Printed with permission of Shanely Perez

Colgate University senior Shanely Perez is a first-generation student who has poured her heart into integrating her culture and identity into her senior thesis. As a Dominican-American, Perez found a way to pay tribute to a large aspect of her identity by indulging in an interdisciplinary thesis that combines her two majors: religion and Spanish. 

As a Spanish and religion double major, Perez was interested in spiritual and religious experiences, outside of Christianity and Catholicism, in the Caribbean. Initially, Perez planned on discussing Santeria, an Afro-Caribbean religion rooted in Cuba, and the Dominican Republic’s form, Dominican Gaga. She was going to study the impact these religions had on people and culture within the Dominican Republic. 

This plan eventually evolved to be a literature review, rooted in Rita Indiana’s novel, “Tentacle,” or in Spanish, “La mucama de Omicunlé.” Indiana discusses spirituality, identity and trauma in an Afro-futuristic sci-fi novel with chaotic and complex characters within the Dominican Republic. Perez’s research combines the themes discussed in Indiana’s novel with a discussion about emotions in scholarship, which is rooted in Sarah Ahmed’s affect theory. 

“[Ahmed] mentions that emotions persist in this world of affective economies, which touches on the social aspect of the emotions we’re talking about, where not only are we outwardly reflecting our own feelings and emotions, but we are also getting affected by those put [out] by other people,” Perez said. 

Perez continued to explain Ahmed’s theory in the context of Indiana’s novel. 

“In reading this particular novel, there are characters who are going through completely absurd, yet very normal and everyday experiences that we have on a global scale. So that’s issues with queer ideologies and feeling, wrestling with concepts of toxic masculinity, and in some cases wrestling with colorism and racism,” Perez shared. 

Perez shared that the Dominican Republic has a long history of emotional and colonial trauma that can be linked to some of the hate, disgust, fear and anxiety felt by characters in the book. The protagonist, Argenis Luna, suppresses his queer identity through hyper-sexualization of women or expressing fear of contact with other men. 

“[I ask,] ‘How is it that all of these thoughts he’s had, both internally and expressed externally, come from hate and trauma in life?’ And, ‘What does it mean to take notions of what’s okay and acceptable in society, and wrestle with how I alter myself […] to perform to what society is expecting of me, so that I don’t have to experience alienation?’” Perez explained. 

Although writing her thesis was a rewarding academic experience, Perez also shared a personal connection to her thesis topic. 

“My father, who’s an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, has gone out of his way to essentially create opportunity for me with his hardship, and his labor and his time here,” Perez shared. “My mother [is] someone who has inspired me to tap into that boldness and that loudness and being thankful for where you come from, and not only that, [but] where you’re going and what it means to leave that legacy and foster a voice for people in the Dominican Republic who might not have opportunities like these.” 

Perez always planned to connect her culture with her senior thesis project. 

“So with whatever project I wanted to do, I wanted to bring both my culture and my story, as well as the story of a lot of other people in the Dominican Republic that aren’t really heard or portrayed,” Perez shared.

Perez’s thesis is a beautiful tribute to her culture and to her parents, who she expressed immense gratitude towards. 

This project felt deeply personal, but it also came with a particular tension: how to write about Dominican culture — especially spiritual practices and social issues — without falling into generalization or misrepresentation. 

“There are a lot of themes that emerge from the book that I feel myself […] in terms of having experienced, but it was also like kind of treading a fine line of trying to make sure that I’m not misusing, misinterpreting [or] stereotyping […] some of the stories that are kind of emerging, because at the end of the day, this is social commentary on the Dominican Republic,” Perez said. 

Working with her thesis adviser, Assistant Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures Juan Manuel Ramirez Velazquez, was essential in avoiding bias throughout the process. Perez disclosed her identity within her thesis and acknowledged that she is a member of the community she is writing about. Moreover, her adviser acted as an experienced set of eyes, since he has experience with contributing to scholarship about his culture. 

Throughout her time at Colgate, Perez came to love and embrace her culture loudly, as her parents intended her to. 

“[Something that] I’m really happy and prideful that I’ve finally been able to understand is that at the end of the day […] we’re all human, so being able to finally accept, acknowledge and embrace my culture while also trying to find that bridge and understanding with other people who may not exist in that bubble [was really rewarding],” Perez shared. 

Perez successfully presented her thesis, “Sticky Rituals: Affect, Performance, and Emotional Geographies in Rita Indiana’s ‘La mucama,’” on Thursday, April 17.