Lynn Comerford Faculty Profile

Photo of Lynn Comerford

Lynn  Comerford

Professor, Director, Women's Studies

Department of Human Development & Women's Studies

Lynn Comerford, Professor, Human Development & Women's Studies

Director, Women's Studies

Appointed Director of Women's Studies in 2009.

Education:

Ph.D.    State University of New York, Albany (2001) - Sociology

Dissertation: "Doing Co-Custody: Conceptualizing Parenting, Childhood and Citizenship in Light of State Intervention Practices" (Chair, Steven Seidman)

Examination Fields: sociological theory, sociology of gender, research methods

Research and Teaching Fields: social theory, gender, sociology of the family, research methods

M.A.               Fordham University                    

B.A.                Fordham University

Lexington High School, Lexington, MA         

Academic Positions:

Professor, Department of Human Development and Women’s Studies, California State University, East Bay, Fall 2012 -

Director, Women’s Studies, California State University, East Bay, Fall 2009 - present

Associate Professor, Department of Human Development and Women’s Studies, California State University, East Bay, Fall 2006- Spring 2012

Assistant Professor, Department of Human Development and Women’s Studies,   California State University, East Bay, Fall 2001- Spring 2006

Lecturer, Department of Sociology, University of La Verne, Fall 1999, Fall 2000 - Spring 2001

Lecturer, California State University, Bakersfield, Fall 1997 - Summer 1998

Lecturer, University of San Diego, San Diego, Fall 1996 - Spring 1997

Lecturer, Corrections Program, Sage Jr. College of Albany, Fall 1992 - Spring 1995 (Greene Medium Security Prison, Hudson Medium Security Prison, McGinley Medium Security Prison)

Lecturer, State University of New York, Albany, Fall 1991 - Summer 1995

Retention Tutor, Hostos Community College, City University of New York, Spring 1987

 

CSUEB Courses:

WOST 3050   Feminist Theory

WOST 3550   Women, Work & Family Life

WOST 1001   Perspectives on Women

HDEV 3304    Girls and Women Across the Lifespan 

HDEV 4812    Senior Research Seminar 

HDEV 4710    Children in Families and Communities

HDEV 3104    Theories of Human Development

HDEV 3202    Research Methods 

HDEV 3202    Applying Theory & Methods 

HDEV 4440    Lesbian/Gay Lifespan Development

Spring Semester 2024
Course #SecCourse TitleDaysFromToLocationCampus
HDEV 30101Theories of Human DevelopmentARRWEB-ASYNCHOnline Campus
HDEV 30102Theories of Human DevelopmentARRWEB-ASYNCHOnline Campus
WOST 40101Feminist TheoryARRWEB-ASYNCHOnline Campus

(With Heather Jackson and K. Kosior, editors) Feminist Parenting. Ontario, Demeter Press, December, 2016.

"Introduction." In Lynn Comerford, Heather Jackson, K. Kosior, editors, Feminist Parenting. Ontario, Canada, Demeter Press, December, 2016, pp. 1-17.

"The Potential for Feminist Parenting." In Lynn Comerford, Heather Jackson, K. Kosior, editors, Feminist Parenting. Ontario, Canada, Demeter Press, December, 2016, pp. 63-88.

"Before You." (Poem.) In Lynn Comerford, Heather Jackson, K. Kosior, editors, Feminist Parenting. Ontario, Canada, Demeter Press, December, 2016, pp. 89-90.

“Fathers’ Rights.” In Lawrence Ganong and Marilyn Coleman, editors, Social History of American Families, Sage Publishers, 2014, pp. 527-530.

“Roe v. Wade.” In Lawrence Ganong and Marilyn Coleman, editors, Social History of American Families, Sage Publishers, 2014, pp. 1139-1141.

“Rational Choice Theory.” In Lawrence Ganong and Marilyn Coleman, editors, Social History of American Families, Sage Publishers, 2014, pp. 1111-1113.

“The Office of Child Support Enforcement.” In Lawrence Ganong and Marilyn Coleman, editors, Social History of American Families, Sage Publishers, 2014, pp. 970-972.

