Faculty

If you have general questions, please email the Gender Studies Coordinator, Dr. Laura Barrio. You can also reach her at 501-916-3161. When leaving a message, tell us how to contact you and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Are you a UA Little Rock faculty member with teaching and research interests related to gender studies? To become an official Gender Studies program faculty affiliate, contact the Gender Studies Coordinator. There is a short application form to fill out, and then the existing program faculty will vote on your nomination. Applications are due bi-annually by or before Consultation Day in the Fall and Spring semesters.


Laura Barrio-Vilar (she/her), Associate Professor of English and Gender Studies Coordinator

Headshot of Dr. BarrioPh.D., University of Kentucky

As an interdisciplinary program, Gender Studies faculty have their primary academic homes in departments across the university. The program is administered by the School of Human Inquiry with the assistance of a coordinator from among the list of gender studies faculty.

Fields: African American Literature, Afro-Caribbean Literature, Gender Studies, Migration and Citizenship, Postcolonial Studies, LGBTQ+ Studies, and Intersectional Approaches to Social Justice. Lxbarrio@ualr.edu


Marta Cieslak (she/her), Director of UA Little Rock Downtown

Marta Cieslak's photoPh.D., University at Buffalo

Fields: East Central European and US History (19th and 20th Centuries), Transatlantic History, Gender, Migrations, Labor, History of Reproductive Rights, Public History

mxcieslak@ualr.edu


Juliana Flinn (she/her), Distinguished Professor of Anthropology

Ph.D., Stanford University

Fields: Micronesia, Cultural Identity, Kinship, Gender, Migration, and Dance

jbflinn@ualr.edu


Zac Hagins (he/him), Assistant Professor of French

Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University

Fields: Immigration, Ethnicity, Gender, and the Construction of National Identity

zrhagins@ualr.edu


Emily Jean Hood (she/her), Assistant Professor of Art Education

Professional Headshot of Emily HoodPh.D., University of North Texas

Fields: Art Education, Critical Pedagogy, Feminist New Material Studies, Decolonial Studies, Queer Studies, Critical Arts-Based Research, Feminist & Womanist Studies, Phenomenology

ehood@ualr.edu


Londie Martin (she/her), Assistant Professor of Digital Rhetorics

Ph.D., University of Arizona

Fields: Gender, Sexuality, and Queer Studies, Multimodal Composition, Digital Literacies, and Game Studies, and Critical Youth Studies

ltmartin@ualr.edu


Nathan E. Marvin (he/him), Assistant Professor of History

Ph.D., John Hopkins University

Fields: French Empire, Race, Slavery, Religion, Gender

nemarvin@ualr.edu


Kris McAbee (she/her), Associate Professor of English

Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara

Fields: Early Modern Literature, Digital Humanities, and Intersectional Feminist Cultural Studies

kxmcabee@ualr.edu


Jana McAuliffe (she/her), Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Dr. McAuliffe

Ph.D., DePaul University

Fields: Philosophies of Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality, Applied Ethics, Critical Theory, Contemporary Continental, and History of Philosophy

jxmcauliffe@ualr.edu


Margaret E. Scranton (she/her), Professor of Political Science

Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh

Fields: American Presidency, US First Ladies, Public Policy, US Foreign Policy, and Archival Research

mescranton@ualr.edu


Molly Smith (she/her), Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

Headshot of Molly SmithPh.D., Sam Houston University

Fields: Rape Myths, Sexual Assault on Campus, Prostitution/Sex Trafficking, Gender Differences in Offending/Re-entry Success

mesmith8@ualr.edu 


Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm (he/him), Associate Professor in the School of Public Affairs

Ph.D., University of Colorado, Boulder

Fields: Transitional Justice, Peacebuilding, Human Rights, Democratization

ejwiebelhaus@ualr.edu


Katrina Yeaw (she/her), Assistant Professor of History

Dr. Katrina Yeaw, Assistant Professor of HistoryPh.D., Georgetown University

Fields: the Middle East and North Africa, Gender, Race, Colonialism, Violence, Memory, Law, Resistance and Collaboration, and Colonial/Post-Colonial

keyeaw@ualr.edu