Bio
Sarah Vamvounis (she/her) loves baklava, melodramatic horror movies, and books about violent women. Originally from Michigan, I am passionate about advocacy, language, and escaping the Midwest. Enjoys the idea of, but not practically able, to live in a Victorian house, own senior dogs, and make the neighborhood children believe I am a witch.
I have previously worked with Beyond the Bomb for nuclear non-proliferation, which included meeting with my representatives to advocate for a No First Use nuclear weapons policy. Additionally, I spent the spring and summer of 2022 working with Michigan-based progressive organizations to qualify legislature to the Michigan ballot, including raising Michigan's minimum wage, and amending Michigan's State Constitution to keep abortion safe and legal.
My primary research interests include the transformative and radical potential of queer being, queer kinship, and queer disruption, as well as their limitations. I plan to focus my research on fictionalized depictions of queer monstrocity and horror, as well as the real-life ways that queer people can be abusive. I am particularly interested in the depiction of abuse between queer women, and what sexualized and gendered violence looks like when queer women are both the aggressors and recipients. I am additionally focused on queer ways of feeling and remembering, and how trauma and queer historical narratives both unsettle and form individual and group identity.
