Sarah M. Williams

Meet Sarah

Sarah M. Williams is a Ph.D. student in the department of Disability and Human Development. She received her B.A. in Biblical Studies from Azusa Pacific University and her Master of Divinity from Drew University. Sarah’s research focuses on disabled orphan populations, with specific attention to the construction of the disabled orphan during and post-Korean War, in order to elucidate the entangled formations of global children’s racial, religious, and political lives. In her work, she is also committed to utilizing narrative to theorize about the intersectional ways families are generative sites for gender violence in order to advance sexual and gender justice for children who are victim survivors.

Why did you choose DHD at UIC?
There are so many academics doing exciting and innovative work at UIC more broadly speaking but also specifically in DHD as well. I chose DHD because I want to learn with and from the scholars here.

What do you want to do with a DHD degree?
In the future, I hope to teach at the undergraduate or graduate level. I believe that teaching should be for collective liberation and so I hope to co-create these conversations inside the classroom, as well as in other community spaces, in ways that lead to a more just world.

Research Interests
Crip theory, Critical Adoption Studies, Religion, Critical Race Theory, Childhood Studies, Gender Violence.

Awards and Honors
2022- Frederick Buechner Prize for Excellence in Writing, Drew University

Education
Biblical Studies, Hermeneutics, Azusa Pacific University, 2015 Master of Divinity: summa cum laude, Drew University, 2022