more confident when reaching out to people. It was also nice being able to go on walks around the city with someone who was familiar with the area.”

She also visited the small towns of Nahuizalco and Ataco, sang karaoke with locals and interns, hiked the tallest volcano in El Salvador, and visited the National Palace and National Theatre.

“I love El Salvador and hope to come back either as a tourist or for a job,” she said.

Bruce plans to work in a public or private environmental organization, learn another language, and obtain a master’s degree related to conservation, climate, or ocean science after college.

“One thing I learned was to not let stereotypes and fear stop you from taking on new experiences and challenges,” she said.

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Dr. Yassine Dguidegue has joined the ����vlog���� faculty as assistant professor of sociology, beginning the Fall 2019 Semester.

Dguidegue completed his Ph.D. in rural sociology in May from the University of Missouri at Columbia. He has served as a graduate teaching and research assistant at Mizzou since 2014 and is also the director of the university’s Deaton Scholars Program, a process-based peer mentorship program.

A native of Morocco, Dguidegue’s academic interests include, society science and technology, African food security, rural community development, experiential learning education, policy analysis and intercultural communication. His dissertation was titled, “Agricultural Genetic Engineering and Sustainable Development in the African Food Security Context.”

Before pursuing his Ph.D., Dguidegue worked as a teacher and program leader in experiential education programs in Vietnam and California. He also spent a year (2012-13) teaching at Heifer International in Perryville, Arkansas.

“I love the mission of ����vlog���� and its focus on students,” Dguidegue said. “My background is in teaching, but in recent years I’ve focused on research during my time at the University of Missouri. However, my passion has always been teaching and that’s why Ozarks appealed to me so much. I’m excited about getting back to teaching.”

He also said Ozarks’ LENS curriculum was a major draw.

“The emphasis on teaching as well as the interdisciplinary approach to education through the LENS program was what first caught my attention about this University,” he said. “I’m a huge advocate for a well-rounded, interdisciplinary education. A lot of colleges talk about an interdisciplinary curriculum but very few actually practice it like Ozarks does.”

Dguidegue earned his bachelor’s degree in language and pedagogy from The Faculty of Education in Rabat, Morocco, and a master’s degree in cross-cultural studies from the University of Mohammed the Fifth in Morocco.

Dguidegue has been actively involved in the Rural Sociological Society, the Borlaug Dialogues Program and Universities Fighting World Hunger program. He speaks four languages — Moroccan Arabic, English, classical Arabic and French — and is an avid soccer player and fan. He also enjoys cooking traditional meals with his family, organizing volunteering programs with community members and organizing outdoors and sports activities with colleagues and students.

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����vlog���� Professor Dr. Jesse T. Weiss will premiere his documentary, “Natty Parks,” on the Ozarks campus at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 3, in the Rogers Conference Center’s Hanna Room.

The film was written, directed, filmed and edited by Weiss, professor of sociology and environmental studies.

The documentary chronicles the journey that capped Weiss’ Spring 2018 National Parks course as students and faculty members travelled by road into the west to visit the national parks they had studied. The class traveled 3,500 miles, through seven states to visit nine national parks in 10 days.

The film features Ozarks students Derric Davis, Jake Sawyer, Cat Thompson, Christina Waddle, Jonathan Barham, Tristian Leonard and Erika Henderson as well as Dr. Warren Sconiers, assistant professor of biology at Ozarks.  It also features original music recorded and produced by Neal Harrington, professor of art at Arkansas Tech University.

“Natty Parks” was selected to screen at the 48th Annual Arkansas Sociological and Anthropological Association (ASAA) meeting at Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., on Nov. 2.

The Oct. 3 premiere on the U of O campus is open to the public and there is no charge for admission. Cast members will be on hand to answer questions during a panel discussion that will follow the film’s screening.

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Academic, author and pop music critic Jack Hamilton will discuss his recent book, “Just around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination,” at ����vlog���� on Wednesday, March 28.

