Allison Kabel, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Fellow, Society for Applied Anthropology

Name

Contact Info

Phone:
410-704-5892
Office:
Health Professions, Rm 3120 V
Email:
akabel@towson.edu
Hours:
Tues/ Thurs 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Education

Post-doctoral, NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship in Aging and Urban Health, Institute of Gerontology, Detroit, Michigan 2007
Ph.D., Anthropology, Wayne State University 2005
M.A., Anthropology, Wayne State University 1997
B.A., Anthropology, Wayne State University 1994

Areas of Expertise

Social participation and disability
Religious-based modesty and health
Medical anthropology and gerontology
Qualitative research methods

Biography

Allison Kabel is an Associate Professor of Health Sciences, whose research is focused on social participation at the intersection of health, culture, and identity. Her background is in medical anthropology and gerontology, with specific training in ethnography and qualitative research methods. Her most recent work includes the study of clothing and apparel-related barriers to social participation for people living with disabilities, and the role of modest apparel in physical activity for women with religious-based modesty preferences.

Selected Publications

  • Kabel, A. (2023). Threading the needle: Online modest apparel forums and physical activity for women with religious-based modesty preferences. The Journal of Religion and Health.
  • Kabel, A. (2022). Modest swimwear, religiosity and aging: Apparel and physical activity for women throughout the life course.” Anthropology and Aging 43 (1), 35–48.
  • Kabel, A. (2019). Wardrobe malfunction: Case studies of disability and clothing at the threshold of older adulthood. Journal of Human Behavior and the Social Environment 29 (6) 731-743.
  • Carter, M., Yang, B., Davenport, M. and Kabel, A. (2019). Increasing rates of opioid misuse among older adults visiting emergency departments. Innovation in Aging 3 (1).
  • Kabel, A., Allen, C. and Dimka, J. (2017). Whose mammogram is this anyway? Perspectives on technology, breast health and mammography: Design for Health 1 (2) 170-186.
  • Dimka, J., Kabel, A., and McBee-Black, K. (2017). Disability, Participation and Apparel throughout the Life Course. Anthropology & Aging 38, no. 1: 17–29.
  • Kabel, A., Dimka, J., and McBee-Black, K. (2017). Clothing-related barriers experienced by people with mobility disabilities and impairments. Applied Ergonomics: Human Factors in Technology and Society 59, 165-169.

Research

  • Athletic apparel for women with religious-based modesty preferences

Honors and Awards

  • 2018  Fellow, Society for Applied Anthropology
  • 2015  Fulbright Research Chair in the Person and Society: Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec.

Professional Memberships/ Affiliations

  • Academy for Gerontology in Higher Ed (AGHE)
  • Gerontological Society of America (GSA)
  • Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA)
  • Association for Anthropology, Gerontology and the Life Course (AAGE)
  • Sigma Phi Omega, Delta Rho Chapter

Teaching

  • GERO 101: Introduction to Gerontology
  • GERO 405: Cross-Cultural Aging
  • GERO 485: Capstone/Senior Seminar
  • SOCI 359: Social Gerontology