September 22, 2022
Agriculture students needed for diversity research
Ash Denchfield, graduate student in communication studies, is conducting research to understand student perceptions of agricultural feminism in the College of Agriculture at Kansas State University.
These perceptions will reveal insights into the state of students' education concerning disenfranchised groups in agriculture and may provide future recommendations for agricultural education at K-State.
The research will include 10 separate interviews of students who have a major/minor in the College of Agriculture. Sessions should last between 45 minutes to an hour. They can either be conducted via Zoom or in person. Interviews contain questions about feminism in agriculture and the work of women and disenfranchised groups in agriculture. Due to an intersectional feminist methodology, interviewees should reflect diverse backgrounds — race, gender, and sexuality. The material covered in sessions may be sensitive, including questions on sustainability, underrepresentation of women, queer folks, Black folks, undocumented people with resources in agriculture, gender gap and masculinity.
"I am interested in conducting this research due to my upbringing in an agricultural community and my work caring for our crops and cattle," Denchfield said. "It is important to me that future generations of agricultural workers have diverse experiences in the field."
Contact Denchfield at denchfielda@k-state.edu to participate or for more information.
This study has been reviewed by the Institutional Review Board and received approval No. 11138.