Paulina Abustan, Ph.D., PhD

WGSS Visiting Assistant Professor

About

Dr. Paul/Leena/Paulina Abustan (any pronoun, gender fluid) centers queer critical race feminist disability justice dream worlds within their teaching, research, and service. Their critical intersectional feminist ethnography dissertation highlighted the ways in which elementary school members participate in alternative worldmaking everyday through building an interdependent community, prioritizing rest, and honoring differences. Their previous research publications showcased the collective alternative worldmaking of transgender and queer student of color activists in higher education along with the decolonial alternative worldmaking dreams of transgender and queer Indigenous and diasporic Pilipinx community leaders, activists, and educators. Their current and future research centers queer critical race feminist disability justice dream worlds in youth learning, youth popular culture animated storytelling, and TQBIPOC and Pilipinx youth led coalitional activisms. Dr. Abustan is a 9th year University educator and is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Western Washington University’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and an Affiliate Assistant Professor of University of Washington’s Disability and Education Studies, and Highline College’s Ethnic and Gender Studies.

Research Interests

  • Queer Critical Race Feminist Disability Studies; Decolonial Pilipinx Praxis; Alternative Worldmaking in Teaching and Learning, BIPOC Activisms, and Youth Popular Culture Animated Storytelling

Current Courses

  • Introduction to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
  • Feminist Theory
  • Feminist Disability Studies
  • Queer Theory
  • Women of Color in the U.S.
  • Disability Justice and BIPOC Communities

Selected Publications

Journal Articles

  • Abustan, P. & Torpey. T. (2021). Learning from two-spirit, transgender, and queer turtle island and Pilipinx peoples. WSU College of Education Journal of Indigenous and Mestiza Voices.
  • Abustan, P. (2020). Connecting Indigenous and mestizx Pilipinx kapwa and critical disability studies: Reclaiming and re-centering the self and the other. WSU College of Education Journal of Indigenous and Mestiza Voices.
  • Abustan, P. (2015). Recovering and reclaiming feminist, queer, and transgender Indigenous and mestizx Pilipinx identities. WSU College of Education Journal of Indigenous and Mestiza Voices.

Book Chapters

  • Abustan, P. (2017). Collectively feeling: Emotional experiences of queer and transgender students of color. In Johnson, J. (Ed.), Queer people of color in higher education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
  • Abustan, P. & Rud, A.G. (2016). Allies of intersectionalities. In Rodriguez, N. (Ed.), Queer studies in education. New York: NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Book Reviews

  • Abustan, P. (2016). Review of Queer voices from the classroom: A volume in research in queer studies. Education Review, 23.