Western Carolina University
Bio
Whisper O’Brien is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Western Carolina University majoring in English with a concentration in Literature and minoring in Professional Writing. Her interests lie in the study of the intersectionality between gender, race, and class, and she hopes to continue her research on these topics as she explores more literature. Whisper currently serves as a Student Ambassador for the English department of her university and tries to remain involved in the community the English department has fostered on her campus.
Paper
Intersections of class and gender in Julia Alvarez's In the Time of the Butterflies
I will be exploring the intersectionality between gender and class, and the role women play in politics and nation-construction by examining the novel In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. I am hoping that my research will reflect the importance of the role women play in the political field and how that role can completely shift the political landscape of entire nations. This research will also explore the way in which social class allows a person to interact with the political world around them, and how when class and gender intersect and are cross-examined, we see that such a dynamic can become a powerful catalyst that can transform the very foundations of a nation.