Dr. Abustan is Assistant Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, California State University, Los Angeles.

Dr. Pau/Leena/Paulina Abustan (any pronoun, gender fluid) centers the alternative worldmaking of intersectional disability justice and queer critical race feminists found within elementary school, youth popular culture animated storytelling, and decolonial Pilipinx and BIPOC coalitional activist spaces. Their critical intersectional feminist ethnography dissertation highlighted the ways in which elementary school members participate in alternative worldmaking everyday through building an interdependent community, prioritizing rest, and honoring differences. Their previous research publications showcased the collective alternative worldmaking of transgender and queer students of color activists in higher education along with transgender and queer Indigenous and diasporic Pilipinx community leaders, activists, and educators. Their current and future research gathers stories from sick, disabled, transgender, and queer educators and youth of color of what their dream learning spaces feel like and how dream worlds are imagined within youth popular culture animated storytelling and coalitional Pilipinx and BIPOC activist spaces.

Areas of scholarly interest: 

Queer Critical Race Feminist Disability Studies, Diasporic Decolonial Pilipinx Studies, youth popular culture, community learning and activist spaces

Research methodologies: 

Qualitative, Feminist, Ethnography, Narrative Inquiry, Decolonizing