Exploring A Long-Hidden Branch of Literature
Senior also will apply sociology knowledge in student survey
After taking the course Multi-cultural and Post-Colonial Literature with English professor Janice Tuck Lively, Katrina Mioduszewski ’19 wanted to learn more.
Mioduszewski, an intercultural studies and sociology major from Elmwood Park, proposed homing in on post-colonial Native American women authors as an Honors Program Summer Fellow. Mioduszewski plans to read works by Janet Campbell Hale and Winona LaDuke to find how their works address the stereotypes of indigenous populations. Under Lively, she’ll prepare a 15- to 20-page research paper.
That’s not all. Under the recently established Creative and Scholarly Endeavors Program (CASE), Mioduszewski will conduct a study to explore the possible differences between students of color and white students in their transition from high school to their first year at Elmhurst College. Working with sociology professor Bhoomi Thakore, she’ll interview 15 students who identify as white and 15 who identify as students of color. “What can be done to make the transition easier?” Mioduszewki wants to know. The CASE project offers campus housing, and both programs pay stipends.
Mioduszewski settled on her major during a sophomore year study away program in New Zealand. “The more I learned about social injustice, the more I knew that this is the right path for me,” she said. As a junior she founded the EC Justice Club, which was approved by the Student Government Association and will start activities in the fall.
She plans to attend graduate school where “research can reveal social injustices and demonstrate that something needs to be done,” she said. “That way people don’t have an excuse.”