Adam Davies

Assistant Professor

Department of Family Relations & Applied Nutrition

Email:

adam.davies@uoguelph.ca

Phone number:

519-824-4120, ext. 52421

Office:

Macdonald Stewart Hall, Room 326

Research interests: early childhood education & care, queer theory, critical disability studies, masculinities studies, poststructural theory, inclusion, feminist theory, LGBTQ+ identity, sexuality education, K-12 schooling, queer and trans theory, sociology of childhood and youth.

Description of research: I am a queer, feminist, and interdisciplinary critical scholar, Registered Early Childhood Educator, and Ontario Certified Teacher (K-6), who holds a diverse research platform and interests. My PhD is in Curriculum Studies & Teacher Development with collaborative specializations in Sexual Diversity Studies and Women & Gender Studies from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. Much of my work utilizes queer and poststructural theories to analyze systems of gender and sexuality as it pertains to experiences of children and youth within early years and K-12 school settings. My doctoral research focused on affect theory, the construction and regulation of queer intimacies, and masculinities within queer men's online spaces using critical theory and cultural studies lenses. I also conduct research on inclusion within various theoretical frameworks as it relates to both disability and gender and sexuality in K-12 schooling and early years settings. Further research interests include the sociology of childhood and youth studies and socio-cultural constructions of childhood and adolescence.

Accepting graduate students: Fall 2022 (MSc, PhD)

I am affiliated with the graduate programs in Sexualities, Genders, and Bodies; Critical Studies in Improvisation; and Social Practice and Transformational Change alongside the MSc and PhD in Family Relations & Human Development.

As a queer and feminist qualitative researcher, I hold a few unique and distinguishable research interests, with my research being situated within early childhood education, K-12 schooling, and queer intimacies and social media. I predominately employ cultural studies and sociological theories and approaches. Much of my research utilizes queer, feminist, and poststructural lenses to address issues of gender policing as it pertains to children and youth, as well as queer men. My doctoral dissertation research focused upon the politics of feelings and affect, emotional connections and intimacies, and queer masculinities within gay social networking applications and technologies. My other work is related to the experiences of LGBTQ+ children and youth in the early years and K-12 schooling; inclusion for children with disabilities; and, sexuality education. I am an Ontario Certified Teacher (K-6) and Registered Early Childhood Educator. My work employs critical theory, including queer theory, mad studies, and critical disability studies.

While much of my research is related to the early years and K-12 schooling, I am also interested in questions of masculinities studies and queer intimacies, particularly as it pertains to gay, bisexual, and queer men, as well as accessibility and inclusion for individuals with disabilities. I would welcome students who are interested in LGBTQ+ and disability-related issues largely as much of work employs the theoretical frameworks of queer theory and critical disability studies. I am passionate about inspiring students to explore unique research questions through critical theory and socio-cultural lenses. I supervise students interested in quantitative, mixed-methods, qualitative, and post-qualitative methods. I am interested in working with students who are excited about engaging with critical theory and cultural studies within their respective works.

My current research projects include: men and masculinities in early childhood education and care (for which I received SSHRC IDG funding) and mad studies and pre-service early childhood education and care programs (for which I received SSHRC Explore funding). I am currently writing on how mad studies and socio-cultural constructions of madness can critically interrogate sanist and normative notions of educators in early childhood education and care.

PhD in Curriculum Studies & Teacher Development & Sexual Diversity Studies & Women & Gender Studies - Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, 2016 - 2020

MA in Child Study and Education - Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, 2014-2016

Davies, A.W., Balter, A.S., van Rhijn, T., Spracklin, J., Maich, K., & Soud, R. (2021). Sexuality education for children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Canada. Intervention in School and Clinic. Advance Online. https://doi.org/10.1177/10534512211051068

Davies, A.W. (2021). Queering masculinity in early childhood and higher education classrooms: gendered regulation and the double-bind of queer masculinities. In Hillock, S. (Ed.), Teaching about sex and sexualities in higher education (pp. 148-163). University of Toronto Press.

