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Intersectionality is What We Think and Do

“Intersectionality” describes the field of study that examines the interlocking dynamics of how race, gender, sexuality and (dis)ability, among other critical entities, intersect each other. We aim to examine shifting sexualities, changing genders, dynamic immigrations, and emergent struggles in the world.

We particularly honor the Black and Indigenous women who founded and coined the concept of intersectionality based on the complex, multiple conditions of their lived experiences.

Learn about the Mellon supported activities by visiting the Mellon Research Archive.

Meet the TRIC Fellows

In 2021, the School for Cultural and Social Transformation received a three-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to create an intersectional studies collective as part of a national initiative. This collective, the Transformative Intersectional Collective (TRIC), has supported multiple cohorts of fellows who have been dynamically centered on differing aspects of intersectionality. Through the work of this collective, we have nurtured collaborations with colleagues across campus and have loved witnessing where intersectionality goes and what it does. We continue thinking and working through this concept because of its history and impact in our fields, never mind our lives—while we also want to see it conceptually expand across disciplinary areas.

  • We launched our collective plans by creating an in-state cohort of Intersectional Pedagogy Fellows. With Mellon funds, and in special partnership with Utah State University’s Center for Intersectional Gender Studies and Research, we gathered 14 scholar-teachers who together represent Utah State University, Weber State University, Salt Lake Community College, and the University of Utah. Our goal with this cohort was to foster instructor expertise with the pedagogy of Intersectional Studies (IS); provide examples of intersectional content; and galvanize collective conversations.

    From the University of Utah:

    • Alborz Ghandehari: Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies (class and gender dynamics within contemporary Iranian popular struggles and their international solidarities)
    • Lisa Diamond: Professor of Gender Studies and Psychology (development and expression of sexual and gender diversity over the life course; biological mechanisms through which sexual and gender stigma influence physical and mental health; couple and family relationships of sexually-diverse and gender-diverse individuals)
    • José Francisco Gutiérrez: Assistant Professor of Education, Culture and Society (critical approaches to the study of mathematics; cognition and development; relational equity and mathematics learning)
    • Crystal Rudds: Assistant Professor of English (African American literature; Black feminism; urban cultural studies; housing and geography)
    • Ashley Cordes: Assistant Professor of Communication (Indigenous studies; digital media; critical/cultural studies; environmental storytelling)
    • Ramón Barthelemy: Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy (equity and inclusion in physics and astronomy; LGBT persistence in physics; student motivation in STEM)

    From Utah State University:

    • Mario Suárez : Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies (queer/trans theory; intersections of race, gender identity, sexuality and class in K-12 STEM spaces and curricula
    • Adena Rivera-Dundas: Assistant Professor of English (Black feminist epistemologies; personal narrative; affect studies)
    • Cree Taylor: Lecturer in English (critical race theory; Black feminist thought; pedagogies of care)
    • Rachel Wishkoski : USU Libraries (intersectional literacy pedagogy; qualitative methods)
    • Beth Buyserie : Director of Composition and Assistant Professor of English (critical pedagogies; intersections of language, knowledge and power; queer theory and critical race theory)
    • Rachel Turner : Assistant Professor, School of Teacher Education and Leadership (social studies in the classroom; narrative inquiry; qualitative methods)

    From Weber State University:

    • Alex Collopy, PhD: Educational anthropologist and scholar of disability studies in early childhood education

    From Salt Lake Community College:

    • Bernice Olivas: Assistant Professor of English, Linguistics & Writing Studies (intersection between writing and marginalization; recruitment, retention, and mentoring of first-generation students)

    Intersectional pedagogy co-facilitators:

    • Kilo Zamora: Instructor (Lecturer) of Gender Studies at the U and Social Change Facilitator (gender justice politics; community organizing; queering identities in nature; and faculty advisor for the internship program)
    • Christy Glass: Professor of Sociology at USU, Interim Director of the Center for Intersectional Gender Studies and Research (workplace justice, social inequality, and gender and sexuality)
    • Kathryn Bond Stockton: Distinguished Professor of English at the U, Dean of the School for Cultural and Social Transformation (queer theory/queer of color critique; theories of race and racialized gender; twentieth-century and contemporary literature and film)

  • In year two, our the TRIC focus shifted to support intersectional research, while providing an overlapping teaching focus through workshops. Our 2023 fellows came from across the University of Utah campus to support a broad range of scholarship, creating a cohort of fellows that represented those who had a track-record of intersectional scholarship or creative work, as well as those who were putting in the work to purposefully make their existing research and creative work more intersectional.

  • The vibrancy of intersectionality as a body of thought has resided in the ways its pathways are rooted in local contexts, lived experiences, and felt needs. Thus, our third year focused on fostering ecologies of place by highlighting the density of intersectional thoroughfares already being built by community organizations in collaboration with faculty in Transform, other partners at the U, and fellow institutions. Our 2024 fellows engaged in strong models of dynamic praxis within the community.

