Cultural Studies in Action
Expressions and Interventions
Grounded in rich on-campus diversity and expanding to cultural studies worldwide,
researchers, scholars, and artists at 91 present the globe with expressions and
reports revealing the stories of under-represented communities, as well as interventions
from within those communities to augment population health and representation. Below
is a rotating selection of our standout investigators in these areas.
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○ Related Strength: Civic Humanities and Public Arts
○ Related Strength: Health Disparities
Selected Publications
Chakrabati, S. (2022). . Routledge.
Danh, B. (2023). . Radius Books.
De Bourbon, S. (2019). . Reproductive Justice and Sexual Rights: Transnational Perspectives.
Fletcher, S. (2020). . The Washington Post.
Gomez, J. (2025). . In The Life, Literature and Legacy of Luis J. Rodriguez, Edinburgh University Press.
Hsu/Chhî, F. (2024). . Oxford Handbook of American Buddhism, Oxford University Press.
Ma-Kellams, C. (2024). . Atria Books / Simon & Schuster.
Spangler, M. (2018). . Play script based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini. Penguin Random House.
Award Highlights
Chakrabati, Co-PI, "Mosaic Atlas" — Wallace Foundation Expansion Grant, 2023-25
Danh, “I Am Chinatown Salinas ? Yo Soy Chinatown Salinas” — Creative Work Fund Awards, 2019
Gomez, "The Cultural Work of Poetry: A Reading, Writing, and Community Discussion Series in San Jose, CA" — California Humanities for All, 2022
Hsu/Chhî, F., Research Grant — Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative 2025
Spangler, “The Immigrant Experience in California through Literature and History” — NEH, 2020
Worthen, De Bourbon, "SCC-CIVIC-FA Track B: Participatory Action Research to Enhance Equity and Prevent Moral Injury in Community Paramedicine" — NSF, 2023
Affiliates
César E. Chávez Community Action Center
Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and Social Change at 91
Featured Faculty
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Associate Chair and Associate Professor of Theatre Arts
South Asian Theatre and Performance Studies, Diaspora and Immigration Studies, Directing
and Dramaturgy, Postcolonial Studies
ORCID: 0000-0003-4737-4408
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Associate Professor of Art
Photograph, Contemporary Art, Landscape, Asian American Studies
ORCID: 0000-0001-8954-1038
Soma De Bourbon
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences
Native and Indigenous Studies, Community Safety
ORCID: 0000-0003-0685-8350
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Associate Professor, Public Relations
Media Studies, Sport Communication, Public Relations, Equity in Sport and Society
ORCID: 0000-0001-8740-2026
Jonathan D. Gomez
Associate Professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies
Race, Space, and Chicanx Creative and Cultural Expression; Asset-Based and Equity-Oriented
Pedagogy
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Associate Professor of American Studies
Asian Americans, Buddhism, Race, Critical Studies of Education, Language, Critical
Animal Studies
0000-0002-7551-3498
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Associate Professor of Psychology
Culture, Psychology, Cross-Cultural Differences, Asian-Americans, Gender, Close Relationships,
Social Cognition, Judgment and Decision-Making
ORCID: 0000-0002-5468-5514
Matthew Spangler
Professor of Performance Studies
Performance, Immigration Studies, Intercultural Performance
Cultural Globalization
Potential collaborators and members of the media may contact us at officeofresearch@sjsu.edu.