Courses
- Hope and Joy in Queer and Trans Lives (FNDS 1602)*
- Social Struggle and Social Change (SOC 302)
- Introduction to Women’s & Gender Studies (WGST/ANTH/PSYC/SOC 303)
- Sexualities, Genders, and Bodies (WGST/SOC 366)*
- LGBTQ Religious Experience (WGST/SOC 388)*
- Family, Sexuality, and Human Rights (WGST/ANTH/SOC 451)*
- Decolonizing LGBTQ+ Studies (course in development for Winter 2022)*
*Courses marked with an asterisks count toward the certificate in LGBTQ+ studies.
Teaching approach
- I believe that teaching can always improve. I love learning new approaches and welcome student input. Some of the best ideas for course policies and assignments have come from my students.
- Dr. Gloria Jean Watkins, better known by her pen name bell hooks, is among the people who have had the biggest influences on me as a teacher. Her book Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom (PDF) is one I return to again and again. If you’re going to read one chapter, I recommend chapter five, “Theory as liberatory practice.”
- I am committed to trauma-informed teaching and learning. Dr. Mays Imad introduces this approach in a clear and compassionate way on this podcast episode.
- In spring 2020, and again in 2021, colleagues and I were interviewed about teaching in a global pandemic. The issues we discussed continue to be important as we move back into the classroom. Read here and here.
Student research projects I have supervised
- Non-binary identities (summer 2021)
- Discrimination, concealment, & multiple minority status within LGBTQ+ populations (thesis co-chair, winter 2021-present)
- LGBTQ+ couple relationships (fall 2020)
- DSM-5 classifications and US trans* communities (summer 2020)
- LGBTQ+ college student experiences at UM-Dearborn (fall 2019)
- Asexuality and ace spectrum identities (summer 2019)
- Queer studies reading group (fall 2018)
- Applying principles of nonviolent communication to intimate relationships (fall 2017)
- Transmen’s experiences coming out to parents (fall 2016)
- Critical disability studies (fall 2016)
- Representations of transwomen in the media (summer 2016)
- Black lesbian cultural production (summer 2015)
- Queer Middle Eastern identity and community formations (winter 2015)
- Counseling LGBTQ+ college and university students (winter 2015)
An independent study is an opportunity to work one-on-one with a professor to complete a project or learn more about a specific topic of interest to you. Click here to view the University of Michigan-Dearborn independent study contract. Instructions for adding an independent study are provided on p. 2.
Certificate in LGBTQ+ studies
Learn more about the certificate here and contact me with any questions!
