Durell M. Callier (Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [UIUC]), documents, analyzes, and interrogates Black queer youth’s lived experiences and utilizes performance based methodologies to theorize systemic violence against Black and queer youth. An interdisciplinary scholar, he is also interested in the educative and political usages of narrative and art within, by and for marginalized communities. His work has been published in various leading venues such as, Qualitative Inquiry, Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies, Departures in Critical Qualitative Research and Text and Performance Quarterly.

Extending his scholarship and illustrating his commitment to publicly engaged scholarship, Callier is part of a scholar artist-collective Hill L. Waters (HLW). HLW blends narrative research, with performance, feminist, and queer methodologies to create performance texts exploring issues of race, gender, sexuality, love, violence and belonging. Callier has also written, performed, and produced plays (Tell It!: A Contemporary Chorale for Black Youth Voices), performance texts (Bodies on Display; Love, Funk, and Other Thangs; Connected, OUT) and created a mixed media art installation (disclosure). 

Key Professional Appointments

Instructor
Department of Gender and Women’s Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014

Teaching Assistant
Department of Gender and Women’s Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012

Online Teaching Assistant
Department of Gender and Women’s Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Summer 2011, Summer 2012

Co-Instructor
Motion Based Interactive Art Experiences (Mobi Arte)
University of Illinois Laboratory High School
February 2012 - March 2012

Co-Instructor
Middle Math School
Connexions Leadership Academy
August 2006 - June 2007

Current Title

Assistant Professor
Educational Leadership Department
Miami University, Oxford, OH

Education

Ph.D., Educational Policy Organization and Leadership, Successfully Defended May 2016 Graduate Minor: Gender & Women’s Studies, May 2013
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Specialization: Social Cultural Foundations of Education Dissertation: “Staging [in]visible subjects: BlackQueer bodies, social death and performance” Committee: Ruth Nicole Brown (chair and advisor), James Anderson, Cameron McCarthy, Sandra Ruiz, Siobhan Somerville

M.A., Educational Policy Studies, August 2012
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Thesis: “Acting OUT: A performative exploration of identity, healing, and wholeness”

B.A., Social Work, May 2007
University of Maryland, Baltimore County Minor: Africana Studies

Awards and Honors

Leadership Award, University of Illinois Women’s Center Ally Award, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, May 2013

Publications/Presentations

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles

Brown, R.N., Callier, D.M., Garner, P.R., Robinson, J.L., Hill, D.C., Olayiwola, P., Robinson, J.L. (2015). Staging black girl utopias: A sweetwater tribute. Departures in Critical Qualitative Research. 1(4), 137-149.

Hill, D.C., Callier, D.M. (2014). Snip, snip: Reflections on hair, loss, & love. Text and Performance Quarterly, 404-408.

Weems, M., Callier, D.M., & Boylorn,R. (2014). Love, peace and soooooul: The fire this time writers group. Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies, 1-5.

Callier, D.M. (2012). But where were they? race, era(c)sure, and the imaginary American west. Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies, 20(10) 1–4.

Callier, D.M. (2011). Epistemological groundings: Searchin’ for the words. Qualitative Inquiry, 17(9), 815-818.

Callier, D.M. (2011). Longing to be Langston. Qualitative Inquiry, 17(10), 956 - 961.

Callier, D.M. (2011). A call to love: In remembrance of our quare saints. Qualitative Research Journal, 11(2),85-94.

Book Chapters

Callier, D.M. (2013). Tell it: A contemporary chorale for Black youth voices. In M. E. Weems (Ed.). Writings of healing and resistance: Empathy and the imagination intellect (pp. 101-115). New York: Peter Lang.

Callier, D.M. (2012). Acting OUT: A performative exploration of identity, healing, and wholeness. In R.N. Brown and C.J. Kwakye (Eds). Wish to live: The hip-hop feminism pedagogy reader (pp. 141-161). New York: Peter Lang.

Special Issue Editor

Kwakye, C.J., Hill. D.C., Callier, D.M., Perez, K. (forthcoming). Saving our lives, hear our truths: Exploring the theory, praxis, and creativity of black girlhood studies. Guest Editor for Departures in Critical Qualitative Inquiry. Special Issue.

Sanya,B.N., Desai. K.., Callier, D.M., McCarthy, C. (forthcoming). Educative practices and the making of (non) citizens. Guest Editor for Curriculum Inquiry. Special Issue.

