People / Graduate Students

Graduate Students

  • Bio & Research Interests

    Joshua G. Acosta is a Ph.D. student 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

    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) is a first-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. Her research interests are in Indigenous gender and sexuality,... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Isabella Garcia (she/her) is a second-year Ph.D. student 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 & Creative Writing from Wellesley College... 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

    I am a third-year student and recipient of the Chancellor’s Fellowship for Graduate Study. I received my BA (summa cum laude) in English Honors and Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies from the University of Washington in 2019. My research orbits around race,... 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 Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies. Her research historicizes Chinese migration in relation to Indigenous nations in the Pacific... 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
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Alan Pelaez Lopez earned a Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley.
  • 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

    Melanie Z. Plasencia studies how race, ethnicity, class and gender affect the experiences of historically marginalized older adults in the United States. In her dissertation, Melanie explores the lives of older Latina/o/xs in order to understand how they envision, as well as... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    Abraham Ramirez is a PhD. Candidate in the Department of Ethnic Studies and the Program in Critical Theory. His dissertation is on the philosophy of race and consciousness in the work of W.E.B. Du Bois, Frantz Fanon, and bell hooks. Abraham is... 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

    Sonia’s research finds that mainstream psychiatric modes of diagnosing people who are identified as Latinx carry racialized, gendered, and sexualized notions of psychopathology among people of color. In particular, this work looks at “cultural concepts of distress” (CCDs), such as Ataque de Nervios,... More
  • Bio & Research Interests

    José Eduardo Valdivia Heredia (they/elle) is a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, where they are a recipient of the Chancellor’s Fellowship. They are a queer Chicane 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