"State disciplinary practices and the emergence of co-parenting families." In Sherilyn Marrow and Dennis Leoutsakas, editors, More than Blood: Today's Reality and Tomorrow's Vision of Family, Kendall Hunt Publishers, 2013, pp. 104-113.

"Partner Rights." In Mary Zeiss Stange and Carol Oyster, editors, Women in Today's World, Sage Publications, 2011, pp. 1077-1079.

 “The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood: Confronting Maternal Mortality as the Health Scandal of Our Time.” In Andrea O’Reilly, editor, The Motherhood Movement, Demeter Press, 2011, pp. 108-119.

"Patricia Hill Collins." In Encyclopedia of Motherhood, editors Andrea O'Reilly and Geoffrey Golson, Sage Publications, 2010, pp. 230-233. 

"Co-parenting." In Encyclopedia of Motherhood, editors Andrea O'Reilly and Geoffrey Golson, Sage Publications, 2010, pp. 251-253.  

"Father's rights movements." In Encyclopedia of Motherhood, editors Andrea O'Reilly and Geoffrey Golson, Sage Publications, 2010, pp. 393-395.

"Catherine MacKinnon on the paradox of legal sex equality guarantees and persistent inequality." Journal of Family Theory & Review 1 (2009): 56-68. 

"State power and the reconstitution of parental rights in U.S. child custody mediation." In Michael Huspek, editor, Oppositional Discourses and Democracies, Routledge Press, 2009, pp. 103-117.

"Single-parent households." In In Jodi O'Brien, editor, Encyclopedia of Gender & Society, Volume 1, Sage Publications, 2009, pp. 794-799. 

"Fatherhood movements." In Jodi O'Brien, editor, Encyclopedia of Gender & Society, Volume 1, Sage Publications, 2009, pp. 283-288.

"Custody and parental rights."  In Amy Lind and Stephanie Bruzy, editors.  Battleground: Women, Gender and Sexuality, Greenwood Press, 2008, pp. 67-73.

"Power and resistance in U.S. child custody mediation."  Atlantic Journal of Communication 3 (2006): 173-190.

"The child custody mediation policy debate."  Family Focus: Report on Families and Public Policy, National Council of Family Relations 28 (2006): 7,12.

 "Review of Nicholas Wolfinger's Understanding  the Divorce Cycle: The Children of Divorce in Their Own Marriages" (Cambridge University Press).  Journal of Marriage & the Family, 68 (2006): 770-772.

 "Co-custody may have unintended consequences."  Family Focus: Report on Family Diversity, National Council of Family Relation 26 (2005): 28-29.

 "Parenting as an effect of the power/knowledge discourse of child custody law: Foucault and the regulation of a gendered private sphere." Human Systems 8 (1997): 153-180.

 "Channel surfing for rape and resistance on Court TV."  In Michael Huspek and Gary Radford, editors, Transgressing Scientific Discourses: Communication and the Voice of Other, New York, SUNY Press, 1997, pp. 231-250.

 (With Michael Huspek) "The subversion of science: The new penology and the counter discourse of prison inmates." Communication Theory 6 (1996): 335-360.

 "Review of Alison Young's Imagining Crime" (Sage Press). Contemporary  Sociology 26 (1996): 365-366.

 

Conference Participation & Selected invited talks:

"Balancing Teaching, Research and Service at a Teaching University." Paper read at Dar Al Hekma University Conference on Research, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, March 22-24, 2016.

 “New BA in Women’s Studies at CSU East Bay.”  Presented at the Hayward Campus, California State University, East Bay, March 27, 2014; Concord Campus, California State University, East Bay, April 8, 2014; Oakland Campus, California State University, East Bay, April 10, 2014.“The School, Community, and Home Link: Supporting Children and Connecting Parents” (with Mavis Braxton and Emily Chow). Service Learning & Community Engagement Series, CSUEB, March 4th, 2013.

“Exploring Educational Equity through Service Learning” (with Mavis Braxton and Emily Chow). Service Learning & Community Engagement Series, CSUEB, January 29th, 2013.

