People / Graduate Students

Graduate Students

  • Bio & Research Interests

    Joshua G. Acosta is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a third-generation Filipino American and grew up in Southern California. He is a recipient of the Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship and was... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    AJ Al-Kurdi is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, with a Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality. His dissertation research combines qualitative social science methods—drawing from multiscalar analysis, feminist ethnography, and critical... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Luíza Bastos Lages is a PhD student in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, she comes from Itabirito, Brazil, the ancestral and unceded land of the Guarachués. Luíza is a multimedia artist with a Masters in Art, Culture, and Technology... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Sofi Chavez (she/her/hers) is a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a 2019-2020 recipient of the Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship. Sofi received her BA in English from Bryn Mawr College in 2017. Sofi’s research interests include Latinx and Chicanx... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Maria Chi-Chable (she/her/leti’) is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, where she is the recipient of the Chancellor’s Fellowship. She was born and raised in San Rafael, California, and is a proud daughter of Maya... More
  • Claire Chun

    Bio & Research Interests

    Claire Chun is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Ethnic Studies (with a Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies). She received her B.A. in Politics and Social and Cultural Analysis from New York University. Her research explores how modern... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Fernanda is a fifth year PhD candidate in the Ethnic Studies program. She received her undergraduate degree from Georgia State University, where she majored in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Journalism. Her undergraduate thesis used queer theory and queer of color... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Sierra Edd (Diné) is a PhD candidate in Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She is Tł’ógi, born for the Kinłichii’nii people and grew up in Durango, Colorado / Four corners region. Her research interests are in Indigenous music, gender... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Isabella Garcia (she/her) is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley where she is the recipient of the Chancellor’s Fellowship and the Katherine Sweeney Fellowship. Isabella received her B.A. in History and English &... More
  • Research Interests

    Asian American Literature & Visual Culture, Comparative Ethnic Studies, Cultural Studies, Social Movements, Third Worldism, Women of Color Feminism

    Bio

    Sarah (she/her) is a PhD student in Ethnic Studies and a recipient of the Chancellor’s Fellowship. Sarah was born and raised in the Bay Area and received her B.A. in English and American Studies from Scripps College. Her research is centered around... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Victoria (she/her) is a PhD candidate in Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley and a recipient of the Chancellor’s Fellowship. Her dissertation centers on Southeast Asian refugee communities and their fight against California’s prison to deportation pipeline. She volunteers with the Asian Prisoner... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Pilar Jefferson is a PhD student in the department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Pilar graduated from Vassar College in 2015 with a BA in Art History and Native American Studies focused on 20th century Native American art... More
  • Jessica Jiang is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, with a Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality. Her research historicizes Chinese migration in relation to Indigenous nations in the Pacific Northwest... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Peter Kim is a PhD candidate in Comparative Ethnic Studies, and his research examines the ways public institutions inform, shape, and mediate the subject formation of urban youth of color.  In particular, he explores how public schools, the juvenile justice system, non-profit... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Breylan Náajeyistláa Martin is a PhD student in Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley where she is a recipient of the Chancellor’s Fellowship. She is Tlingit, Raven-T’akdeintaan Clan whose family is from Hoonah and Tenakee, Alaska. Her interests lie in... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Larissa Nez (Diné) is of the Mud People and born for the Mountain Cove People. Her maternal grandfather is of the Red Running into the Water People and her paternal grandfather is of the Big Water People. She was born and raised... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Lisa is a strange gal with a passion for all things trash. She is interested in race, waste, data, and how their relationships to one another shape the roles of non-‘human’ racialized subjects in social movements. She received her B.A from the... More
  • Gregoria (Goya) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley who researches and teaches on Latinx & Caribbean and trans/queer of color aesthetic archives, performance, and counter-publics or geographies, historical and contemporary. Gregoria’s dissertation, “In Suspension: Queer... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    David is a PhD candidate in the Department of Ethnic Studies and a recipient of the Chancellor’s Fellowship. He holds an MA in Ethnic Studies (2019) from the department and an AB in Sociology (2017) from Vassar College. His research interests include:... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Maria Victória Ribeiro Ruy (she/ella/ela), or Mavi, is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, where she is a recipient of the Berkeley Fellowship and the Magistretti Fellowship. Mavi comes from Curitiba, Brazil, the ancestral and unceded... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    José Eduardo Valdivia Heredia (they/elle/ellx) is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, where they were a recipient of the Chancellor’s Fellowship. They are a queer Chicanx artist and scholar from Sonoma, California. José received a B.A.... More
  • Bio

    Derek Wu is a PhD student in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley (Designated Emphasis in Global Metropolitan Studies). He is using historical, ethnographic, and action research methods to research how racial minorities use religion to support low-income urban neighborhoods... More