Disability Rhetoric Professors and Supervisors | ApplySharif

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Ahmet AtayView profile

Professor

The College of WoosterUnited States

Prof. Ahmet Atay holds the rank of Professor of Communication Studies at the College of Wooster, serving as Program Chair of Global Media & Digital Studies and liaison to the Digital Visual Storytelling Pathway. His academic journey includes degrees from Marmara University (B.A., 1998), Ohio University (M.A., 2001), University of Northern Iowa (M.A., 2003), and Southern Illinois University (Ph.D., 2009). His research focuses on transnational communication, digital media's societal impact, cultural identity formation in global contexts, and queer diasporic experiences. He actively explores media representation of gender/sexuality, critical pedagogy, and autoethnography as research methodologies. Notable projects include editing works on millennial media ecology, intercultural communication pedagogy, and transnational queer cinema. Teaching responsibilities include courses on intercultural communication, mediated gender studies, and digital storytelling for social justice. He has held leadership roles in professional organizations like the National Communication Association and Central States Communication Association. Prof. Atay's recent publications emphasize digital ethnography, decolonizing communication studies, and queer pedagogy innovations. His work bridges theoretical frameworks with practical educational applications, addressing contemporary issues like diversity in academia and media's role in shaping cultural narratives.

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Laurie ShannonView profile

Professor

Northwestern UniversityUnited States

Laurie Shannon is the Franklyn Bliss Snyder Professor of English at Northwestern University, with a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. She studies English literature and culture in the long sixteenth century, focusing on the history of ideas in language, stakeholdership, embodiment, and cross-species relations. She serves as convener of The Anne Lister Society and is collaborating with Oxford University Press on a scholarly edition of Anne Lister’s Journal. Education: J.D., Harvard Law School; Ph.D., University of Chicago Shannon’s research explores the political imagination in early modern literature, particularly through friendship (Sovereign Amity: Figures of Friendship in Shakespearean Contexts) and animal studies (The Accommodated Animal: Cosmopolity in Shakespearean Locales). Her current monograph, 'Frailty’s Name: Shakespeare and the Natural History of Human Being,' examines human negative exceptionalism in Renaissance thought and its implications for climate crisis ethics. Her publications span Shakespeare studies, queer theory, environmental humanities, and textual editing. Notable awards include the Elizabeth Dietz Memorial Award, Robert B. Cox Teaching Award, and Dean’s Award for Graduate Mentoring. She has held NEH, ACLS, and Guggenheim fellowships. Scientific Awards: Elizabeth Dietz Memorial Award, Robert B. Cox Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award, Dean's Award for Graduate Mentoring, NEH Fellowship, ACLS Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship Shannon contributes to the Anne Lister Diary Transcription Project and has served as English Department Chair at Northwestern. Her recent articles focus on Shakespeare’s engagement with natural history, queer cosmology, and animal sovereignty, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach.

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Gayle SalamonView profile

Professor

Princeton UniversityUnited States

Gayle Salamon is a Professor of English and the Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies at Princeton University. She holds a PhD from UC Berkeley's Department of Rhetoric (2002) and serves as Associate Chair of the English Department. Her work bridges phenomenology, feminist philosophy, queer/transgender theory, disability studies, and Continental philosophy. Education: PhD, UC Berkeley, Department of Rhetoric, 2002 Her research explores materiality, embodiment, and critical phenomenology. Notable works include Assuming a Body (Lambda Literary Award-winning) and The Life and Death of Latisha King , analyzing transphobia through phenomenology. Recent articles engage critical phenomenology's methodologies and masculinity studies. Awards include the Iris Marion Young Prize for Feminist Philosophy (2017) and the Lambda Literary Award. Current projects address mid-century phenomenology’s ethics and pain narratives in disability memoirs.

