Dawn Trussell, PhD

Associate Professor, Sport Management

Dawn Trussell

Office: STH 451
905 688 5550 x4580
dtrussell@brocku.ca

Web link

My research interests focus on sport and leisure culture in the lives of individuals, families, and communities. I seek to understand diverse social contexts and issues of power and social inclusion, particularly related to constructs of family, children and youth, gender and sexual diversity, and rurality. In addition, I have a keen interest in the methodological and ethical issues in the research process.  

My work has a social justice orientation and is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Sport Canada’s Research Initiative. I am the President of The Canadian Association for Leisure Studies and serve on the Canadian Gender+ Equity in Sport Research Hub, Scientific Committee. I was awarded the Chancellor’s Chair for Research Excellence (2021-2024) for my work on allyship and activism in sport. I work with an incredibly talented group of graduate students in the Sport, Allyship, and Inclusion Lab (SAIL).

Research Interests

  • Youth sport, diverse family structures, and sense of community.
  • Issues of social justice and equity related to sport/leisure experiences.
  • Transition to motherhood and its implications on sport and leisure engagement. 
  • Methodological and ethical issues in research design.

Publications

Books and Contributions to Edited Books (past 6 years)

*represents student mentoring

  1. Trussell, D. E., & Jeanes, R. (Eds). (2021). Families, sport, leisure, and social justice: From protest to progress. New York: Routlege. 
  1. Trussell, D. (2020). Lesbian-parented families: Negotiating the cultural narrative of heteronormativity through leisure and sport experiences. In K. Levasseur, S. Paterson, & L. Turnbull (Eds.), Thriving mothers/depriving mothers: Mothering and welfare (pp. 243-258). Bradford, ON: Demeter Press.
  1. Misener, K., & Trussell, D. E. (2021). Community sport and engaged citizenship. In T. Glover & E. Sharpe (Eds.), Leisure and its communities: Rethinking mutuality and belonging in the new century (pp. 170-180). 
  1. Trussell, D. E., Apgar, J., & *Kovac, L. (2019). Online qualitative methods: Confronting new possibilities and challenges within a social justice perspective. In D. Parry, C. Johnston, & S. Fulgar (eds.) Digital dilemmas: Transforming gender identities and power relations in everyday life (pp. 75-94). Palgrave Macmillan.
  1. Trussell, D. E., Jeanes, R., & Such, L. (Eds.) (2018). Revisiting family leisure research: Critical reflections on the future of family-centered scholarship. New York: Routledge. 
  1. Trussell, D. E. (2016). Family leisure. In G. Walker, D. Scott, & M. Stodolska (Eds.), Leisure matters: The state and future of leisure studies (pp. 191-199). State College, PA: Venture.

 

Papers in Peer-Refereed Journals (past 6 years):

