Greenidge authors research articles, book chapter addressing perceptions of black superheroes

Dr. Giselle Greenidge, an assistant professor of sociology in the School of Health Science and Wellness at Northwest Missouri State University, has enjoyed a productive year of research with the publication of two research articles and a book chapter.

Greenidge collaborated with Dr. Myron Strong of the Community College of Baltimore County in Maryland and Dr. Kenneth Chaplin of John Carroll University in Ohio to co-author a book chapter, titled “The Dore Milaje in Real Life: A Continuing Legacy of African Warriors,” which focuses on the impact of the “Black Panther” movie on Black feminism and reimagination of Black leaders. The chapter is published in “Afrofuturism in Black Panther: Gender, Identity, and the Re-Making of Blackness.”

“We often forget that we have strong women leaders,” Greenidge said. “That area tends to be neglected or ignored. I hope readers see the significance of Black warriors, leaders and rulers across the world.”

Greenidge’s interests in globalization and migration patterns also inspired her paper, “A Country’s Religious Freedom and Graduate School Attendance in the U.S.,” which recently was published in Religion & Education. Her research paper examines the correlation between international students from strict religious countries and graduate school enrollment rates.

“I did find that in countries that have high levels of religious restrictions, enrollment in graduate school tends to be lower compared to students who are coming from countries where there’s more religious freedom,” Greenidge said. “That was an interesting finding, seeing how religious restrictions could impact how many people go to study at a higher educational level.”

Greenidge’s experience as an international faculty member from Grenada also inspired her research paper, “Altruism and Trust: Can They Predict Remittances?” It was published in The Journal of Developing Areas.  

That paper explores people’s reasons for sending money to their home countries. She discovered motives for remittance come down to two factors: trust and altruism.

“I hope people recognize the value of sending remittances and the enormous contribution you are making to the economy and at an individual level, just how much you can be impacting a person’s life by sending remittances, which can make a huge change to someone’s economic situation,” Greenidge said.  

Greenidge joined the Northwest faculty in 2019. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology and a master’s degree in merchandising from the University of North Texas. She also obtained a master’s degree in behavioral sciences and a bachelor’s degree in international languages with minors in English and political science from Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma. Her research interests include globalization, social movements, race and ethnicity, and visual ethnography.