Dr. Sarah Donley
Associate Professor
205C Brewer Hall
Phone: 256-782-5352
Fax: 256-782-5168
sdonley@jsu.edu
Dr. Donley, a Midwest native, has been a faculty member at Jacksonville State University since 2014. She regularly teaches courses on gender, social stratification, death and dying, and sociological methods, emphasizing sociology’s relevance to everyday life. Passionate about student research, she actively collaborates with students on projects and has published extensively with them.
As an intersectional scholar, her research explores how cultural gender beliefs, ideology, and inequality interact across diverse social contexts, including funeral directing, online memorialization, LGBTQ+ experiences in the Deep South, and the dynamics of sexual violence on college campuses and social media. Her current research explores the emergence of Death Doulas in end-of-life care and what this means for means for death and dying in the United States.
Outside of academia, Dr. Donley enjoys cooking, outdoor adventures, playing video games, and traveling. She also loves spending time with her dogs, Jack and Teddy.
Courses Taught
- SY 301 Researching Society
- SY 221 Introduction to Sociology
- SY 222 Honors Introduction to Sociology
- SY 368 Gender and Society
- SY 324 Social Stratification
- SY 356 Social Movements & Activism
- SY 340 Death & Dying
Academic/Research Interests
Gender, Work and Organizations, Culture, Research Methods, Social Stratification, Social Inequality, Intersectionality, Sexuality, Death & Dying, Sexual Violence
Other Responsibilities
Institutional Review Board Chair
Education
-
Kansas State University, PhD, Sociology, 2014
Dissertation: The Overtaking of Undertaking: Feminization and the Changing Gender-type of Funeral Directing -
Kansas State University, MA, Sociology, 2009
Thesis: HIV in the Heartland: Negotiating Stigma, Disclosure and the HIV+ Community - University of Nebraska-Omaha, BA, Sociology, 2006
Publications
Books, Edited Volumes
Donley, Sarah and Melencia Johnson. 2024. Intersectional Experiences and Marginalized Voices:
Research, Analysis, & Praxis. New York, NY: Routledge.
Articles, Refereed
Donley, Sarah and Casey Fannin. Accepted July 2024, published online September 2024. “Death Bouncers” and “Spiritual Guides”: How End-of-Life Doulas Provide, Frame, and Negotiate Spiritual Care and Spirituality. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00302228241274969
Donley, Sarah, Tina H. Deshotels, and Chelsee Allen. 2024. “Church Rules: How LGBTQ+
Individuals Navigate Heteronormative Culture in The Religious South.” Sexual and Gender Diversity in Social Services. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538720.2023.2289464
Ellis, Taylor, Sarah Donley, Tina H. Deshotels, and Ashley Anderson. 2023. “‘Ladies I hope you
are in Church right now’: Exploring Rape Myths from Social Media Comments in the Deep South.” Deviance Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2023.2286262
Allen, Chelsee, Tina H. Deshotels, and Sarah Donley. 2023. “#NotHereToo: Community
Readiness to End Campus Sexual Violence in the Deep South.” Journal of Policy Practice and Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42972-023-00082-9
Myers, Faith and Sarah Donley. 2022. “COVID-19, I Hate You!”: Framing Death and Dying in COVID-19 Online Memorials. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying. https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228221107978
Donley, Sarah, Tina H. Deshotels, and Katelynn Shadoan. 2022. “It’s Pride Y’all: Mechanical and Organic Solidarity’s Impact on White LGBTQ+ Individuals in the Deep South.” Deviant Behavior 44(3): 438-455. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2022.2050443
Donley, Sarah and Melencia Johnson. 2021. “Introduction to the Special Issue: Intersectional Experiences and Marginalized Voices.” Sociological Spectrum 41(1): 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/02732173.2020.1850380
Donley, Sarah. 2019. “‘It was my Calling’: Gendered Pathways to Funeral Directing.” Omega: Journal of Death and Dying 83(2): 257-273. https://doi.org/10.1177/0030222819847839
Donley, Sarah and Alexis Paige. 2018. “Sociology and Social Work Undergraduates’ Reflections on Participating in a Research Project on Campus Sexual Assault and Misconduct.” Journal of Applied Social Sciences 12(1): 46-58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1936724418758142
Donley, Sarah and Josalyn Kelly. 2018. “Cash in a Flash: Gatekeeping, Deception, and Qualitative Methodology in the Study of Payday and Title Loan Businesses.” SAGE Research Methods Cases, Sociology. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526432155
Donley, Sarah and Chardie L. Baird. 2017. “The Overtaking of Undertaking: Gender Beliefs in a Feminizing Occupation.” Sex Roles 77 (1-2): 97-112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0699-6
Donley, Sarah and Patrice Lockett. 2017. “HIV in the Heartland: Experiences of Barriers to Care and Stigma in Low Prevalence Areas.” The Qualitative Report 22(12): 3224-3243. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2017.2980
Donley, Sarah and Patrice Lockett. 2017. “Living with HIV/AIDS in Rural and Urban Areas of the Midwest.” Journal of Rural and Urban Research, Special Issue on Public Health 7 (1): 1-8. https://www.jsums.edu/murc/files/2018/05/FINAL1-Living-with-HIV-final.FINAL_.pdf
Yelich-Biniecki, Susan and Sarah Donley. 2016. “The Righteous Among the Nations of the World: An Exploration of Free-Choice Learning.” Sage Open 6(3): 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/215824401665931
Priest, Kerry L. and Sarah Donley. 2014. "Developing Leadership for Life: Outcomes from a Collegiate Student-Alumni Mentoring Program." The Journal of Leadership Education 13(3):107-117. https://doi.org/10.12806/V13/I3/A2
Book Chapters
Donley, Sarah. 2018. “From Old Boy to Gender Progressive: The Shifting Gender Story in Funerary Trade Journals” in Gender and Media: Women’s Places (Advances in Gender Research, Vol. 26), edited by Marcia Segal and Vicki Demos. United Kingdom: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1529-212620180000026004
Peer-Reviewed Teaching Activities
Turgeon, Brianna and Sarah Donley. 2023. “Intersectional Monopoly.” TRAILS.