Callier, D.M., Perez, K. (2014). Still political: Reflections on the complex histories, negotiations, and significations of hair. Guest Editor for Text and Performance Quarterly, 390-415. Special Issue.

Encyclopedia Entry

Callier, D.M. (Invited). Sakia Gunn, Joseph Walker Hoover, and Gendered Violences: Queer of color critiques in educational spaces. In H. Greenhalgh-Spencer (Ed) Gender and Education section of M. Peters (Ed). The Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory. Dordrecht: Springer.

Submissions Under Review

Callier, D.M. Living in C Minor: Reflections on the Melodies of Blackness, Queerness, and Masculinity. Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies

Manuscripts in Progress

Callier, D.M., Hill, D.C. & Waters,H.L. On being BlackQueer and students of SOLHOT: Introducing Hill L. Waters a continuation of love, collective action and genius. Departures in Critical Qualitative Inquiry

Callier, D.M. Love all of me or don’t love me at all: Remembering the Black queer body in Education.

Callier, D.M. Hidden in Plain Sight: Exploring the Relationships of Citizenship, Anti-Black Racism and AntiQueer Antagonisms in the lives of Black Youth.

Conference Presentations

Peer Reviewed

Callier, D. M., Hill, D.C., Waters, H.L. (2016, March). Enacting Critical Collaborative Performance Autoethnography: Reflecting on Collective Practice, Black Girlhood, Black Love and Accountability. Paper presentation at the Doing Autoethnography Annual Conference, San Angelo, TX.

Callier, D. M., Hill, D.C., Weems, L. (2015, November). Remembering, Mobilizing, & Imaging (Embodied) Love in an Age of Anti- Blackness & Settler Colonialism. Panel presentation at the American Educational Studies Association Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX.

Callier, D. M., Hill, D.C. (2015, October). Bodies on display: An exploration of love, intimacy, violence and the Black queer Callier CV 3 body. Panel presentation at the Imagining America National Conference, Baltimore, MD.

Bryant, K.A., Callier, D.M., Boylorn,R., Spry, T. & Denzin, N.K, (2015, May). Living in C Minor: Reflections on the Melodies of Blackness, Queerness, and Masculinity. Paper presentation at the Eleventh Annual International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, Champaign, IL.

Boylorn, R., Adams, T.E., Bhattacharya, K., Hill, D.C, Callier, D.M, & Upshaw, A. (2015, May). Continuing the work of SOLHOT (or more on being reckless): Exploring the praxis of collective labor, love, and art. Performance presentation at the Eleventh Annual International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, Champaign, IL.

Callier, D.M. (2015, April). Different sides of the same coin: Exploring the intersections of anti-Black racism and antiqueer antagonisms in the lives of Black youth. Paper presentation at the American Educational Research Association National Conference: Division B Curriculum Studies Seminar, Chicago, IL.

Callier, D.M., Loyd-Sims, L., & Peretz,T. (2014, November). Lessons on Black queer survival: Interrogating Black masculinity through narrative. Paper presentation at the National Women’s Studies Association National Conference, San Juan, PR.

Callier, D.M., Brown, N. M. (2014, November). (Dis)appearing Acts: Reflections on Black Men’s Yearning For One Another. Paper presentation at the National Women’s Studies Association National Conference, San Juan, PR.

Callier, D. M., (2014, May.). To tell more complex narratives: Social death, blackness, and the analytics of love, loss, and failure. Paper presentation at the Tenth Annual International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, Champaign, IL.

Callier, D. M., Hill, D.C., Smith, B.E., Weems, L. (2013, October). Alternative bodies: Educating from the margins. Panel presentation at the Imagining America National Conference, Syracuse, NY.

Weems, M., Boylorn, R, & Callier, D.M. (2013, May). The fire this time. Panel presentation at the Ninth Annual International Congress for Qualitative Inquiry, Champaign, IL.

Callier, D. M., Kwakye, C.J., Hill, D.C., & Suarez, C.E.. (2012, November). Hear my call: The reconnection of personal and academic experiences of scholars of color. Panel presentation at the National Women’s Studies Association National Conference, Oakland, CA.

Callier, D. M. (2012, October). Dirty work revisited. Paper presentation at the Imagining America National Conference, New York City, NY.

