LGBTQ Studies; feminist and queer theory; friendship studies; television studies; trauma rhetoric; gender and sexuality in Appalachia; role of gender equity centers in higher education
David holds a joint faculty appointment in the School of Integrative Studies and Women and Gender Studies where they teach courses that focus on feminist and queer theory, gender and sexuality in popular culture, friendship studies, and ecofeminist and queer approaches to Appalachian studies. They also strive to make any course they teach writing intensive and use principles from the field of writing and rhetoric in their assignment design, feedback, and overall pedagogy.
David holds a B.A. in English and Humanities from Milligan University, and an MAIS in Women and Gender Studies, an MA in English literature, and a Ph.D. in Writing and Rhetoric--all from Mason. They are currently working on a graduate certificate in Qualitative Research Methods from Mason as well.
They began their role at Mason in 2013 where they served as the graduate assistant for the Women and Gender Studies Center. In addition to this role, they served in LGBTQ Resources from 2014-2015 as a graduate assistant and in 2016 was hired on full time as the program coordinator for Women and Gender Studies. Beginning in 2019, David was hired on as full time faculty and in 2021 transitioned to a joint appointment with the School of Integrative Studies and Women and Gender Studies. They also served as associate director for Women and Gender Studies from 2019-2022 and director of undergraduate students from 2019-2023 where they led the effort to develop the minor in LGBTQ Studies, were part of the team that developed the Integrative Studies major concentration in Women and Gender Studies, moved WMST 208: Introduction to LGBTQ Studies to the Mason Core, developed a new peer to peer student leadership model, and co-developed with students the Intersectionality 101 training module.
They were the 2017 winner of the Mary Roper Award a co-recipient of the the University's Patriot Pathbreakers Award (with the COVID-19 Emergency Fund Team), a 2019 recipient of University Life's Outstanding Service Award and in 2022 was the recipient of the Spirit of the King Faculty Award. Also, in 2022, an award was named in their honor for their teaching and curriculum efforts in LGBTQ Studies, the Dr. David Powers Corwin Award for Teaching and Scholarship.
Their current research focuses on the following:
Lafrance, Michelle; Caravella, Elizabeth; Polk, Thomas; Wooton, Lacey; Johnson, Sarah; Russo, Robyn; Corwin, David; “Fingerprinting Feminist Empirical Methodologies: An Analysis of Research Trends in Four Composition Journals between 2007 and 2016,” College Composition and Communication vol 72, no 4, 2021.
Powers Corwin, David, and Angela Hattery. “Taking It Virtual: A Model for Successful Co-Curricular Student Experiences in Women and Gender Studies During COVID-19.” About Campus, vol. 27, no. 2, May 2022, pp. 13–17
Powers Corwin, David "The Fragility of Christian Hegemonic Masculinity: Elizabeth Gaskill’s Ruth as Radical Critique" Mosaic, an Interdisciplinary Critical Journal (Under Review)
Powers Corwin, David, Klemmer, Casey and Westermeyer, Victoria, “Peer to Peer Leadership Models in Women and Gender Studies Centers: Bridging Academic and Student Affairs through Student Leadership Opportunities ”Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education (Under Review)
Powers Corwin, David and Mason Badra, Holly Oxford Bibliography: “The Role of Gender Equity Centers on University Campuses” (under review)
CHSS 101: Introduction to CHSS-LLC
CHSS 490: Undergraduate Teaching Practicum
ENGH 101: Composition
INTS 202: Public Speaking and Critical Thinking Skills
INTS 347: Gender Representation in Popular Culture
INTS 400: Temptress: Sexuality and Power
INTS 434: Research for Social Change
WMST 100: Global Representations of Women
WMST 200: Introduction to Women and Gender Studies
WMST 208: Introduction to LGBTQ Studies
WMST 300: Gender, Sexuality, and Friendships
WMST 318: Race, Gender, Sexuality, and the Environment
WMST 330: Feminist Theories of Gender, Sexuality, and Race
WMST 375/INTS 374/INTS 575/WMST 550: Gender, Race, Sexuality, and TV
WMST 402: Queer Theory
WMST 412/WMST 550: Race, Class, and LGBTQ Communities
B.A. in English and Humanities, Milligan University
M.A. in English, George Mason University
MAIS in Women and Gender Studies, George Mason University
Ph.D. in Writing and Rhetoric, George Mason University