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Julie OrlemanskiView profile

Associate Professor

University of ChicagoUnited States

Julie Orlemanski is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago. She holds a Ph.D. and MA from Harvard University (2010) and a BA from the University of Georgia (2004). Her scholarly work bridges late medieval literature with contemporary theoretical debates in literary criticism, the history of science, and the philosophy of fictionality. Harvard University - Ph.D. and MA (2010) University of Georgia - BA (2004) Her research focuses on medieval medical discourse, the poetics of literary personhood, and the historiography of fiction. She is currently completing Making Literary Persons: A Poetics of Voice in Chaucer , which explores Chaucerian narratology, and developing a book on Bernard of Clairvaux's Sermons on the Song of Songs , considering how medieval writing virtualized embodied speech. Her 2019 monograph Symptomatic Subjects examines medical causation in pre-modern literature. Julie serves as Book-Review Editor for Exemplaria: Medieval, Early Modern, Theory (2025–) and has edited special issues on trans-regional medieval studies. Her recent publications analyze medieval fictionality, personification, and the ethical stakes of literary voice. She has presented at the English Institute Annual Conference and organized graduate research symposia.

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Natasha CarverView profile

Senior Lecturer

University of BristolUnited Kingdom

Natasha Carver is a Senior Lecturer at the School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol. Her work focuses on migration, gender, and colonial legacies, particularly in the context of FGM-safeguarding policies and their socio-political impacts. She holds an MSc and PhD, though specific disciplinary details are not provided. Her research critiques policy frameworks that marginalize migrant communities, especially those of Somali heritage in the UK. Her research interests include migratory legal frameworks, gendered and racialized power dynamics, and the intersection of colonial history with contemporary policy. She has conducted extensive studies on the over-surveillance of migrant-heritage families and the epistemological injustices embedded in FGM safeguarding procedures. Her publications highlight systemic issues in UK policies, advocating for evidence-based approaches over exaggerated risk narratives. She collaborates with interdisciplinary teams and engages with community perspectives to challenge hegemonic discourses in migration and gender studies. While no grants or lab affiliations are explicitly mentioned, her work frequently intersects with legal and healthcare systems.

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Kristen ColeView profile

Associate Professor

San José State UniversityUnited States

Kristen Cole serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies within San Jose State University's College of Social Sciences. Her academic work centers on critical interrogations of health communication systems, disability justice, and the socio-linguistic construction of personhood, with particular attention to marginalized communities navigating healthcare barriers and systemic inequities. Her research is anchored in two foundational inquiries: how individuals negotiate health/illness meanings under cultural constraints, and how communication assumptions shape human categorization. Methodologically grounded in critical/cultural studies, disability frameworks, feminist/queer theories, and autoethnography, her work examines pandemic-era health communication dynamics, citizenship language in immigration processes, and pedagogical innovations for inclusive classrooms. Personal experiences with chronic illness and ELL instruction directly inform her commitment to health justice and communicative equity. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals persistent thematic engagement with disability studies and health communication, featuring methodologies like duoethnography and critical discourse analysis. Key trends include socio-emotional disablism during COVID-19, feminist disability pedagogy through participation menus, and neuroqueering communication theory. Her scholarship consistently exposes how communication practices reinforce or challenge power structures in healthcare, education, and political discourse. While specific grant details remain unlisted in available materials, her research directly addresses urgent contemporary issues: health inequality in pandemic response systems and language-based exclusion in citizenship processes. Her chronic illness narrative and ELL classroom experiences demonstrate profound personal investment in dismantling communication barriers, particularly regarding how vulnerability categorization affects healthcare access and how language determines political inclusion.

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Muhammad A S Abdel HaleemView profile

Professor

SOAS University of LondonUnited Kingdom

Professor Muhammad A S Abdel Haleem, OBE, is the King Fahd Professor of Islamic Studies at SOAS University of London, within the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics. He holds a BA from Cairo University and a PhD from the University of Cambridge (Cantab), with additional qualifications including FCIL (London). His research focuses on Quranic language, style, and translations, alongside Islamic family law and Arab society. Key interests include Qur’anic exegesis, comparative religious studies, and the intersection of scripture with contemporary issues like disability ethics and interfaith relations. Professor Haleem has supervised numerous PhD candidates exploring topics such as divine states in Sufism, gender relations in the Quran, and charitable work in multicultural societies. He has authored over 60 works, including translations of the Quran and influential studies on Quranic structure and theology. Awards: Order of the British Empire (OBE) Publications: Over 60 books and articles, including Understanding the Qur'an: Themes and Style and translations of the Quran. His work bridges academic theology with practical ethics, emphasizing contextual interpretation and intercultural dialogue. Current research continues to explore Quranic coherence, legal hermeneutics, and the Quran’s role in modern society.

