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Biography 

Sophia Shelley is a PhD student working under the supervision of Dr. Jane Tolmie. She holds an M.A. from McMaster University (MRP option) and a B.A. (Hons, with high distinction) from Wilfrid Laurier University, both in English and Cultural Studies. Sophia’s research focuses on narratives of disabled and queer identities in speculative young adult fiction, as well as reader reception on digital platforms. Her work is grounded in feminist disability theory and postfeminist criticism and engages with fan studies, popular culture, and women’s literature. She also writes the occasional piece of Star Wars scholarship.

Research Interests 

Critical Disability Studies; Young Adult Literature; Speculative Fiction; Queer Theory; Feminist Techno-Science; Popular Culture; Adaptation Studies; Cultural Studies; Fan Studies

Publications 

SELECTED REFERRED PUBLICATIONS

“Curing Mermaidism: Exploring Disability, Gender, and Performativity in The Little Mermaid and its Adaptation.” Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research, vol. 12, no. 1, 2026, pp. 106-119.  

“Reclaiming Emancipation: Memory, Afrofuturism, and Black Girlhood in Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation.” Liberated Arts: A Journal of Undergraduate Research, vol. 13, no. 1, 2026, pp. 1-12.

“#DIYDiabetes: Type One Diabetes, Stigma, and Control in Digital Networks of DIY Looping.” Culture, Society, and Praxis, vol. 17, no. 2, 2025, pp. 1-9.

“Seeing Her, Wanting Her: Postfeminist Desire and its Contradictions in Zendaya’s Magazine Covers.” International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities, vol. 17, no. 1, 2025, pp. 1-17. .

NON-REFERRED PUBLICATIONS

“The Fascist Awakens: Addressing Fascist Aesthetics and Fandom Reactions in Andor and American Politics.” McMaster University: Public Intellectuals Project, 1 April 2026.

SELECTED CONFERENCES

“Songs of Self-Pleasure: Irrepressibility, Feminist Resistance, and the Politics of Pop Music.” Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English Conference (ACCUTE), Concordia University, Montreal, QC., June 2026.

“Mocking the Phallus: Gendered Subjectivities and Humor as Counter-Narratives in Lives of Girls and Women.” Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English Conference (ACCUTE), Concordia University, Montreal, QC., June 2026.

“‘I am no fragile damsel to be sav’d’: Addressing Early Modern Understandings of Femininity, Civility, and the Subaltern with Star Wars Shakespeare.” Symposium for English Graduate Students (SEGue), SUNY Brockport University, New York, NY., April 2026. 

“Holding Space for Stormpilot: An Analysis of Queer Fanfiction and Futurity in Star Wars.” Fan Studies Network North America Conference, Virtual, Oct. 2025.

“Cut, Paste, Resist: Disability Justice Zines and the Politics of Crip Creative Labour.” Wollesen Memorial Graduate Symposium, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON., Oct. 2025.

CREATIVE OUTPUTS

Shelley, Sophia, and Brooke Shelley. Main Character Energy, CFMU, McMaster University, October-May 2026.
Shelley, Sophia, and Aibhlin Janicki-Zeballos. Prose and Cons, Radio Laurier, January-April 2025.

Awards and Recognition 

D.W. Stewart Graduate Fellowship Award, �鶹����s University (2026-2027)
SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship - Master's, McMaster University (2025-2026)
President's Gold Scholarship, Wilfrid Laurier University (2021-2024)
Laura Eileen Higginson Memorial Award, Diabetes Hope Foundation (2021-2022)

Graduate Supervision 

Jane Tolmie