Fellow Focus: Emilyn Hazelbrook

2024-25 Undergraduate Humanities Honors Fellow and History major Emilyn Hazelbrook recently graduated from Emory University and plans to take a gap year to gain additional work experience before attending law school.

In this conversation with Communications & Outreach Coordinator Karl-Mary Akre, Emilyn talks about her thesis on the ‘battered woman’ legal defense and her use of the Fox Center as a third space.

KARL-MARY AKRE: Could you give me a brief introduction of your thesis project?

EMILYN HAZELBROOK: My thesis is a history of the ‘battered woman’ legal defense, from its beginnings in the 1970s to its end in the late 1990s to 2000s. The term ‘battered woman syndrome’ was very much relevant because of the battered women’s movement in the 1970s and new psychological scholarship in the 1980s. However, in in the 1990s, people began to consider how the term pathologized women and how it might actually disadvantage them in courts. ⁠

How has the interdisciplinary environment of the Fox and the fellowship itself impacted the research that you're doing?

During my fellowship, it’s been great to learn about other students’ theses and think about how I can apply what I’m learning to my own thesis. My thesis is very much interdisciplinary, and a cross between women and gender studies, and psychology. Most students are doing similar interdisciplinary projects that have really helped me to think about how I can fully flesh out every aspect, from the historical to the psychological.⁠

What's your favorite part of the fellowship so far? 

The atmosphere at the Fox Center has been extremely helpful in creating a workspace that’s not only welcoming, but also productive. There aren’t many ideal ‘third spaces’ on campus other than the library, so the Fox Center provides something special

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.