Campus Directory

Joana Chavez

she/her/ella

Assistant Professor

Feminist & Gender Studies

Joana Chavez is an Assistant Professor of Feminist and Gender Studies at 91Â鶹ӳ»­, where her teaching and scholarship expand curricular offerings in abolition feminism, prison and incarceration studies, Chicana feminism, and Chicana/o/x Studies. An interdisciplinary and community-engaged feminist scholar from the Inland Empire, her research is deeply informed by personal experience and community-based work with youth and families across California, as well as testimonios and critical archive methodologies, particularly in areas related to addiction, family, and home. Rooted in a healing-informed approach, her scholarship embraces the values of community, love, and service—not only as guiding principles, but also as transformative tools for resistance, care, and collective healing.
Her current book manuscript, tentatively titled Gender, Punishment, and (Dis)Placement for Women of Color, examines gendered carceral spaces and centers the lived experiences of incarcerated young women of color, specifically those placed in group homes through the methodology of testimonios. Her research critically engages the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, class, and incarceration as they operate under the banner of care, revealing how systems of control are often disguised as protective or rehabilitative. In doing so, she aims to amplify marginalized voices that are too often silenced.
Dr. Chavez earned her Ph.D. in Chicana/o and Central American Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). During her time at UCLA, she also served as lead community archivist with the Million Dollar Hoods Project, a multidisciplinary initiative documenting the human and fiscal costs of mass incarceration in Los Angeles. Her work has been supported by numerous grants and fellowships, including the Ford Foundation Fellowship, University of Minnesota and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, UC Berkeley Latino Research Center, UCLA Center for the Study of Women, and the University of California Humanities Research Institute.  Lastly, Dr. Chavez is a proud Chicana who enjoys being surrounded by her community, family, and in nature to ground herself.

Contact Info

Interdisciplinary House #106
Areas: Archives, Carceral Studies, Abolition, Gender Race Class and Sexuality, Chicana Feminism, Chicanx Studies, Group Homes, Testimonios, Inland Empire

Regular Classes

Introduction to Feminist and Gender Studies
Chicana and Latina Feminisms
Gender, Race, and the Criminal Legal System
Latina Incarceration
Senior Seminar

Joana Chavez

Education

Ph.D., Chicana/o and Central American Studies, University of California, Los Angeles (2025)
M.A., Chicana/o and Central American Studies, University of California, Los Angeles (2020)
B.A., Ethnic Studies, University of California, Riverside (2017)
B.A., Spanish, University of California, Riverside (2017)
A.A., Liberal Arts, Mt. San Jacinto College (2015)

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