Maureen Farrell, a senior majoring in
interdepartmental English and Women's Studies,
will spend next year doing graduate work at the Christina Institute
of the University of Helsinki.
Farrell, a native of Shelton, Conn., has received a
Fulbright fellowship for her proposal, “The Convergence of Feminism
Across Culture: Examining Finland's Social Policy.”
She plans to examine how American feminist ideals
intersect with those articulated in Finland, a democratic nation of
sharply different cultural and political makeup. Her interests center
on the progressive social policies and politics of women's issues
in Finland in parliamentary legislation and grass roots level.
Finland has confronted equality issues with
“women friendly” legislation to provide affordable and
accessible healthcare and childcare, Farrell said. Meanwhile, the U.S.
system of private health care favors the wealthy, and government
policy allows companies to set maternity leaves, she said.
And while American feminists point to the poverty of
U.S. women under healthcare, the ongoing battle for abortion
rights and the high cost of childcare, Farrell says that Finland views
the ability to work full-time while maintaining a family as a
key issue of equality.
“My research will address what changes in health care
and `family policy' from the Finnish model can realistically be made
in the U.S. system,” she said.
Farrell, who is minoring in Spanish, first considered
her proposal in the fall of 2000 during a term in York, England,
where she compared the national health care system in England to
the private one in the U.S. “I saw that national health care for
women (in the U.S.) is awful,” she recalls. “The policy is there but they
don't have access and it favors the rich.”
Among her research projects, she did independent study
with Carolyn Mitchell, head of women's studies and advisor
on her Fulbright and senior honors thesis. She also recently
presented at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and
the Steinmetz Symposium (“Defining Female Sexuality Through
the Poetic Voice of Hispanic Women,” Prof. Pilar Moyano, advisor).
She served an internship this year with the Rensselaer
County District Attorney's victim assistance program. Also, she
studied in Seville, Spain, during the winter term.
A dean's list student and winner of the Phi Beta
Kappa Award in general education and the English department's
Hale Prize for non-fiction, Farrell has been a member of the
volleyball and track teams, Outing Club and Safe Space. She was an
orientation advisor and a writer for both
Concordiensis and Ethos.
She recently received the David Brind Memorial Prize
in English and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
“Maureen did a fantastic job researching and writing
her proposal for the Fulbright,” said Prof. Andrew Feffer, who
also advised her. “Other students who are interested in the
Fulbright should consult with Maureen about the ins and outs of
the system.”