Callier, D.M. (2012, May). Connected. Paper presentation at the Eighth Annual International Congress for Qualitative Inquiry, Champaign, IL.

Callier, D. M., & Hill, D.C. (2011, November). We say we love each other: Dialogues on love, gender, and justice. Paper presentation at the National Women’s Studies Association National Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Callier, D.M. (2011, November). When the spirit speaks: Sacred politics with pedagogical implications. Paper presentation the National Women’s Studies Association National Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Callier, D.M. (2011, May). For those of us who were never meant to survive: Speak!. Paper presentation at the Seventh Annual International Congress for Qualitative Inquiry, Champaign, IL.

Callier, D.M., Kwakye, C.J., Hill, D.C., & Suarez, C.E. (2011, May). The collab: Tellin, dancin and writing our ways of freedom. Panel presentation at the Seventh Annual International Congress for Qualitative Inquiry, Champaign, IL.

Callier, D.M., Palma, K., Valkanova, D., & Jea, G. (2011, May). Blended voices: Queering narratives of belonging. Performance presentation at the Seventh Annual International Congress for Qualitative Inquiry, Champaign, IL.

Brown, R.N., Callier, D.M., Kwakye, C.J., & Hill, D.C (2011, March). Reimagining black girlhood: Lessons on performance from SOLHOT. Performance presentation at the American Educational Research Callier CV 4 Association Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Brown, R.N., Callier, D.M., Taafe, C., & Kwakye, C.J. (2010, November). SOLHOT the mixtape: Revolutionary acts. Performance presentation at the National Women’s Studies Association National Conference, Denver, CO.

Callier, D.M (2010, November). A performance manifesto: Our r’aison d’etre. Paper presentation at the National Women’s Studies Association National Conference, Denver, CO.

Callier, D.M , & Hill, D.C. (2010, November). Dialogues in love: Remembering self, remembering others. Paper presentation at the National Women’s Studies Association National Conference, Denver, CO.

Callier, D.M (2010, May). A call to love: In remembrance of our quare saints. Paper presentation at the Sixth Annual International Congress for Qualitative Inquiry, Champaign, IL.

Callier, D.M (2010, May). Till death do us part...maybe: A black queer boys tale of spiritual separation. Performance presentation at the Sixth Annual International Congress for Qualitative Inquiry, Champaign, IL.

Brown, R.N., Callier, D.M., Kwakye, C.J. & Hill, D.C. (2010, May). The rhythm, the rhyme, and the reason: The education of black girls and women in community spaces. Performance presentation at the American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO.

Brown, R.N., Callier, D.M., Taafe, C., & Kwakye, C.J. (2009, November). SOLHOT (Saving Our Lives, Hearing Our Truths) The mixtape performance. Performance presentation at the National Women’s Studies Association National Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Brown, R.N.,Taafe, C., Callier, D.M. (2009, October). Beneath the rising sun. Paper presentation at the Imagining America National Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Invited Lectures and Presentations

Invited Lecturer. “Saving Our Lives Hear Our Truth (SOLHOT): How A Black Girl Celebration Space Inspired A Black Boy to become a Scholar Artist.” Gender & Women’s Studies 337: Interrogating Masculinities. University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. January 2013.

Invited Lecturer. “Men Engaging Feminism: Standing in Solidarity.” Women’s Resource Center. University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. January 2013.

Invited Co-Lecturer. “Understanding Culture: Hegemony, Nationalism, Racialization and Women’s Bodies.” Gender & Women’s Studies 250: Introduction to Gender & Women’s Studies. University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. November 2009.

Callier, D.M., Hill, D.C., Waters, H.L. (2015, March). Bodies on display: An exploration of love, intimacy, violence, and the Black queer body (Keynote Performance). Discerning Diverse Voices College of Communication and Information Sciences Diversity Symposium. University of Alabama. Department of Communication Studies. Tuscaloosa, AL.

Callier, D.M. (2015, November). New directions in arts based research methods: Blended scripting, performance and critical auto/ethnography. EDL 683: Qualitative Research in Education. Miami University at Ohio Department of Educational Leadership. Oxford, OH

Callier, D.M. (2015, November). Feminist Labor and Identities: Personal Reflections from a Co-conspirator. WGS 201: Intro to Women’s Studies. Miami University at Ohio Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program and Department of Educational Leadership. Oxford, OH.

