Dr. Nicole Willey is an educator, a writer and a parent—a recipe for literary success. The Kent State University at Tuscarawas English professor is the co-editor of a newly published book, Feminist Fathering: New Definitions and Directions. This is the latest in a long line of books, book chapters and journal articles published by Willey over the years, with many topics focusing on motherhood and fatherhood.
“This book is about redefining fathers and fatherhood toward egalitarian parenting practices that will help children and mothers,” said Willey.
Willey’s works are influenced by her passions that include hearing and amplifying marginalized voices and figuring out how to make the future better for everyone, which starts with the way children are raised, and in identifying support for all children.
Her previous books include Creating a New Ideal of Masculinity for American Men: The Achievement of Sentimental Women Writers in the Mid-Nineteenth Century, and a co-edited collection Motherhood Memoirs: Mothers Creating/Writing Lives.
“I started doing research on mothering quite a long time ago, and after I had my boys, I started specifically looking into mothering sons,” said Willey. “From there, and in light of my Ph.D. on masculinity, it wasn’t too hard to see that the next step for my research was to look at fathers and fathering.”
Willey joined Kent State Tuscarawas in 2003 and holds a Ph.D. in Literature from the University of Alabama, a Master of Arts in Literature from Kent State University and a Bachelor of Science in English Education from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Her research is focused on Nineteenth Century American novels, specifically sentimental novels and slave narratives, to intersectional research on mothering, memoir, and most recently fathering, parenting policies in academe, and mentoring practices.
In the Kent State University system, Willey is a Faculty Fellow in the Center for Teaching and Learning, where she focuses on issues surrounding Mid-Career Mentoring for Regional Faculty. She serves as the Mentoring Program coordinator at the Tuscarawas Campus, is a graduate of Leadership Tuscarawas and serves on the Leaders of Tomorrow Summit committee.
Willey lives in New Philadelphia with her partner of 20-plus years, a feminist father and queer studies medievalist, their two teenage sons and one hilarious dog.
To learn more about Willey’s latest book that will be released at the end of February, visit demeterpress.org/books/feminist-fatheringfathering-feminists.
Kent State Tuscarawas is located at 330 University Dr. NE in New Philadelphia. For more information about the campus, visit www.kent.edu/tusc.