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Crystal LeeView profile

Assistant Professor

Harvard UniversityUnited States

Crytal Lee is an Assistant Professor in Computational Media and Design at MIT, with a joint appointment in the Schwarzman College of Computing and Comparative Media Studies/Writing. She is also a Faculty Associate at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, co-leading the Ethical Tech Working Group, and a Senior Fellow at Mozilla's Responsible Computing Challenge. Her research focuses on data visualization, disability studies, and ethical technology, emphasizing the 'life-cycle of data representations.' Education: PhD in History, Anthropology, Science, Technology, and Society from MIT (2022); MA and BA (High Honors) in History of Science from Stanford University (2016 and 2015). Research Interests : Crystal examines how data is curated, visualized, and contested, with a particular lens on disability justice and accessible design. Her work bridges STS, HCI, and critical data studies, addressing issues like misinformation, algorithmic bias, and inclusive technology. Awards & Grants : Honorable Mentions at EuroVis 2022 and CHI 2021; NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant; SSRC Social Data Fellowship. Advising & Mentorship : Advised projects on accessible visualization, participatory AI, and disability inclusion. Current book project: Crip Computation . Labs & Teams : Co-leads Ethical Tech Working Group at Berkman Klein; involved in MIT's Data + Feminism Lab and Accessible Interactions projects.

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Aimée MorrisonView profile

Associate Professor

University of WaterlooCanada

Aimée Morrison is an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo. She holds a PhD from the University of Alberta, an MA from the University of Guelph, and a BA from York University. Her research focuses on the intersection of technology, social media, and identity, particularly examining how individuals construct and negotiate self-representation in digital spaces. Education: PhD (Alberta), MA (Guelph), BA (York) Her work explores topics like neurodivergence in academic accommodations, hashtag activism, selfie culture, and the rhetorical affordances of social media platforms. She has conducted research in digital humanities labs across multiple universities and maintains an active public scholarship presence. Current projects include a book on 1980s personal computers and a critical analysis of selfies as modern communication tools. Recent scholarship emphasizes viral communication, digital identity politics, and the ethical dimensions of technology mediation. Her grants include a 2019 Trudeau Fellowship and SSHRC funding for studies on selfie rhetoric and digital life writing. Awards: 2020 Waterloo Teaching Excellence Award, 2019 Trudeau Fellowship Supervises graduate work in New Media Studies, Photography Studies, and intersectional critical studies (race/gender/disability). Active in rethinking public scholarship paradigms through digital platforms.

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Andrew CampanaView profile

Assistant Professor

Cornell UniversityUnited States

Andrew Campana is an Assistant Professor of Asian Studies at Cornell University's College of Arts and Sciences, specializing in modern and contemporary Japanese literature and media. His research explores the possibilities and limitations of expression during media transitions, with particular focus on poetry, digital media, and disability studies. His academic journey includes a Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University and an Honors B.A. in East Asian Studies from the University of Toronto. Campana's first book, Expanding Verse: Japanese Poetry at the Edge of Media , published by the University of California Press in 2024 as an open access work, examines Japanese poetic practice from the 1920s to the present as poets engaged with evolving media technologies including film, tape recording, television, and the internet. As a researcher, Campana's work bridges literary studies, media studies, game studies, and disability studies, with current projects exploring how poetry became a key site of digital experimentation in Japan. His research methodology combines traditional literary analysis with hands-on creative practice, informed by his experiences at MIT's Trope Tank laboratory. His scholarly interests span Japanese media history, disability representation in literature and gaming, digital poetics, and gender studies. His research has received significant media attention, including features in the Cornell Chronicle ('Poets in Japan Experiment at the Edge of Media' and 'Japanese Poets Open New Ways of Thinking About Media'), The Statesman, and interviews on NPR's Academic Minute and the Curiosity Daily podcast discussing his work on gaming and accessibility. As an educator, Campana teaches courses including 'Introduction to Japan,' 'Japanese Poetry,' and 'The Glitch: Errors, Disability, and the Edges of Digital Media' (ASIAN 4703/6703), guiding students through interdisciplinary explorations of Japanese literature, media, and digital culture. His teaching reflects his commitment to understanding media transitions through both theoretical and practical lenses.