“Transformative Learning: What is the Transformation that Happens for Students in Service Learning Courses?” (with Mavis Braxton). Service Learning & Community Engagement Series, CSUEB, November 28th, 2012.

 “Confronting Maternal Mortality as the Health Scandal of Our Time.” Paper accepted at the National Research Conference on Child and Family Programs and Policy, Bridgewater, Massachusetts, July 19-21, 2011.

 “Gender, Work & Domesticity.”  Diversity Center, CSU East Bay, May 6, 2010. “Disciplining Families Post-Divorce.”  Paper accepted at annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, New York City, NY, August, 11-14, 2007.

 “Power and the Reproduction of Sexed Custodial Parenting.”  Paper read at the annual meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association, Hollywood, California, April 20-   23, 2006. 

(With Dawn Guglielmino) "Women, Anorexic Bodies, and Identity." Paper read at the annual meeting of the California Sociological Association, Sacramento, CA, November, 2005.

 “Parenting Post-Divorce/Separation: Co-custody Policy and Egalitarian Parenting.”  Paper read at the Bridging Carework, Advocacy and Policy panel, Carework Conference, San Francisco, August 13-14, 2004.

 “The Irony of “Gender-Neutral” Co-Custody Policy: Patriarchal Power.”  Paper read at the Social Policy panel, American Sociological Association Meeting, San Francisco, August 14-17, 2004.

 “Potentials and Pitfalls of Gender-Neutral Child Custody Policy in the United States.”  Paper read at the Family, Marriage and Children in a Changing World panel, 36th World Congress of the International Institute of Sociology Meeting, Beijing, China, July 7-11, 2004.

 “Co-parents and Co-custody Policy: Some Implications of Co-custody Laws.” Paper read at the Parents, Parenting, and Parental Roles panel, Pacific Sociological Association Meeting, April 15-18, 2004.

 “Co-parenting, Communication & Social Support.”  Panel:   Reassessing, Redressing, and Re-crafting Feminism: Perspective Shifts.  Paper read at the Western States Communication Association Meeting, Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 13-17, 2004.

 “The Irony of “Gender-Neutral” Co-Custody Policy: Patriarchal Power.”  Department of Communication Studies, CSU San Marcos, December, 2003.

 “Qualitative Research Methods.” Biella Room Series, CSU East Bay, February, 2004. “Rejecting an Ideology of Motherhood: The Implications of Co-custody Laws.”  Paper read at the Motherhood panel, Pacific Sociological Association Meeting, Pasadena, CA, April 3-6, 2003.  

 “Subjectivity and Co-custody Law.”  Paper read at the Feminist Scholarship panel, International Communication Association Meeting, San Diego, CA, May 23-27, 2003.

 “Mediation and Co-custody.”  Paper read at the Feminist Scholarship panel, International Communication Association Meeting, San Diego, CA, May 23-27, 2003.

 “Qualitative Methods.” Undergraduate Research Methods seminar, Loyola University, March, 2002.

 “Communication Problems in Prisons: Penology and Prison Inmates’ Resistance.”  Loyola University, March, 2002.

 "Communication in Institutional Settings." Chapman University, May, 2001.

 “Qualitative Methods and Communication in Institutional Settings.”  Loyola University, March, 2001.

 "Conceptualizing Parenting, Childhood, & Citizenship in Light of State Intervention Practices."   Department of Sociology, Utah State, February, 2001.

 "The Changing Structure of American Families."  Department of Sociology, University of Nebraska, Kearney, February, 2001.

 "Conceptualizing Parenting, Childhood, & Citizenship in Light of State Intervention Practices." Department of Sociology, Towson University, March, 2001.

 "Becoming a Co-parenting Father: Legal Hurdles, Emotional Gains, and the Battle with Masculinity."  Paper read at the Men and New Masculinities panel, Pacific Sociological Meeting, Vancouver, British Columbia, April 18-21, 2002.

 "The Co-custody Debate: An Historical Approach." Paper read at the Changing Family forms and Processes panel, Pacific Sociological Meeting, Vancouver, British Columbia, April 18-21, 2002.