Callier, D. M., Hill, D.C., Brown, R.N., Garner, P.R., Robinson, J. (2014, May.). Celebrating sweet water, black women and narratives of resilience. Performance presentation at the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, Champaign, IL.

Callier, D.M. & Hill, D.C. (2014, Feb.) Black girls, and queer boys, and the margins, oh my: Doing and thinking through interdisciplinarity and vulnerability in research. Colgate University Office of Undergraduate Studies and Women’s Studies. Hamilton, NY.

Hill, D. C., & Callier, D.M. (2013, Feb.) Where is the love?: Finding and making community in academe. Colgate University Office of Undergraduate Studies and Women’s Studies. Hamilton, NY.

Brown, R.N., Callier, D.M., Kwakye, C.J., Garner, P.R., Lewis, S.K., McMillion, D., McMillion, L. (2011, March). Black girlhood: The mixtape remix: A hip-hop inspired read through performance. University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.

Callier, D.M. (July, 2010). Fashioning revolutionary selves: Writing, performing, and affirming our love. Developing Intellectually Vibrant Activists Institute. Miami University at Ohio Department of Educational Leadership. Oxford, OH.

Callier CV 5 Brown, R.N., Kwakye, C.J., & Callier, D.M., (2010, April). I used to lover H.E.R bringing back the love: Feminism and hip hop. Vices to Verses: A New Era of Hip-hop & Action University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Creative Works

Tell It!: A Contemporary Chorale for Black Youth Voices. Actor. Written By: Durell M. Callier. Directed By: Durell M. Callier & Lisa Fay. Produced By: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Inner Voices Social Issues Theatre Program & The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center. Spring 2016.

Invisible Wounds. Dramaturg. Written By: Inner Voices Social Issues Theatre Ensemble. Directed By: Latrelle Bright. Produced By: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Spring 2014.

The People VS Power. Dramaturg. Written By: Inner Voices Social Issues Theatre Ensemble. Directed By: Latrelle Bright. Produced By: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Fall 2013.

Speak Easy. Dramaturg. Written By: Inner Voices Social Issues Theatre Ensemble. Directed By: Latrelle Bright. Produced By: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Spring 2013.

No Child. Dramaturg. Written By: Nilaja Sun. Directed by Latrelle Bright. Produced By: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Spring 2013.

Love, Funk, & Other Thangs. Actor. Written By: Hill L. Waters Collective. Directed by Hill L. Waters Collective. Produced By: Colgate University. Spring 2013.

Universe City. Dramaturg. Written By: Inner Voices Social Issues Theatre Ensemble. Directed By: Latrelle Bright. Produced By: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Fall 2012.

Black Girlhood: The Mixtape Remix. Actor. Written By: SOLHOT Collective. Directed by SOLHOT Collective. Produced By: University of Kentucky. Spring 2012.

Connected. Actor. Written By: Durell Callier. Directed by Durell Callier. Produced By: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (A Night of Performance). Fall 2011.

Dear Dan Savage: It Only Gets Better When We Make It So. Actor. Written By: Durell Callier. Directed by Durell Callier. Produced By: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign [(Dis)locating Queer: Race, Region, and Sexual Diasporas Graduate Student Symposium]. Spring 2011.

Transforming Roads Ahead. Poetry Reading given for National Black Graduate Student Association Conference. University of South Carolina. Spring 2011.

Cirque de So Lean. Dramaturg. Written By: Inner Voices Social Issues Theatre Ensemble. Directed By: Latrelle Bright. Produced By: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Fall 2010.

Check-In. Actor. Written By: SOLHOT Collective. Directed By: SOLHOT Collective. Produced By: SOLHOT Collective. Spring 2010.

OUT. Actor. Written By: Durell Callier. Co-Directed with Thom Davis. Produced By: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Spring 2009. Patient Number. Actor. Written By: Frank Blocker. Directed By: Thom Davis. Produced By: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Spring 2009.

Café Estresso. Actor. Written By: Inner Voices Social Issues Theatre Ensemble. Directed By: Lisa Fay. Produced By: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Spring 2009.

SHOES: some sore feet and a new pair of eyes. Actor. Written By: Inner Voices Social Issues Theatre Ensemble. Directed By: Lisa Fay. Produced By: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Fall 2009.