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Jennifer NishView profile

Associate Professor

Michigan Technological UniversityUnited States

Jennifer Nish serves as Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Composition at Michigan Technological University, holding dual affiliations with the Academy of Teaching Excellence and the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC). Her interdisciplinary work critically examines power dynamics in digital activism and transnational feminist movements. Her academic credentials include: Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas B.A. in English & Psychology from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln Dr. Nish's research centers on intersections between rhetorical practices and systems of power, with signature contributions in transnational feminist rhetoric, disability justice advocacy for Long Covid/ME communities, and digital media activism. Her monograph Activist Literacies: Transnational Feminisms and Social Media Rhetorics establishes frameworks for analyzing contemporary activism, while recent projects expand into chronic illness narratives and globalization's impact on rhetorical studies. She teaches graduate courses in Disability Studies and undergraduate Advanced Composition. Analysis of her 2016-2024 publications reveals evolving methodological priorities: early work focused on digital campaign rhetoric (e.g., Humans of New York analysis), while current research integrates crip theory with transnational feminist approaches to address disability justice in academic labor and chronic illness communities. This trajectory demonstrates increasing engagement with embodied knowledge systems and intersectional activism. As an ICC member, Dr. Nish contributes to cyber-social systems research through rhetorical perspectives on technology-mediated activism and community formation.

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Sarah EblingView profile

Professor

University of ZurichSwitzerland

Sarah Ebling is a Full Professor of Language, Technology and Accessibility at the University of Zurich's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She leads the Language, Technology and Accessibility research group within the Institute for Computational Linguistics. Her work focuses on computational linguistics applications for assistive technologies targeting disabilities such as hearing impairments, visual impairments, and cognitive disorders. Key areas include sign language technologies, automatic text simplification, and audio description systems. She directs the large-scale Swiss innovation project 'Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies' (2022-2026, CHF12 million budget) and collaborates on EU H2020 and SNSF Sinergia projects. Education: Holds a doctoral degree (summa cum laude, 2016) from the University of Zurich with research on automatic translation to Swiss German Sign Language. Completed studies in German Linguistics, Computational Linguistics, and English Linguistics at Universities of Zurich and Heidelberg, with research stays in Dublin, Chicago, and Rochester. Research emphasizes multimodal accessibility solutions, including sign language fluency assessment, gesture-based interaction, and AI-driven text adaptation. Current projects explore audio description translation systems (SwissADT), sign language corpus development (SwissSLi), and digital tools for comprehensibility assessment in simplified texts. Her work bridges computational linguistics with ethical considerations in assistive technology deployment. Grants and Leadership: Principal Investigator on major accessibility-focused grants, including the CHF12M Swiss innovation project. Supervises PhD candidates in areas like sign language assessment tools and text simplification algorithms. Active in international collaborations, publishing extensively in computational linguistics and accessibility journals/conferences. Technology Development: Created the 'DigiSpon' benchmark for language sample analysis and developed open-source tools for sign language translation baselines. Her team's innovations include the SignCLIP model connecting text and sign language via contrastive learning, and pose estimation frameworks for sign language recognition.

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Phaedra C. PezzulloView profile

