A Reel Honor: Student Recognized for Gender, Film Studies Paper
Meg Holland, a student in Rider’s College of Continuing Studies, recently presented a paper at the Mid-Atlantic Popular/American Culture Association conference, where she received the Daniel Walden Student Paper Competition award for best undergraduate work.
Holland, of Mount Holly, N.J., a senior Liberal Studies major, wrote the paper Reel Silence: The Female Voice in Patriarchal Law as Represented in ‘A Question of Silence’ and ‘The Accused’ last fall for Dr. Cynthia Lucia’s class LAW-395: Special Topics: Women Lawyers in Film.
Lucia, associate professor of English and creator of the concentration in Cinema Studies for Rider’s English majors and minors, used her book Framing Female Lawyers: Women on Trial in Film in the class. Lucia assigned her students to analyze and compare two films, using feminist legal theory. Holland’s paper was among the best, she said.
In the paper, Holland examined the films A Question of Silence and The Accused, which, she wrote, “present various characters that represent the experiences and vulnerability of the female voice as it functions within the legal system.” Holland said she was honored by the recognition for her work. She received a $100 cash prize and her paper will be published in the Mid-Atlantic Popular Culture Gazette and on its Web site.
Lucia said she had no idea that Holland had submitted the paper until she was informed by her student afterward. Holland decided to submit the abstract of the paper to the competition in order to get her feet wet, Lucia explained.
“I would describe Meg as incredibly intelligent and well-grounded with what she wants to do. She seems to have a real passion for film and women’s studies,” said Lucia, who has taught Holland in two of her classes.
In fact, Holland developed her interest in film and gender studies after taking LAW-395 as an elective. With a desire to finish something that had started, and with her children entering college, Holland decided to take classes toward a degree of her own. The outcome of her endeavor was greater than she imagined as she sees herself starting a new career.
The mother of two has a varied background. In the 1980s, Holland served in the U.S. Army for nine years, stationed in places as diverse as Germany, Indiana and Texas. She then worked in the private equity sector before entering the field of higher education. Holland has worked at Princeton University for 10 years, serving in a number of capacities including alumni relations and facilities. Currently, she is the assistant to the dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton.
After graduating from Rider, Holland plans to stay in the field of higher education, but in a different role. She intends to obtain a Ph.D. in Cinema Studies and Gender Studies, with an aim to teach.
“I’m mostly interested in gender representation in film and literature,” explained Holland, who said she enjoys the diversity of the topics’ subject matter. She also presented her work during last spring’s Gender and Sexuality Studies Program Colloquium at the Lawrenceville campus.
