淫妻社

Department of Women's and Gender Studies

WGST Department Faculty

Dr. Asma M. Abdel Halim
Dr. Jamie Barlowe Dr. Sharon Barnes
Dr. Shara Crookston Dr. Rachel Dudley Dr. Patricia A. Groves
Dr. Jeanne M. Kusina Dr. Patricia A. Murphy, C.R.C.

Linda Curtis, Administrative Assistant

   Photo of Asma M Abdel Halim, associate professor of Women's and Gender Studies

Dr. Asma M. Abdel听 Halim

Professor听of Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies

Phone Number: 419.530.2602

Ph.D., Ohio University
M.A.I.A., Ohio University

LL.M., University of Khartoum, Sudan
LL.B., University of Khartoum

Asma M. Abdel Halim is a professor with 淫妻社, Department of Women's and Gender Studies. She graduated from the faculty of Law, University of Khartoum with an LL.B. Honors in Common Law and Shari鈥檃, Islamic Law, where she also earned a Master in commercial law. She earned a Master in International Affairs, African Studies and a Ph.D. in Education from Ohio University.

Asma taught at several universities and has been a human rights activist for the past 40 years. Her research is generally on Muslim women鈥檚 rights in Africa and other parts of the world, with a focus on feminism, women鈥檚 issues, legal, constitutional rights and human rights issues under socio-cultural and religious mandates and other related issues. Her current research project is researching Sudanese laws from a feminist perspective. She follows the evolution of law in the country especially laws that directly affect women鈥檚 rights such as Personal Status Laws (Ahwal Shakhsiyya) and Criminal law. She authored and translated books and published articles in books and periodicals, as well as attended and presented at many domestic and international conferences that address her research interests.
Asma鈥檚 research is focused now on the huge changes in Sudanese laws and politics after the downfall of the military dictatorship in the country.

Photo of Dr. Jamie Barlowe, professor emeritus

Dr. Jamie Barlowe

Professor Emeritus

Phone Number: 419.530.2233

Photo of Dr. Sharon Barnes, associate professor and chair of Women's and Gender Studies

Dr. Sharon Barnes

Associate Professor and Chair

Phone Number: 419.530.2233

Ph.D., 淫妻社

Sharon L. Barnes earned a Ph.D. in English from 淫妻社 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 鈥淢arvelous Arithmetics: Womanist Spirituality in the Poetry of Audre Lorde,鈥 鈥淎udre Lorde鈥檚 Seboulisa: Muse for the Death Journey,鈥 and 鈥淢arvelous Arithmetics: Prosthesis, Speech, and Death in the Late Work of Audre Lorde,鈥 Dr. Barnes explores how Lorde鈥檚 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 鈥淕lobal Issues in Women鈥檚 Studies,鈥 the university鈥檚 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鈥檚 Take Back the Night event, one of the largest anti-violence against women events in the region. She currently serves as chairwoman of the 淫妻社 Department of Women鈥檚 & Gender Studies.

Photo of Dr. Shara Crookston, assistant professor

Dr. Shara Crookston

Associate Professor

Phone Number: 419.530.2494

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

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

听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.

听Dr. Crookston has developed and taught several courses related to girlhood and adolescence in the Department of Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies at the 淫妻社. 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.

Photo of Dr. Rachel Dudley, assistant professor

Dr. Rachel Dudley

Assistant Professor

Phone Number: 419.530.6206

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 淫妻社. 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 淫妻社ing 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: 鈥淭owards an Understanding of the Medical Plantation As a Cultural Location of Disability鈥 and 鈥淭he Role of Feminist Health Humanities Scholarship & Black Women鈥檚 in Re-Shaping the Origin Narrative of Modern, U.S. Gynecology.鈥 She is currently working on the completion of a book chapter entitled, 鈥淏lack Feminist Field Notes: On Designing an Online Health Humanities Course in Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies,鈥 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 淫妻社 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.

Photo of Dr. Patricia Groves, professor emeritus

Dr. Patricia A. Groves

Professor Emeritus

Phone Number:听 419.530.2792

Photo of Dr. Jeanne Kusina, Distinguished University Lecturer in Women's and Gender Studies

Dr. Jeanne M. Kusina

Distinguished University Lecturer

Phone Number: 419.530.2642

Ph.D.,听Bowling Green State University
M.A., 淫妻社
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 淫妻社. Dr. Kusina earned a doctorate degree from Bowling Green State University with the dissertation, 鈥淪eduction, Coercion, and an Exploration of Embodied Freedom.鈥 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: 听419.530.2233

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.听 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.

Photo of Linda Curtis Secretary

Linda Curtis

Administrative Assistant

Phone Number: 419.530.2233

B.S., 淫妻社

Diversity Management Certificate

Linda Curtis is an administrative assistant with over twenty years of experience at 淫妻社 working alongside the chair of the Women鈥檚 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 淫妻社 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.听