Cultural Studies in Action

Expressions and Interventions

sjsu cesar chavez memorial arch closeupGrounded 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.

   ○
   ○ 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

Human Rights Institute

Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and Social Change at 91

The Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies


Featured Faculty

chakrabati
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

danh
Associate Professor of Art
Photograph, Contemporary Art, Landscape, Asian American Studies
ORCID: 0000-0001-8954-1038

de bourbonSoma De Bourbon
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences
Native and Indigenous Studies, Community Safety
ORCID: 0000-0003-0685-8350

fletcher
Associate Professor, Public Relations
Media Studies, Sport Communication, Public Relations, Equity in Sport and Society
ORCID: 0000-0001-8740-2026

gomezJonathan D. Gomez
Associate Professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies
Race, Space, and Chicanx Creative and Cultural Expression; Asset-Based and Equity-Oriented Pedagogy

 

hsu
Associate Professor of American Studies
Asian Americans, Buddhism, Race, Critical Studies of Education, Language, Critical Animal Studies
0000-0002-7551-3498

ma kellams
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

spanglerMatthew 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.