Cael Leigh Whalen

Latine person with side shave and medium-length hair in black blazer with white blouse

Sociocultural Anthropology PhD Student

they/them
Young Hall
Office Hours
In-Person: Mondays 2pm-3pm, Young Hall 310
On Zoom: Thursdays 12-1pm, or by appointment

My research centers around what I've termed "neuroqueer magic." I'm looking at how re-claiming traditional and esoteric spiritual practices provide sites of resistance for queer, trans, and neurodivergent people. I have engaged in fieldwork in Vietnam, Thailand, Norway, Sweden, and the United States

Education and Degree(s)
  • BA English Literature, Swarthmore College
Honors and Awards
  • Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship
Courses
  • Co-instructor: Role Playing Games and Society: Eco Edition [FRS 002 008 FQ 2026, FRS 002 011 FQ 2026]
  • TA: Drugs, Science & Culture [ANT/STS 032 FQ 2026]
Research Interests & Expertise
  • Study of Religion
  • Gender, Sexuality, & Women's Studies
  • Disability/Neuroqueer Theory
  • Southeast Asia Studies
  • Popular Music Studies
Publications
  • Whalen, Cael. In Press. “Changeling Magic: Actualizing Neuroqueer Spirit-Power” Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies.
  • Whalen, Cael. 2026. “Heathen Pilgrimages: Women and Nonbinary People Finding Spiritual Belonging within Black Metal and Neofolk.” In Strategies of Resistance in Metal Music, Culture, and Scholarship: Feminist Metal, edited by Jasmine Hazel Shadrack and Francesca Stevens. Routledge.
  • Whalen, Cael. 2024. “Goth Subculture, Neurodivergence, and the Dark Power of Changeling Narratives.” In Heavy Metal and Disability: Crips, Crowds, and Cacophonies, edited by Jasmine Hazel Shadrack and Keith Kahn-Harris. Advances in Metal Music and Culture. Intellect.
Membership and Service
  • Communications Chair: The Council on Heritage and Tourism of the American Anthropological Association
  • Disability Research Interest Group of the American Anthropological Association
  • Consultant, Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network
  • Consultant, Advocates for Transgender Equality
  • Consultant, GenPride Seattle

Tags

Sociocultural Wing