Research Fellows
Dr. Afsane Rezaei
As a Research Fellow, Dr. Afsane Rezaei will study the intersections of folklore, gender, religion and politics in Iran and its diaspora in the U.S. Her interdisciplinary ethnographic project will explore Iranian women's use of different narrative genres in the (re)negotiation of their ethnic identity and religious positionality in the U.S.
Dr. Andrea M. Hawkman
During 2020-2021, Dr. Andrea Hawkman will pursue a project entitled “Exploring Racial Literacy in Rural Classrooms: Toward a Typology of Rural Anti-Racism.” Dr. Hawkman, along with a diverse team of women faculty and graduate students, will analyze how rural educators address issues of race, racism and anti-racism in their classrooms.
Dr. Avery Edenfield
As a Research Fellow, Dr. Avery Edenfield will pursue a project entitled “Queer Becomings: The Ethics, Rhetoric, and Materiality of Care in Trans Networks.” This project will analyze the rhetoric and ethics in online transgender medical literacies with the goal of reducing the barriers to accessing affordable and inclusive gender-transition care.
Professor Fazilat Soukhakian
During 2020-2021, Professor Fazilat Soukhakian will expand her interdisciplinary photographic project “Queer in Utah” into a monograph. Prof. Soukhakian launched this project after witnessing the challenges her LGBTQ+ friends and students faced when they experienced bias and discrimination. The project seeks to engage and empower members of Utah’s LGBTQ+ community.
Dr. Mario I. Suárez
As a 2020-2021 Research Fellow, Dr. Mario I. Suárez will explore the educational experiences of PK-12 Latinx trans+ youth. Drawing on intersectional theory and the Queer Battle Fatigue perspective, Dr. Suárez seeks to make visible the understudied experiences of Latinx trans+ youth through a qualitative study of students and their parents.
Dr. Yesola Kweon
In 2020-2021, Dr. Yesola Kweon will pursue a project entitled “Gender Representation and the Political Attitudes of Working-Class Women.” Dr. Kweon will analyze whether and how the representation of women in elected office impacts the political attitudes and voting choices of working-class women. This survey project will untangle the intersection of gender and class with regard to political attitudes and behavior in the U.S.
Teaching Fellows
Dr. Breanne K. Litts
As a Teaching Fellow, Dr. Breanne K. Litts will redesign ITLS 6535: Design Thinking to incorporate more diverse perspectives, practices and processes of design. Her goal is to diversify the knowledge systems, ways of knowing and ways of doing design in order to provide an intersectional, interdisciplinary and inclusive curriculum. The Inclusive Teaching Grant will also support her work to develop a new course, ITLS 6870/7870: Building Community Partnerships in Research Contexts, which will prepare students to cultivate community partnerships in their research.
Dr. Mehmet Soyer
In 2020-2021, Dr. Mehmet Soyer will significantly revise his course, SOC 3010: Social Inequality, to increase student engagement and impact. As a Teaching Fellow, Dr. Soyer will increase the intersectional content of the course by providing readings from diverse range of scholars and building in multi-media content to each section. He will also restructure student assignments so as to increase student engagement on topics ranging from gender and sexuality to disability, immigration, religion and race.
Dr. Susan Grayzel
As a Teaching Fellow, Dr. Susan Grayzel will significantly restructure and rename HIST 4540: Gender, Violence, and Non-Violence: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. The course will explore historic and contemporary campaigns against systemic systems of violence and oppression. This revised course, which will serve as part of the new certificate in Global Peacebuilding, will be intersectional and interdisciplinary.
Dr. Tyler Lefevor
In 2020-2021, Dr. Tyler Lefevor will significantly transform his section of PSY 3500: Research Methods in Psychology into a sexuality studies course. Students will learn a wide variety of research methods through analysis of research in the psychology of gender and sexual orientation diversity. This course will encourage students to challenge stigmatizing notions of gender and sexuality, provide space for students to learn about the field, and encourage scholarship in gender and sexuality.
Professor Cathleen Osborne-Gowey
As a Teaching Fellow, Professor Cathleen Osborne-Gowey will significantly revise two of her courses. Prof. Osborne-Gowey will revise IGS 1010: Introduction to Intersectional Gender Studies (formerly WGS 1010) and IGS 3010: Inclusive Leadership & Community Engagement (formerly WGS 3010). Her work will bring intersectionality to the center of both of these courses to highlight the ways gender intersects with race/ethnicity, social class, sexuality orientation, gender identity and nativity.