Department News
October 29, 2025
Assistant Professor Alka Menon’s research on evolving beauty standards and their ramifications for social inequality was highlighted in two recent podcast episodes, including in an episode titled “The Marvels of Madam C.J. Walker Part 2” BBC’s History’s Heroes Podcast, where she was in conversation with historian and host Alex von Tunzelmann. In addition, along with Anne-Mette Hermans, she discussed her work with Sanne Pieters for the Culture and Inequality podcast in an episode titled “Beauty, Botox, Boundaries: Aesthetic Medical Procedures and Social Inequality.” In each of the episodes, she reflects on the implications of her research findings on race, gender, and class and beauty for today’s world.