A Seat at the Table: Inspired OSUN Student Begins Developing a Course on “Women and Power”

By ShaVon Luckey, Tuskegee University '25

Last summer, as I boarded a plane that took me out of the U.S. for the very first time, I was bombarded by feelings of joy and curiosity surrounding my participation at the Hannah Arendt Humanities Network’s Alpine Fellowship on Flourishing in Fjallnas, Sweden. An undergraduate student studying sociology at Tuskegee University (TU), in Alabama, I told myself that I would surrender to the experience and let it change me if it could. This notion exceeded my expectations.

The symposium consisted of two days of lectures, seminars, performances, and installations, presented by internationally acclaimed scholars and artists exploring what it means to “flourish.” Spirited discussions focused on questions such as what it means to be healthy (cognitively, physically, emotionally, and spiritually) and what might constitute a healthy society. Conversations surrounding tech and its applicability to a life free from suffering were discussed as well.

On the last day of the symposium, I attended a talk by Tara Abdulla, a multimedia artist from Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Abdulla presented a fragment of her collection from her piece called “The Feminine Project,” which was once a three-mile-long sewn assemblage of the clothing from almost 100,000 Kurdish women who have survived sexual and gender-based violence. The original installation, created in 2020, hung from lamp poles on a busy highway in Sulaymaniyah. The installation lasted fewer than 24 hours before it was burned down by angry men who perceived it as rebellious. The piece commemorated women who had been beaten, battered, or abused by their husbands or other males.
 
Abdulla’s moving presentation sparked an emotional response within me as I reflected on the liberties that I hold as a woman, living in the U.S. She also inspired me to think about how I might amplify the message about the global challenges that women face accompanied by the fated resilience attained by women worldwide. I thought about how I could correlate this to the oppression that I witness in my own community, country, and my personal life. Almost instantly, I had the idea of developing a course for TU that would not only teach women’s history and the contemporary fight for rights but a course that would also provide a space for individual introspection and communal reflection. The class would be called “Women and Power.”
 
Lisa Bratton, a tenured history professor at TU who also presented at the Alpine symposium, has been an inspiration to me for years, through her eloquence, intellect, and vigorous demeanor in the classroom. I knew she would make the perfect instructor for the course, so I presented her with the idea in between sessions. Bratton instantly agreed and a couple hours later, I approached Abdulla, who also immediately agreed to being involved. We sealed the deal with a hug.

Since the symposium, the course has been pitched to various deans and department heads at TU. The process to get “Women and Power” approved is lengthy and still in motion, but prospects look excellent. If all goes well, it will be available as an OSUN Online Course this summer and made available exclusively at Tuskegee University in the Spring of 2025.
 
Bratton beams when she discusses the importance of offering the course at Tuskegee, saying it will generate rich conversations revolving around wide-ranging discussions of womanhood, histories of oppression, and the reclamation of power.

“Women and power: too often we don't think that those terms go together,” she says. “But the concept of this course is so broad. It’s not just about political power, or just business power. It implies that there are so many ways for women to claim their power. I’m really excited about the course and the breadth that it can take.”

Rhonda Collier, the Department Chair of English and Director of the TU Global Office, is also an avid supporter: “I am so thrilled that OSUN not only provides an opportunity for students to study abroad, but also a way to enhance and improve TU’s academic offerings. This is a key example of how a student's international experience can cultivate one's imagination through time spent working and reflecting abroad!”

Although I am still working on earning my degree, the experiences of the Alpine Fellowship and developing “Women and Power” have fueled my desire to further the connectivity that OSUN already provides. I am grateful for a profoundly moving and human experience that has deeply shaped my goals. 

Post Date: 02-15-2024