The event, which is a part of the University’s Walton Arts & Ideas Series, will begin at 7 p.m. in the Rogers Conference Center. The public is invited and there is no cost for admission.

Hamilton is an assistant professor of American studies and media studies at the University of Virginia, where he has taught since 2014. His first book, “Just around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination,” was published by Harvard University Press in fall of 2016.

He is also the pop critic for Slate magazine, where he writes about music, sports, and other areas of culture, and his work has appeared in The Atlantic, NPR, ESPN, Transition, L.A. Review of Books, and many other venues.

In “Just around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination,” Hamilton declares his intent to “disrupt the stories that we have told ourselves about what we’ve partitioned as ‘black music’ and ‘white music’ and to identify what we are actually talking about when we say these things.”

By putting rock music titans in conversation with artists they’re not usually connected with—Bob Dylan and Sam Cooke; The Beatles and Motown’s Funk Brothers; Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield and Janis Joplin—Hamilton introduces a new level of understanding of some of the most popular music of all time.

Hamilton cited one example as The Rolling Stones. In the early 1960s, they emerge out of London as a group of white British kids who are curiously obsessed with the blues and soul, what was considered to be black American music. In the mid-1960s, the Stones are celebrated for their fluency in that tradition, but by the end of the decade, “instead of being viewed as channelers of the authentic, they are the authentic, and that’s a weird shift,” caused partly by the fact that recognition of the Stones’ engagement with their influences slipped as the band’s own story grew, said Hamilton. Mick Jagger becomes “the real thing,” and not just “the white British kid who can sort of sing like Muddy Waters.”

Hamilton was born and raised in Boston. After spending a few years as a professional musician, he received a B.A. in English from NYU in 2003 and a Ph.D. in American studies from Harvard University in 2013. He spent the 2013-14 academic year as the inaugural postdoctoral research fellow at the Laboratory for Race and Popular Culture at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Hamilton is currently working on a book about music and technology since 1970.

For more information about Hamilton’s talk at U of O, please contact the Office of Public Relations at 479-979-1433.

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The poster presentations summarized the research done by the students, who are all pursuing a major in either environmental studies or sociology. Senior seminars and senior thesis courses are research courses designed to be the culmination of the student’s college experiences. "This is the capstone course for both programs," said Dr. Jesse Weiss, Associate Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies. "The goal of the class is to see if they can take a concept and carry it through and do some research and draw some conclusions."

Weiss said the students used three research methods in their projects - policy evaluation, content analysis, and literature review. The May 3 poster presentations gave the students an opportunity to describe their research methods and summarize their results for the guests who attended.

Dixie Crucifixions and Puppet Masters: An Examination of 20th-Century Black Militant Literature through a Marxist Lens was the topic of the presentation by Matthew Arant, from Georgetown, Tex. "I’m a history and literature as well as sociology major," Arant said, "so I had the kind of tall task of weaving both into one paper that made sense." For his study, Arant examined 20th century black militant literature, starting with the writings of Langston Hughes, and ending with works by Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison, a timeframe that extends from the 1920’s to around 1953. "I looked at their relationship with Communism or Marxism," he said, "and I found a significant pattern." Arant said that Hughes started out very idealistically, with his writings urging for a bi-racial work community - communism - as opposed to a segregated work community. But Arant said that as time went on, he found that other African-American writers, including Wright and Ellison, began to distance themselves from the ideas of communism. Arant said he was very surprised by what he found in his research. "I didn’t really notice that pattern until I started reading a lot of scholarship on Native Son," he said.

Six Ozarks seniors gathered in the Hanna Room in Seay Student Center on May 3 to present the results of their sociology or enviornmental studies senior research projects.