Davies, A.W. (2021). Gay fat femininities! A call for fat femininities in research on gay socio-sexual applications. Fat Studies. Advance Online. https://doi.org/10.1080/21604851.2021.1948161

Davies, A.W. & Hoskin, R.A. (2021). Using Femme Theory to Foster a Feminine-Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care Practice. In Z. Abawi, A. Eizadirad & R. Berman (Eds.), Equity as Praxis in Early Childhood Education and Care (pp. 107-123). Canadian Scholar's Press.

Balter, A.S., van Rhijn T., Gores, D., Davies, A.W., & Akers, T. (2021). Supporting the development of sexuality in early childhood: The rationales and barriers to sexuality education in early learning settings. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality. Advance Online. e20210034. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjhs.2021-0034

Davies, A.W., Maich, K., Belcher, C., Cagulada, E., DeWelles, M., & van Rhijn, T. (2021). A critical examination of intersection of sexuality and disability in Special, a Netflix series. In Jeffres, M. (Ed.), Disability Representation in Film, TV, and Print Media (pp. 44-66). Routledge.

Maich, K., Belcher, C., Davies, A.W., Rose, J., & van Rhijn, T. (2020). Pathology persists and stigma stays: representations of (autistic) Stephen Greaves in the post-apocalyptic world. Disability & Society. Advance Online. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2020.1862641

Davies, A. W., & Kenneally, N. (2020). Cripping the controversies: Ontario rights-based debates in sexuality education. Sex Education, 20(4), 366-382. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2020.1712549

Davies, A. W. (2020). " Authentically" Effeminate? Bialystok's Theorization of Authenticity, Gay Male Femmephobia, and Personal Identity. Canadian Journal of Family and Youth/Le Journal Canadien de Famille et de la Jeunesse, 12(1), 104-123. https://doi.org/10.29173/cjfy29493

Davies, A. W., Souleymanov, R., & Brennan, D. J. (2019). Imagining Online Sexual Health Outreach: A Critical Investigation into AIDS Service Organizations Workers’ Notions of ‘Gay Community’. Social Work in Public Health, 34(4), 353-369. https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2019.1606755

Maich, K., Davies, A. W., Penney, S. C., Butler, E., Young, G., & Philpott, D. F. (2019). Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Early Education and Care: The Earlier We Begin Together, The Better. Exceptionality Education International, 29(3), 77-91. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/eei/vol29/iss3/6/

Davies, A. W., Vipond, E., & King, A. (2019). Gender binary washrooms as a means of gender policing in schools: A Canadian perspective. Gender and Education, 31(7), 866-885. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2017.1354124

Maich, K., Davies, A. W., & Sohrabi, T. (2019). Autism spectrum disorder and maternal employment barriers: A comprehensive gender-based inquiry. Canadian Journal of Family and Youth, 11(1), 104-135. http://dx.doi.org/10.29173/cjfy29463

McKie, R. M., Davies, A. W., Nixon, K. D., & Lachowsky, N. L. (2019). A theoretical examination using governmentality to understand gay men’s risk and sexual behaviours. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 28(3), 343-354. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjhs.2018-0034

Maich, K., Davies, A. W., & van Rhijn, T. (2019). A relaxation station in every location. Intervention in School and Clinic, 54(3), 160-165. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053451218767916

Balter, A. S., van Rhijn, T., & Davies, A. W. (2018). Equipping early childhood educators to support the development of sexuality in childhood: Identification of pre-and post-service training needs. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 27(1), 33-42. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjhs.2017-0036

Balter, A. S., van Rhijn, T. M., & Davies, A. W. (2016). The development of sexuality in childhood in early learning settings: An exploration of early childhood educators' perceptions. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 25(1), 30-40. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjhs.251-A3