Professor

University of ColoradoUnited States

Phaedra C. Pezzullo is a Professor in the Department of Communication within the College of Communication, Media, Design & Information at the University of Colorado Boulder. She also holds affiliations as a Faculty Associate of Environmental Studies and Faculty Affiliate of both Ethnic Studies and Media Studies, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach to environmental communication and justice. Dr. Pezzullo's research focuses on environmental and climate justice studies, rhetorics of social movements, and environmental communication in public spheres. Her work bridges academic scholarship with public engagement, particularly through her concept of environmental communication as a care discipline rather than solely a crisis discipline. She examines how communities use storytelling, tours, and other communication practices to address environmental injustices. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on plastic pollution, care ethics in environmental contexts, climate justice communication, and the intersection of environmental issues with carceral systems. Her work increasingly focuses on networked cultures of care and how communities build resilience through communication practices. Tarla Rai Peterson top Book Award in Environmental Communication Diamond Anniversary Book Award Book of the Year Award in Critical and Cultural Studies Jane Jacobs Book Award from the Urban Communication Foundation Dr. Pezzullo actively engages with numerous organizations including the American Bar Association, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, University Cooperation for Atmospheric Research, The Pulitzer Center, and the Sierra Club. She has been quoted in major media outlets including The Guardian, TIME, Los Angeles Times, Open Canada, and CNN Travel. She directs the Sustainability and Storytelling Lab and co-directs several initiatives including C3BC, the Just Transition Collaborative, Inside the Greenhouse, and the CU Boulder Graduate Certificate in Environmental Justice.

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Jo HsuView profile

Associate Professor

University of Texas at AustinUnited States

Jo Hsu (they/them) is an associate professor of Rhetoric and Writing and Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, where they also serve as Associate Chair of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. They are core faculty for the Center for Asian American Studies and have made significant contributions to trans and queer studies, disability studies, and Asian American rhetoric. Education and Background Ph.D., M.F.A. from Pennsylvania State University Research Interests Jo Hsu's research examines how stories shape policy and culture, with a focus on trans and queer narratives, disability justice, and Asian American rhetoric. Their work bridges academic scholarship with public engagement, exploring how storytelling functions as political strategy and community-building practice. They investigate how narratives of health, identity, and belonging circulate across medical, legal, and cultural contexts, particularly focusing on marginalized communities. Their current projects include examining far-right rhetorical strategies for disguising seemingly neutral beliefs and policies, and taking a narrative approach to health injustice, considering how stories infiltrate settings of health care practice and research. Awards and Recognition 2024 Book Award from the Rhetoric Society of America for "Constellating Home: Trans and Queer Asian American Rhetorics" 2023 Diamond Anniversary Book Award from the National Communication Association 2023 Innovations in Community Writing Book Award from the Conference on Community Writing Winifred Bryan Horner Outstanding Book Award from the Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric & Composition 2023 Rhetoric Society of America Fellows Early Career Award 2023 Leadership Award for People with Disabilities from the National Council of Teachers of English Public Engagement Jo Hsu is an active public intellectual whose work appears in major news outlets including the Huffington Post, the Hill, and the Boston Globe. They are committed to making academic knowledge accessible and relevant to broader publics, particularly in discussions about trans rights, disability justice, and racial equity. Their creative writing has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, reflecting their commitment to both scholarly and artistic forms of expression. Laboratory and Community Work While not leading a traditional laboratory, Hsu's scholarly work functions as a form of community-based research that centers QTPOC (Queer and Trans People of Color) experiences and knowledge production. They are actively involved with organizations supporting trans folks in Texas, including Black Trans Leadership of Austin, Transgender Education Network of Texas, and Equality Texas. Their work emphasizes relationality and community accountability as central to knowledge creation.

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Seo-Young ChuView profile

Associate Professor

City University of New YorkUnited States

Seo-Young Chu is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at Queens College, CUNY. Her work intersects Asian American studies, science fiction, trauma theory, and experimental writing, with a focus on the Korean DMZ and gendered violence. A Harvard PhD and Yale graduate, she teaches courses on global literatures, literary theory, and Asian American literature. Education: B.A. (Yale, 1999), M.A. (Stanford, 2001), Ph.D. (Harvard, 2007) Her research explores the DMZ as a geopolitical and aesthetic metaphor, linking it to diaspora, postmemory, and techno-orientalism. She has published extensively on trauma, disability, and social justice in venues like The Los Angeles Review of Books and ASAP/Journal . Her upcoming book A Refuge for Jae-in Doe and Other Fugues (Punctum Books, 2025/2026) expands these themes. Notable awards include the 2025 Innovator in Inclusive Practices Award and multiple PSC-CUNY grants. She is a vocal advocate in #MeToo academia, co-organizing events and influencing policy changes at institutions like Stanford and Harvard. Her teaching spans courses on science fiction, theory, and the Korean DMZ, emphasizing interdisciplinary and creative approaches.

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