 "The Circulation of Private Pain in Public Places: The Case of Child Custody."  Paper read at the International Communication Association Meetings, San Francisco, May 27-31, 1999.

 “Team Teaching.”  Department of English and Communication, California State University, Bakersfield, April, 1998.

 “The Family as an Instrument of Government: The Regulation of Parenthood in Child Custody Law.” Paper read at the National Communication Association Meetings, New York City, November, 1998.

 "Channel Surfing for Rape and Resistance on Court TV."  Paper read at the National Communication Association Meetings, Chicago, November, 1997.

 "Benchmarking Teamwork: A Critique of GE’s Jack Welch." Paper read at the conference on Managing Organizational Performance, Catania, Sicily, July 16-18, 1997.

 (With Michael Huspek) "The Subversion of Science: The New Penology and the Counter Discourse of Prison Inmates."  Paper read at the International Communication Association Meetings, Albuquerque,           New Mexico, February, 1995.

 "The Effect of Organizational Prison Discourse: Prison Inmate Resistance."  Paper read at the Intercultural and International Communication Conference, Miami, Florida, May 25-29, 1995.

  "Oppositional Discourses and Subjectivity: The Case of Penology in the U.S." (with Michael Huspek). Department of Applied Social Studies of University of Paisley, Scotland, January, 1995. 

"Raped Again on Court TV."  Paper read at Speech Communication Association Meetings, New Orleans, Louisiana, November, 1994.

 “Raped Again on Court TV.”  Paper read at the Howard University/SUNY Albany Graduate Student conference, Albany, New York, April, 1993

 

Grants:

Online & Hybrid Course Quality Transformation Grant, Winter 2016

CSU East Bay Critical Thinking Assessment Project, 2013-2014

B.A. in Women's Studies Development Release Time (4 WTU, CLASS, CSUEB), Spring 2009, Winter 2009, Fall, 2008, Spring, 2008,

Faculty Travel Award, CLASS, CSUEB, Fall 2003, Winter 2004, Winter 2005, Spring 2006, Summer 2007

Faculty Support Grant, ALSS, CSUEB, Spring 2005, Spring 2003

Probationary Faculty Activities Grant, CSUEB, Fall 2002

Faculty Development Grant, CSUEB, Spring 2002

RSCA Mini Grant, CSUEB, Winter 2001

Travel Grant - Graduate Student Organization, SUNY Albany, Summer 1994, Fall 1994, Spring 1995

Rockefeller Foundation Grant, Spring 1986

Awards:

Sabbatical Award, Spring 2015

Service Learning & Community Engagement, CSUEB, Fall 2012

Sabbatical Award, CSUEB, Fall 2007

Faculty Fellow Award, CLASS, CSUEB, Fall 2006

James Richard McNally Award for Excellence in Teaching, SUNY, Albany, Spring 1995

Alpha Kappa Delta Sociology Honor Society, Spring 1994

Top graduate student paper, SUNY Albany/Howard University Conference, Spring 1993

Service:

Member, Department of Human Development & Women's Studies Search Committee, Liberal Studies, 2018-2019

Member, University Retention, Tenure and Promotion Committee, 2017-2018

Member, CLASS Retention, Tenure and Promotion Committee, 2012-2013, 2013-2014 (Chair), 2015-2016 (Chair), 2016-2017 (Chair)

Member, Department of Human Development & Women's Studies Quarter-to-Semester Conversion Committee, Summer 2015-

Chair, Department of Human Development & Women's Studies Search Committee, Childhood, 2013-2014

Member, Department of Human Development & Women's Studies Search Committee, Childhood, 2011-2012

Organizer, Pushcart Prizewinning Poet Frances Driscoll Talk, CSUEB, May 4th, “The Rape Poems,” Spring Quarter 2011

Author, Fast Track Proposal for Online Major in Women’s Studies, 2010

Member, Department of Human Development & Women's Studies Retention, Promotion and Tenure Committee: 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2011-2012 (Chair), 2014-2015 (Chair), 2018-2019