Kendra Branson’s environmental studies research topic was Opposition to Elk Expansion in the Bearcat Hollow. A business administration and environmental studies major from Olathe, Col., Branson examined a number of documents related to the proposal which calls for the clear-cutting of 17,000 acres in the Big Piney Ranger District to expand elk habitat. Her research sought to understand how the public reacted to the proposal, and to suggest reasons why they may have reacted the way they did. Among the documents she examined were the environmental assessment study produced by the U.S. Forest Service, a number of newspaper articles, the public comments submitted to the forest service, and the agency’s responses to the comments. Branson found that overall, public reaction to the proposal was negative. "A lot of people think that because they’re expanding the habitat, they’re bringing in more elk," she said, "but that’s not the case." Her research suggested that the negative responses were a result of poor communication by the agencies involved. "A lot of the problems the forest service had came because they used technical terminology," Branson said. "The common person doesn’t have a clue what [they] mean. The other problem is (she pointed to the environmental assessment) - this is 100 pages long - this is what they want you to read. To communicate with the public, the forest service is going to have to change their tactics."

Tristan Cooper, a biology and environmental studies major from Clarksville, Ark. researched the literature to find information about public opinion regarding the U.S. Forest Service practice of controlled burning. The topic has a special significance for Cooper, who has actually helped with controlled burns as part of his work for the Forest Service. His presentation, Public Perception of Prescribed Burning as a Resource Management Tool, first explored the historical context for wildfires, and then described how fire shapes the ecosystem. He then looked at the public reaction to the prescribed burns. "There’s about a 70/30 split between people who support it, and people who don’t like it," he said. "Lots of people don’t understand it."

Andrew Heim, a sociology major from Arlington, Tex., explained his topic, Privileged Gender Socialization’s Perpetuation of Patriarch: How Religious Identity Relates to Sexism, this way: "It’s a fancy way of saying ‘boys are taught to be boys, and girls are taught to be girls, and with that males are valued higher in society and treated differently.’" Heim said he wanted to explore where that differential treatment has its roots. Using the General Social Survey (GSS), which is a survey done by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, Heim cross-tabulated data to determine how people who self-identified as orthodox Christian answered specific questions related to gender issues. "I wanted to see, with respect to a person’s religious identity, is there a correlation between religious beliefs and sexism," he explained. Heim said that his results suggest that there is, in fact, a strong correlation between religious belief and patriarchal attitudes.

Personal interest and experiences led Monica Linares to select her research topic, Perceptions of Violence in El Salvador: A Content Analysis of Four Blogs. The economics and sociology major from La Libertad, El Salvador said "I decided to study violence in El Salvador, first of all because I’m from there, and second of all because I want to help El Salvador, and one of the most pressing problems that needs to be addressed is violence." Linares said she decided to do a content analysis of blogs because they’re usually updated on a regular basis, and they often have much pertinent information. She used a coding method to identify topics related to violence in the bogs, and found three prominent themes: Remilitarization of the security forces, government negotiations with gangs, and violence against environmental activists. Linares said her research has special significance for her as she finishes up her schooling and returns to El Salvador. "I want to work for an NGO to try to foster social and economic development in El Salvador," she said.

Travis Morgan, a sociology major from Ozarks, Ark., conducted a literature review to determine what influence, if any, Christianity played in framing the nudist subculture. "I wanted to see if Christianity condemned [this lifestyle] or was more open to it," he said. His research, entitled Christianity and Social Nudism: Can they Co-Exist? found that in fact, in many instances, Christians are very open to the nudist lifestyle. Morgan said that he found no evidence supporting the suggestion that Christians viewed the nudist lifestyle as deviant behavior - in fact, the literature actually suggests that Christianity holds a very benevolent view of the sub-culture. Morgan said that he hopes his research can be used as the foundation for further research into the topic.

With the completion of their poster presentations, the six students, Arant, Branson, Cooper, Heim, Linares, and Morgan, have met the final requirement for the senior seminar course. All six are set to graduate on May 12.

For more information about the environmental studies or sociology program, contact Dr. Jesse Weiss at jweiss@ozarks.edu, Dr. Kim Van Scoy at kvanscoy@ozarks.edu, or see the majors section here on the Ozarks website.

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The poster symposium will feature:

The poster symposium is free and open to the public, and convocation credit is available for Ozarks students who attend.

For more information about the symposium, contact Dr. Jesse Weiss at jweiss@ozarks.edu.

