Historic Women Across The Curriculum

March is Women’s Month, so this is the perfect time to highlight the women in our history who have paved the way not only for other women, but also for a progressive world.  Here are a few women that have made monumental strides in disciplines that are represented in the academic programs at Coastal Carolina Community College:

English
Kristin Hannah

Kristin Hannah is an award-winning novelist whose writing has inspired and educated readers all over the world. She is currently most recognized for her acclaimed novel, The Nightingale, which was published in 2015 and is currently in movie production. Hannah explains her motivation in writing The Nightingale. “All too often, women’s war stories are forgotten or overshadowed. I wanted to write a novel that remembered their sacrifice and courage while vividly showing what it was like to live in Occupied France during the war.” Other popular titles she’s penned include Winter Garden, Night Road, Firefly Lane and most recently The Great Alone.

This video features Kristin Hanna as she discusses her childhood, her craft of writing, and her latest novel, The Great Alone.

Sociology

Tressie McMillan Cottom

Tressie McMillan Cottom is a sociologist at Virginia Commonwealth University and the author of a recently-released book titled Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy. In her book, she analyzes for-profit colleges, and in turn takes a broader look at the frustrated essence of inequalities in America. “We trust education will have a positive effect on our lives and our society,” she explains in an interview with NPR last year. “For-profits have perverted that faith.”

Psychology

Alison Ledgerwood

Allison Ledgerwood is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at University of California, Davis. She studies social psychological tools that humans use to reach beyond their current experiences. A “mover and shaker” in the field of psychology, her research is relevant to us today. In the following TEDx talk, Ledgerwood discusses how people can get stuck thinking about things in a negative manner. Her research shows that we must work hard to see the “upside” of things, but she leaves us with a thought about how powerful a positive reaction can be both for ourselves and others.

Fine Arts

Greta Gerwig

Greta Gerwig is an actress, writer and director, who has made headlines with her first solo directorial debut and award-winning drama Lady Bird. Gerwig is one of only five women in history to be nominated in the Best Director category at the Oscars. Lady Bird tells the fictional story of a 17-year old girl in Sacramento, California. Gerwig explains how she has always been a storyteller and how she sees Lady Bird as a love story between a mother and a daughter.

Math

Maryam Mirzakhani: Mathematician – Abstract Surfaces

Maryam Mirzakhani, who passed away last year at the age of 40, was a world-renewed mathematician recognized for her pursuit of knowledge in abstract surfaces.

According to an article in The New Yorker, when Mirzakhani—an Iranian who was a professor at Stanford—was in middle school, a teacher told her she was not particularly talented in math to discourage her interest in the subject. She was not talented or at the top of her class. Twenty-five years later, in 2014, she became the first woman to win the Fields Metal, math’s highest honor. In July 2017, she lost the battle with breast cancer, but her work still inspires women who are pursuing careers in mathematics.

Note: Sarah Batcheler, an MLS intern from Texas Woman’s University who is currently working with us in the library, contributed to this blog post.