Chair, Department of Human Development & Women's Studies Post-Tenure Review Committee 2007-2008, 2009-2010

Member, Cultural Groups & Women Committee, 2008-2014

Author, Women’s Studies Major Proposal, 2008

Author, Women’s Studies Major Curriculum, 2008

Member, Department of Human Development & Women's Studies Search Committee, Social Gerontology, 2007-2008

Member, Department of Human Development & Women's Studies Search Committee, Women’s Development, 2007-2008

Member, CSUEB Academic Senate, 2005-2007

Chair, Department of Human Development & Women's Studies Search Committee, Adult Development, 2005-2006

Member, CSUEB Non-Grade Related Student Complaints Committee, 2004-2005

Member, Department of Human Development & Women's Studies Search Committee, Child Cognitive Development 2004-2005

Member, Department of Human Development & Women's Studies Search Committee, Child Social Development 2004-2005

Member, Department of Human Development & Women's Studies Search Committee, Adolescent Development, 2003-2004

Faculty Reader, ALSS Commencement, 2004, 2006

Member, CSUEB Basic Skills Requirements Appeals Committee, 2003-2005

Member, ALSS Curriculum Subcommittee, 2002-2003, 2003-2004

Interviewer, CSUEB Students Studying Abroad Program, 2002-2006

Member, HDEV Standards Committee for Liberal Studies, 2002-2004

Participant, CSUEB WASC “OUTCOMES,” Fall, 2002

Faculty Marshall, ALSS Commencement, 2003-2006

Faculty Marshall, Honors Convocation, 2003, 2007

Participant, CSUEB Center for Excellence in Teaching, 2003

Department Union Representative, CFA, 2001-2002, 2005-2006

Advisor, HDEV Online Majors, Fall 2010-present

Member, Human Development Chair Recommendation Committee, 2010

Co-Chair, Promotion, Tenure & Retention Guidelines Committee, 2009

Participant, HDEV Online Degree Program Orientation Design, Summer 2007

Participant, HDEV Online Major Committee, 2007-2008

Designer, HDEV Department Website, 2007

Member, Advisory Committee, CSUEB Women’s Studies, 2006-present

Co-Chair, Martin Feldman Scholarship Committee, Spring 2005

Parental Leave Substitute, Professor Rasmusson, Spring 2003

Teaching Overload, HDEV 4890: Spring, 2002, Spring 2003, Fall 2003,

Department Advisor, Adolescence Option, Spring 2002, Spring 2003

Member, Special Major Committee: 2002-2003

Advisor, Child Development Option, 2001-2009

Member, HDEV Department Curriculum Committee, 2001-2007

Co-Coordinator, HDEV Assessment 2001-2006

Member, Lecturer Review Committee, 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2004-2005, 2008-2009 (Chair)

Service to the Profession

Panel organizer, presider, discussant:

“Feminist Perspectives on Labor” panel, Southwest Labor Studies Association, Hayward, CA (May 14-15, 2009)

“Feminist Theory” panel, California Sociological Association meetings, Riverside, CA (November 7-8, 2008)

“Women, Work & Families” panel, California Sociological Association meetings, Berkeley, CA, November 16-17, 2007.

“Feminist Theory” panel, Women’s Western Association, Los Angeles, CA, April 13, 2007.

“Gender & Power” panel, California Sociological Association Sacramento, CA, November 11-12, 2005, Sacramento, CA

“Sociological Theory” panel, California Sociological Association, Riverside, CA, October 15-16, 2004.

 “Investigating Social Life” panel, California Sociological Association, Berkeley, CA, November 7-8, 2003.  

Regular Reviewer:

Family Relations

Journal of Family Theory and Review

Journal of Family Issues

Ad Hoc Reviewer

Journal of Teaching Marriage and Family

Journal of Applied Communication

Marriage and Family Review

Book Prospectus Reviews: Worth, Thousand Oaks

Sage Publications

Conference Paper Peer Reviewer:

National Council on Family Relations           

Pacific Sociological Association

International Communication Association

California Sociological Association