Department of Women's and Gender Studies

Dr. Jamie Barlowe

Professor Emeritus

Phone Number: 419.530.2233

E-mail Address:  jamie.barlowe@utoledo.edu

Ph.D., The Ohio State University
M.A., The Ohio State University
B.A., Indiana University

 

Dr. Sharon Barnes

Associate Professor and Chair

Phone Number: 419.530.2233

E-mail Address: sharon.barnes@utoledo.edu

Ph.D., The University of Toledo

 

Sharon L. Barnes earned a Ph.D. in English from The University of Toledo with a doctoral dissertation focused on the poetry and feminist theory of Audre Lorde. Her scholarly interest has remained on Lorde, especially her work on spirituality, illness, death and dying, and on other feminist poets whose work reflects similar themes. In articles such as “Marvelous Arithmetics: Womanist Spirituality in the Poetry of Audre Lorde,” “Audre Lorde’s Seboulisa: Muse for the Death Journey,” and “Marvelous Arithmetics: Prosthesis, Speech, and Death in the Late Work of Audre Lorde,” Dr. Barnes explores how Lorde’s poetry stands as spiritual theory and political witness.
After earning her PhD, Dr. Barnes held a position at Kent State University before returning to UT. She developed and teaches many of the courses in the Sexualities Studies Minor in WGST and often teaches “Global Issues in Women’s Studies,” the university’s non-western, writing intensive core course open to all students. Other areas of interest include lesbian feminist thought and culture, working class women poets, ecofeminism, feminist spirituality, and recently, women and wilderness. She is also involved in community justice organizing and is a long-time supporter of Toledo’s Take Back the Night event, one of the largest anti-violence against women events in the region. She currently serves as chairwoman of the UToledo Department of Women’s & Gender Studies.

Dr. Shara Crookston

Associate Professor

Phone Number: 419.530.2494

E-mail Address: Shara.Crookston@utoledo.edu

Ph.D., University of Mississippi
M.A., University of Alabama
B.A., Arizona State  University

 

Shara Crookston, Ph.D., is associate professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Toledo. She earned her doctorate in Higher Education at the University of Mississippi in 2009. Her dissertation, “You Know You Love Me XOXO: A Feminist Analysis of Gossip Girl Readers’ Interpretation of the College Experience,” focused on the consumer and lifestyle expectations of college women. Dr. Crookston holds a M.A. in Women’s Studies from the University of Alabama (2006), and a B.A. in Women’s Studies from Arizona State University (2004).

 Originally a Northern California native, Dr. Crookston has been teaching at the University of Toledo since 2009. Her research interests are focused on depictions of girlhood and adolescence in popular culture and reproductive justice. She is particularly interested in postfeminist narratives in teen magazines such as Seventeen and Teen Vogue. Her work has appeared in Feminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics, Women in Sport and Physical Activity, Girlhood Studies, and Jeunesse: Young people, Texts, Cultures.

 Dr. Crookston has developed and taught several courses related to girlhood and adolescence in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Toledo. These include Girlhood in Film and Popular Teen Literature. She is currently developing a course about girls and sports participation. In addition to her academic pursuits, Dr. Crookston enjoys reading fiction, true crime podcasts, and spending time with her dogs.

 

Dr. Rachel Dudley

Assistant Professor

Phone Number: 419.530.6206

E-mail Address:  rachel.dudley@utoledo.edu

Ph.D., Emory University
M.A. The Ohio State University

 

Rachel Dudley, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of Women's and Gender Studies and affiliated faculty in Africana Studies at the University of Toledo. She received her doctorate in Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies from Emory University, with a dissertation entitled, "Haunted Hospital: J. Marion Sims & the Legacies of Enslaved Women" (2016). Dr. Dudley also holds a master's in Women's Studies from The Ohio State University (2009) and a minor in Women and Gender Studies from Grand Valley State University in Michigan (GVSU, 2007). She has held Assistant Visiting Professor positions at both Emory and GVSU and has worked as the Program Coordinator and Advisor for Cornell University's McNair Scholars Program.