Stories That Need Telling. Actor. Written By: Inner Voices Social Issues Theatre Ensemble. Directed By: Lisa Fay. Produced By: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Fall 2009.

The Rhythm the Rhyme and The Reason (RRR). Written by: Ruth Nicole Brown, Chamara Kwakye and Claudine Taffe. Directed by: Durell Callier. Produced by: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Fall 2008.

Service

Professional Service

Member, SOLHOT (Saving Our Lives Hearing Our Truths), University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, College of Education, August 2008- present.
Co-organized and participated in the spatial-intervention research site SOLHOT, whose aim is to celebrate Black girlhood in all of its complexities in a small urban community.
Assists and collaborates with fellow peers/co-organizers to produce large-scale public performances based on the project findings of working with Black girls

Associate Director. International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. December 2015- present

Volunteer Coordinator, International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, College of Media. May 2010- present.

Organizing Committee Member, 7th Annual College of Education Graduate Student Conference, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, College of Education. Spring 2016.

Organizing Committee Member, Black Girl Genius Week, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Gender and Women’s Studies Department/College of Education. Fall 2014, Spring 2016.

Committee Member, Rainbow Book Bag, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, College of Education. February 2013- December 2014

Panelist, Advanced Ally Training, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations. January 2014.

Representative for Graduate Minors, Gender & Women’s Studies Department, Curriculum Committee, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. August 2012- May 2013.
Collaborated with departmental faculty and peers to organize functions for the department to serve and engage graduate minors in particular, as well as their undergraduate majors at large.
Assisted in reviewing, and editing departmental curriculum, with a particular emphasis on changing core requirements for undergraduate majors and minors, as well as creating a more equitable teaching rotation for major requirements by core faculty members.

Graduate Mentor, Department of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. August 2012- May 2013

Co-Organizer: Dislocating Queer: Race, Region, and Sexual Diasporas Conference, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, May 2011.

Member, Inner Voices: Social Issues Theater Ensemble, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Counseling Center, Department of Theatre, January 2009- December 2010.

Graduate Student Representative, Inner Voices: Social Issues Theater Assistant Director Search Committee, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Counseling Center, Department of Theatre, January 2009 - May 2009

Member, Education Justice Project, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, College of Education, August 2012- August 2014
Facilitated the implementation of upper-division University of Illinois courses taught at Danville Correctional Facility, as well as co-lead workshops to address issues inclusive of but not limited to race, gender, sexuality, Black Masculinity, Black feminist theory.
Engaged in meaningful conversations and dialogues with incarcerated men, to enhance their educational attainment, expound upon course materials, proof read papers and tutor in a variety of other educational capacities

Workshop Facilitator, D.I.V.A. (Developing Intellectually Vibrant Activists) Institute, Miami University, College of Education, Health, & Society, July 2010
Created and facilitated a performance based workshop for identity development with adolescent girls in the Southwest region of Ohio

Organizing Committee Member, Day of Color, International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, College of Media. May 2013- May 2014

Journal Reviewer - Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies, Fall 2015-present

Journal Reviewer – Departures in Critical Qualitative Research, Fall 2015-present

Current professional memberships

American Studies Association
American Educational Research Association
Imagining America
National Women’s Studies Association

EDL 203. Introduction to Critical Youth Studies. (3) (MPF)
An overview of Critical Youth Studies which allows class participants to explore and appreciate their identities, to develop an awareness of issues affecting different populations of youth, and to learn a variety of tools for self-expression and activism. This curriculum draws from key fields in youth studies such as Educational Studies, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies, Gender Studies, Sexuality Studies, Performance Studies, Literary Studies, and Art Criticism to provide students with a multidisciplinary and layered understanding of youth. EDL 203 foregrounds underrepresented voices and bodies that have been invisible and/or marginalized within the study of youth, specifically, and U.S. society, generally. The primary aims of this course are to: 1) Introduce students to the area of critical youth studies, 2) Alert students to existing programs, initiatives, and movements connected to this area of study, 3) Expose students to ultidisciplinary ways of engendering self-expression as youth and working with youth. IIC.
Cross-listed with EDL.

EDL 683. Qualitative Research in Education. (3)
Introduction to the field of qualitative research in K-16 educational environments, including multiple interpretivist and critical traditions.
Prerequisites: EDL 654 and SAHE major or permission of instructor.

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