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Vagabond Barbie, the creation of Jessica Osterdock and Brandon Neal, was the winner of Barbie Bash 2012. She and the other re-imagined dolls will be on display in the Smith-Broyles Science Center for the rest of the semester.

Just who is this previously unknown Barbie? Vagabond Barbie is the re-imagined toy created by students Jessica Osterdock and Brandon Neal. As she made her way up to the front of the class, Weiss looked curiously at the unkempt Barbie and asked, “Who do we have here?”

“We’ve got Vagabond Barbie,” said Neal.

“Vagabond Barbie….” Weiss said.

“She’s a hobo,” elaborated Osterdock. “Barbie is usually the pretty girl. She has the great car, the clothes, the friends, the long sleek hair…this Barbie – not so much, at all. She just kind of went crazy and then didn’t have a chance to get herself back out of the hole so now she’s on the street.”

“So she’s homeless?” Weiss asked.

“Yes,” Osterdock confirmed, as Neal elaborated. “The stereotype Barbie gives off is that you always see Barbie as the one that always does nothing but accessorize, and plays little dress up parties and what not,” he said. “But the thing is, she always achieves every career she ever wanted. She’s ‘Nurse Barbie,’ ‘Vet Barbie’ – any aspiration or ambition she has, she always achieves that. But all she ever does is play dress up. There needs to be a correlation between if you ever want to get anywhere you have to apply yourself, do hard work. Playing dress up, playing around – not actually applying any hard work – that’s not going to land you those jobs that Barbie always gets.”

“So this Barbie didn’t work hard so she ended up on the street?” Weiss asked.

“Yes,” Osterdock and Neal said.

“What sort of message do you think this would send to kids?” Weiss then asked.

“What NOT to do,” they exclaimed in unison.

By challenging the accepted Barbie stereotype, Vagabond Barbie has finally achieved the fame and success she was destined for, joining previous Barbie Bash winners Hooter-licious Ken and Ballerina Ken.

All joking aside, Vagabond Barbie and the other 12 re-imagined dolls in the Barbie Bash competition have accomplished exactly what Weiss had in mind when he first gave the assignment three years ago. Weiss said that even with their sometimes off-the-wall names, the re-imagined dolls have caused his students to really think about what it means to be male or female in our society.

Weiss said the idea for Barbie Bash came a few years ago, when he read about a professor at Utah State University who used Barbie dolls as part of a project for a mass communications course. “Everybody knows about Barbie…everybody has seen a Barbie doll,” he said. So he decided to ask his students to do something similar; to re-imagine one of the dolls as a way to get them thinking about the social problems associated with gender in a way that was active and creative.

Too often, Weiss says, the toys we give our kids are very limiting in showing ideas about masculinity or femininity. “This is especially the case for little girls, who get very limited into that kind of ‘domestic role’ because they’re socialized into that,” he said. “The toys they play with reinforce that. You can walk down the aisle at the store and see a very clear difference between the masculine toys and the feminine toys. We’re raising boys to be one way, and girls to be another way.”

So what exactly does it mean to “re-imagine” a doll? Essentially, Weiss said, the students are asked to redesign their doll so that it no longer conforms to society’s definition of accepted male or female roles. They come up with clothing and props that support the doll’s new gender role, then present their creation to the class, explaining how the doll challenges traditional gender norms, and describing what type of message the doll would send to a child who purchased and played with it.

