Melissa K. Houghtaling

B.A. Psychology, B.A. Sociology (Millersville), M.A. (Lancaster) 
Ph.D. Candidate

Research Interests

Sexuality studies; queer theory; existentialism; phenomenology; trans studies; feminist science studies; philosophy of science; ontology and epistemology; pedagogical approaches to blended learning.

Teaching Interests

Sexuality and gender; queer theory; feminist theories; identity and difference; research methods and methodology; epistemology; sociology of deviance.

Doctoral Research

Envisioned as a contribution to theory, my doctoral research explores a novel approach to sexuality that is premised on the principles of existentialism and phenomenology. Contemporary heteronormative discourse, I argue, has supplanted sexuality with notions of sexual orientation and sexual identity, limiting ideas about sexuality and sexual desire to sex/gender preference. Drawing from the works of Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, I utilize an ontology of becoming to explore the phenomena of sexuality. In doing so, I illuminate the dialectical relationship between personal self and bodily self and underscore the significance of time to sexual being. I also pay particular attention to the very materiality that stimulates and contributes to the sensuality of sexual experiences. This dissertation challenges common and often taken-for-granted assumptions about sex and sexual difference, reconsiders the purpose of contemporary sexual identities, and urges both the exploration and celebration of the polymorphous nature of sex and desire.

View CV (PDF*, 280KB)

Education

Queen’s University. Kingston, ON Canada
PhD, Sociology (anticipated completion: December 2012)

Lancaster University (UK) at the Centre for Social Studies. Warsaw, Poland
M.A., Sociology: Society and Politics (2005)

Millersville University of Pennsylvania. Millersville, PA USA
B.A., Psychology (2003)
B.A., Sociology (2003)

 

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