Her intersectional examination of commodification in the Asia-Pacific earned Joddi Alden an Excellence in Philippine Studies/ Filipinx Diaspora Studies writing and research-creation award. Alden, a YCAR Graduate Associate and doctoral student in Sociology, is a recipient in the PhD papers category.
Her paper—Capitalism’s Race: An Intersectional Examination of Commodification in the Asia-Pacific—examines gendered and racialized processes in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region deeply embedded within global capitalist systems that are particularly reliant on the commodification of women’s bodies in two key industries: the fashion as well as the domestic worker industries. She argues that women’s bodies, and the social reproduction that they perform, are commodities that are critical in shoring up capitalism and its effects, both regionally and globally. She draws from multiple data sources, including her own experiences working in the fashion and beauty industry in the region.
The Philippine Studies Group (PSG) invited course directors and teaching assistants to nominate exceptional student papers and research-creation outputs. Alden is the third 2023 award recipient; all of the winning papers will be published in a special New Voices in Asian Research series later this term.
Learn more about the PSG at this link.
10 January 2024