Greeting from the Chair of Feminist Studies

FMST Chair Marcia OchoaThank you for your interest in the Department of Feminist Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Here, you will find detailed information about our faculty and research, degree programs and events that will give you a sense of the thriving intellectual environment for Feminist Studies at UCSC and the relevance of our work to ongoing struggles in social justice, transnational feminism and other ways of conceptualizing the world in which we want to live.


The University of California at Santa Cruz has long been a site for the thoughtful critique of intersecting systems of power. We have produced luminary scholars in multiple strains of feminism: from women’s history, queer theory, and indigenous feminisms to women of color critique and feminist science studies. This site has important information for students who wish to pursue the undergraduate major in Feminist Studies and our graduate degree programs including our new Ph.D. program and the Graduate Designated Emphasis in Feminist Studies. It’s also a place to learn about what’s going on in the department and how to participate.


As a group of interdisciplinary scholars who work closely to support feminist research and teaching in our department and across campus, the Feminist Studies faculty is at the forefront of key debates in feminist philosophy and epistemologies, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, immigration, transgender studies, incarceration, science and technology, human rights and sex trafficking discourses, postcolonial and decolonial theory, media and representation, social justice and history. Our many Affiliated Faculty teach courses across campus that are integral to our major, and the undergraduate program offers thematic pathways to facilitate a focused course of study in: culture power and representation; law; science, technology and medicine; and sexuality studies. We are also thrilled to support the new program and undergraduate major in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies through the participation of several faculty members in the CRES core working group and through the Presidential Chair in Feminist Critical Race and Ethnic Studies led by professors Bettina Aptheker and Karen Tei Yamashita (Literature).


I invite you to explore our website and to participate in the department’s scholarly life and intellectual communities to build the knowledge and skills you will use in a lifetime of feminist inquiry and transformation.


Warmly,
Marcia Ochoa
Chair and Associate Professor of Feminist Studies