Dr. Dudley is a proud member of the Black Feminist Health Science Studies Collective and the author of two articles, including: “Towards an Understanding of the Medical Plantation As a Cultural Location of Disability” and “The Role of Feminist Health Humanities Scholarship & Black Women’s in Re-Shaping the Origin Narrative of Modern, U.S. Gynecology.” She is currently working on the completion of a book chapter entitled, “Black Feminist Field Notes: On Designing an Online Health Humanities Course in Women’s and Gender Studies,” which will appear in an anthology called From the Trenches: Health Humanities in Application.

Her teaching interests include Introductory Level Courses, Feminist Theory and Gender, Race & Health. Her research interests include Black Feminist Thought, Feminist Health Humanities, Medical History, Gender & U.S. Slavery, and Interdisciplinary Knowledge Production. Dr. Dudley is delighted to be a part of the WGST Department and the larger UToledo campus community! She loves helping students reach their goals and thrive. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to personal success audio, spending time with family and friends, watching Netflix comedy shows, yoga and taking nature walks with her dog named Wally.

Dr. Patricia A. Groves

Professor Emeritus

Phone Number:  419.530.2792

E-mail Address:  patricia.groves@utoledo.edu

Ph.D., The Ohio State University
M.S.W., University of Michigan
B.A., Bowling Green State University

Dr. Jeanne M. Kusina

Distinguished University Lecturer

Phone Number: 419.530.2642

E-mail Address:  jeanne.kusina@utoledo.edu

Ph.D., Bowling Green State University
M.A., The University of Toledo
M.B.A., Tiffin University

 

Jeanne Kusina, Ph.D., M.B.A., is a Distinguished University Lecturer in Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Toledo. Dr. Kusina earned a doctorate degree from Bowling Green State University with the dissertation, “Seduction, Coercion, and an Exploration of Embodied Freedom.” Her research interests center primarily around ethics (particularly biomedical and environmental ethics), social justice issues, and philosophy of art, film, and media. She is particularly keen on examining the ways in which these domains intersect. Her published articles include research on sociopolitics and temporality in cultural discourse, networked art, and film.

Dr. Kusina enjoys teaching and working with a broad range of students in a variety of settings spanning introductory level courses through upper division and graduate seminars.

In addition to her academic pursuits, Dr. Kusina is also an artist and experimental filmmaker whose work has shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, the Wexner Center, Harvard University, Northwestern University, Oberlin College, The Kinsey Institute, the Kaunas Biennial in Lithuania, SOMArts Cultural Center in San Francisco, White Box in New York, Beyond Baroque in Los Angeles, the Museo Brasileiro da Escultura in Sao Paulo, and elsewhere.

Dr. Patricia A. Murphy. C.R.C.

Part-Time Instructor

Phone Number:  419.530.2233

E-mail Address:  pmurphy@utnet.utoledo.edu

Ph.D., in Women's Studies and Rehabilitation from the Union Institute & University
M.S., in Rehabilitation Counseling from St. Cloud State University
B.A., in English Literature from the University of Minnesota

Dr. Murphy holds the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor credential from the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification.  Dr. Murphy has been teaching for the Department of Women's and Gender Studies at UT since 1999. As a co-founder of the Disability Studies Program she has been teaching disability studies courses since 2001. Dr. Murphy's research interests include feminism and disability, violence against women with and without disabilities, the impact of violence on women's educational and career aspirations and achievements, and disability history.

Linda Curtis

Administrative Assistant

Phone Number: 419.530.2233

E-mail Address: linda.curtis@utoledo.edu

B.S., The University of Toledo

Diversity Management Certificate

 

Linda Curtis is an administrative assistant with over twenty years of experience at The University of Toledo working alongside the chair of the Women’s and Gender Studies Department, and the directors of the Master of Liberal Studies Program, Law and Social Thought Program, Disability Studies Program and the School of Interdisciplinary Studies. Linda holds a B.S. from the University of Toledo as well as a Certificate of Diversity Management. Linda uses her positive attitude to encourage others to work hard and succeed. Her husband, three children, and two granddaughters inspire Linda daily. In her free time, Linda likes to hike at the Ohio state parks, crochet, read fiction of all types, and tries to practice yoga with intent.