The assignment has generated some pretty interesting characters over the past three years. Weiss thinks this is because it gets the students to think about the impact that things we take for granted – like the toys we give to our children – can have on how we grow up, how we socialize, and on how we interact with one another. He said the students in this class upped the ante, coming up with dolls that challenge an even broader range of gender stereotypes than ever before. In addition to Vagabond Barbie, students re-imagined:

• Popeye Barbie, bravely takes on Bluto to save Popeye. Now Popeye is the “damsel in distress.”
• Playboy Bunny Ken, wearing bunny ears and a skimpy bunny outfit complete with bunny tail, encouraging a loose, sexually active lifestyle.
• Bubble Bath Ken, soaking in a tub of bubbles, because every guy would kill to do it.
• Headless Horsewoman Barbie, riding a black horse while carrying her head in her hands, who is the incarnation of fear.
• Time-Lord Barbie, who doesn’t need others to save her; she can save the universe all by herself.
• Presidential Barbie, running for President in the 2012 election.
• Barbie in Shining Armor, who is a warrior on the battlefield of life.
• Drag Queen Beiber, dressed in his finest pageant dress, because boys can enter pageants too.
• My-Wife-is-the-Breadwinner Ken, wearing an apron and carrying a tray of cookies, who says “Barbie works to support the family.”
• Break-up (Emotional) Ken, sitting in bed, crying, eating popcorn, and watching “The Notebook” after his girlfriend broke up with him, because guys have emotions too.
• Sports Fanatic Barbie, whose shirtless chest is painted in her favorite team’s colors, because she wants to do the same things as the guys.
• Pageant Barbie, who is not home tending to the kids.

Weiss said that while one goal of the assignment is to have students think about how their doll breaks traditional gender stereotypes another equally important goal is to get students to recognize how society reacts to people who are outside the norm. Pointing out Sports Fanatic Barbie and Break-up (Emotional) Ken, he said, “We have very negative stereotypes for girls that are physically active and that are competitive, just like we have negative stereotypes for boys that are not competitive or who are emotional, or who don’t necessarily meet those standards,” he said. “It’s pretty significant, because gender is a really important aspect of our ‘self.’ It’s very important culturally, but it’s also very important individually.”

Interestingly enough, Weiss said that this year is the first time Barbie has actually won the Barbie Bash. Why is that? “Perhaps for men, if they engage in gender behavior that isn’t appropriate, the stakes are a lot higher,” he suggested. “A man who is a ballerina is far more attention-grabbing than a woman who is a soldier. I think it shows that men are just as constrained [as women]. Yeah, we live in a patriarchy, yeah, it’s male-dominated, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t effects and impacts that men feel, and that they’re not constrained by their gender in the same way women are.”

While getting students to recognize gender stereotypes and the factors that influence our behavior is an important lesson, Weiss said that perhaps the most critical thing he hopes students learn from the Barbie Bash is this: from a sociological perspective, difference isn’t a problem; the problem comes when the difference is used to differentiate and discriminate. “The fact that men and women are different is not an issue – it’s true,” Weiss said. As a sociologist, Weiss said he tries to convey to his students the importance of valuing things equally, because humans tend to behave toward things in a way that reflects how they value them. “We de-value women in our society,” he said. “Certainly women participate in their own subjugation, but that doesn’t make it ok. That’s the overall point of the assignment – to get the students thinking about some of those things in a real-world way. If I can get them to start reading between the lines and thinking critically and adopting the sociological perspective, that’s a victory, right?”

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Dr. Anna Zajicek will be on campus on Monday, February 27, to speak to students about graduate studies in sociology at U of A.

During the meeting, Zajicek will discuss the work being done in the U of A sociology program, and will give students an overview of the master of arts degree program along with the department’s new concentration in criminal justice. She will also explain the process for applying to the sociology program, and will review the options for graduate study.

Zajicek will also give students insight into research opportunities available through the sociology program, including research projects conducted in conjunction with the university’s Community and Family Institute (CFI) and The Terrorism Research Center. The Community and Family Institute was created in 1997, and focuses its research efforts on community and family issues or problems. The Terrorism Research Center was created in 2003, in an effort to better understand issues involved with terrorism, extremist violence, and the effectiveness of intervention strategies. The TRC is home to this countries longest running research project, the American Terrorism Study.

According to Dr. Jesse Weiss, Ozarks associate professor of sociology and environmental studies, the meeting will take place at 12 noon, on Monday, February 27 in room 127 of the Smith-Broyles Science Center, with refreshments available. All students who are interested in learning more about the sociology program at U of A are encouraged to attend.

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