  1. Trussell, D. E. (2020). Building inclusive communities in youth sport for lesbian-parented families. Journal of Sport Management, 34(4), 367-377. doi: 10.1123/jsm.2019-0395
  1. *Francis Cain, T., & Trussell, D. E. (2019). Methodological challenges in sport and leisure research with youth from refugee backgrounds. World Leisure Journal, 61(4), 303-312. doi:10.1080/16078055.2019.1661106
  1. *Petty, L., & Trussell, D. E. (2019). Leisure self-care, health and well-being in women’s lives. Annals of Leisure Research. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/11745398.2019.1652661.
  1. Paterson, S., Hebblethwaite, S., Trussell, D., *Evans, M., & *Xing, T. (2019). I am more than a mom: Stories of parental leave during the transition to motherhood in Canada. Social Policy & Administration, 53, 401-415. doi: 10.1111/spol.12472
  1. Trussell, D. E. (2018).Families as agents of social change and justice in communities through leisure and sport experiences. Annals of Leisure Research, 21(1), 1-8. doi: 10.1080/11745398.2017.1407661  *Invited commentary.
  1. *Petty, L., & Trussell, D. E., (2018).Experiences of identity development and sexual stigma for lesbian, gay, and bisexual young people in sport: ‘Just survive until you can be who you are’. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 10(2), 176-189. doi: 10.1080/2159676x.2017.1393003
  1. Trussell, D. E., Kovac, L., & Apgar, J. (2018).LGBTQ parents’ experiences of community youth sport: Change your forms, change your (hetero) norms. Sport Management Review, 21(1), 51-62. doi: 10.1016/j.smr.2017.03.003
  1. *Petty, L., Engel, J., Salfi, J., & Trussell, D. E. (2018). Food, body function and leisure for midlife women: “If I partake in that, I will suffer consequences.” Leisure Sciences. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/01490400.2018.1483849
  1. Trussell, D. E., Jeanes, R., & Such, L. (2017).Revisiting family leisure research and critical reflections on the future of family-centred scholarship. Leisure Sciences, 39(5), 385-399. doi: 10.1080/01490400.2017.1333059
  1. Trussell, D. E., Paterson, S., Hebblethwaite, S., Xing, T., & Evans, M. (2017).Negotiating the complexities and risks of an interdisciplinary qualitative research project. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1-10. doi: 10.1177/1609406917711351
  1. Trussell, D. E. (2017). Parents’ leisure, LGB young people and “when we were coming out”. Leisure Sciences, 39(1), 42-58. doi: 10.1080/01490400.2016.1151844
  1. Paterson, S., Trussell, D., Hebblewaite, S., *Evans, M, & *Xing, T. (2016). Playing with motherhood: The politics of leisure and the transition to motherhood in Montreal and Toronto. Canadian Review of Social Policy/Revue Canadienne de Politique Sociale, 74, 109-144.
  1. Trussell, D. E. (2016). Young people’s perspectives of parent volunteerism in community youth sport. Sport Management Review. 16, 332-342. doi: 10.1016/j.smr.2015.09.001
  1. Trussell, D. E., *Xing, T., & *Oswald, A. (2015). Family leisure and the coming out process for LGB young people and their parents. Annals of Leisure Research, 18(3), 323-341. doi. 10.1080/11745398.2015.1075224
  1. *Kovac, L., & Trussell, D. E. (2015). ‘Classy and never trashy’: Young women’s experiences of nightclubs and the construction of gender and sexuality. Leisure Sciences, 37, 195-209. doi: 10.1080/01490400.2014.986347
  1. Trussell, D. E. (2015). Pinstripes and breast pumps: Navigating the tenure-motherhood-track. Leisure Sciences, 37, 160-175. doi:10.1080/01490400.2014.980590

Teaching

  • Diversity and Inclusion in Sport Management
  • Youth Culture, Leisure, and Sport Engagement
  • Qualitative Analysis for Sport Management
  • Qualitative Approaches, Theories, and Methods
  • Advanced Qualitative Analysis

Research Grants

External grants

Trussell, D. (PI), & Kerwin, S. (Co-Applicant). (2019-present). More than child’s play, it’s a family affair: Board member, parent, and family life identity in community youth sport. Sport Canada/SSHRC Joint Initiative.

Trussell, D. (PI), & Kerwin, S. (Co-Applicant). (2018-present). More than child’s play, it’s a family affair: Board member, parent, and family life identity in community youth sport. SSHRC Insight Grant.

Hebblethwaite, S. (PI), Trussell, D., & Paterson, S. (Co-Applicants). (2016-present). Playing with Motherhood: A Longitudinal Study. SSHRC Insight Grant.

Trussell, D. (PI), & Newmeyer, T. (2013-2017). ‘What team do you play for?’: Examining the intersection of gender and sexuality in organized youth sport for families of same-sex parents. SSHRC Insight Development Grant.

Paterson, S. (PI), Hebblethwaite, S., & Trussell, D. (Co-Applicants). (2013-2016). The “state” of motherhood in Canada: The politics of leisure in the transition to motherhood. SSHRC Insight Development Grant.