    • Ana Antunes, Assistant Professor, Gender Studies, University of Utah
    • Lisa Diamond, Professor, Psychology & Gender Studies, University of Utah
    • Andrea Baldwin, Associate Professor, Gender Studies & Ethnic Studies, University of Utah
    • Ed Muñoz, Associate Professor, Ethnic Studies, University of Utah

Learn More About TRIC Initiatives

In addition to our fellow cohorts, TRIC also supported seven intersectional signature initiatives that exemplified intersectional research conducted by multi-scholar groups. These teams demonstrated commitment to intersectional inquiry and potential benefit to local and regional communities. Awardees organized at least one “idea exchange” meeting that incorporated scholars from the University of Utah alongside local, regional, and national partners.

  • Also Sisters seek to develop strategies and collect useful documentation to help media creators, particularly, filmmakers, make fictional work where intersectionality is robust and prevents biases. To that end, our group will be practice centered, and will gain a deeper understanding of intersectionality by developing a research project, namely a screenplay. As practitioners, researchers, and educators we find extreme value in the power of research to inform teaching and vice versa, and because of that we are committed to involve students in the process of making this film.

    For their initiative project, Also Sisters created The Stairwell, a feature length horror film; and hosted two events, "Intersectionality: An Approach to Building Authenticity and Representation in Film" & "Otherworldly Narratives: A Table Read Session for a Cosmic Horror Film." Read more in the Also Sisters TRIC report.

  • The overall goal of the Black Studies in Ballet Collective research project was to foster intersectional inquiry through research and dialogue among BIPOC academics who resource ongoing scholarship in the field, as well as have personal histories as ballet dancers and related artistic fields.

    For their initiative project, the Black Studies in Ballet Collective convened a group of BIPOC scholars who were active in professional ballet and related arts. These artists-scholars initiated tasks to analyze the institutional history, repertoire, curriculum, and key figures who founded, led, and propelled the Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) for the purpose of producing an anthology for publication. This research collective grappled with the significance of this singularly anti-racist arts institution, founded in 1969, as a means of understanding potential futures for ballet as an inclusive performing art through an anthology and further research.

    Read more in the Black Studies in Ballet Collective TRIC report.

  • The Disability Studies program conducted an exchange of ideas amongst scholars working on intersectional critical disability studies, particularly intersectional studies of disability and race/ethnicity, at two institutions: the University of Utah and the University of Texas-Austin.

    Read more about the event, "Research at the Intersections: Disability, Race, Indigeneity, Ethnicity," in our research archive or watch a recording here:

  • The Gender-Based Violence Consortium’s vision is to increase public recognition of and deepen public knowledge about this type of violence through research innovation and collaboration, creation of research communities, and enhanced educational efforts. Therefore, the University of Utah’s Gender-Based Violence Consortium brings together an interdisciplinary team of scholars representing multiple colleges across campus at the University of Utah. The Gender-Based Violence Consortium is an interprofessional collaboration, a campus scholarly network that embodies an academic commitment to sharing knowledge, supporting long-term collaborations through research hubs, creating programming, sharing teaching, and responding to gender-based violence in Utah.

    The GBVC collaborated with artist Lilian Agar, Utah Domestic Violence Consortium and local organizations to organize several UnStoppable: Art & Play events and hosted a panel discussion for their signature initiative project.

  • Intersectional Perspectives on the History of the Transcontinental Railroad. Intersections centers voices and perspectives of contemporary artists/thinkers/advocates from communities that have historically been left out in the national narrative of the railway. By encouraging intersectional inquiry and dialogue, Intersections provides new understanding of the history of our railroads and its role in shaping this nation. One central component of this research is an opportunity for artists, thinkers, and activists to travel together by train, visiting towns and cities built by the railway. This experience was documented in the short film The Other Side of the Tracks. Additionally, this work was highlighted in an exhibit at Ogden Contemporary Arts, and featured in an event, "The Transcontinental Railroad and the Chinese Immigrant Experience."

    Read more in The Other Side of the Tracks TRIC report.

  • The Utah Prison Education Project (UPEP) was launched in 2017, following a yearlong Praxis Lab sponsored by the University of Utah Honors College, titled “Education, Incarceration, and Justice.” Our mission is to assist incarcerated students and non-incarcerated volunteers to live lives of impact, both in prison and post-incarceration, by fostering academic excellence, leadership, and civic engagement. Committed to social transformation, UPEP advances educational equity through on-site higher education at the Utah State Prison, empirical research, and advocacy.

    UPEP's initiative project included the launch of the undergraduate Justice Fellows program, a series of “Intersectional Inquiry Workshops” at the Utah State Prison, and several "Art Inside" exhibitions. Read more in the Utah Prison Education Project TRIC report.

  • The AIWS program has helped foster future Native leaders dedicated to serving their communities. By uplifting Native women’s legacies and positive impacts of Native-led initiatives, we affirm Native identities and futures, while advancing belonging and engagement. The collective creates spaces for indigenous women to learn, grow, launch, and connect. With a strong network and advocating for issues that matter, the collective is catalyzing transformative change in our communities.