Cynthia Vazquez, Ph.D.

I am currently serving as a UC Los Angeles Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow within the American Indian Studies Center at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). My academic focus lies in the realm of Chicanx Feminist scholarship, and my research endeavors are centered at the confluence of critical theories of Indigeneity, settler-colonialism, Indigenous epistemologies and methodologies, Indigenous sovereignty, gender studies, schooling, border studies, and Latinidad. I successfully obtained my doctoral degree in 2022, specializing in Ethnic Studies with a concentration in Critical Gender Studies, from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

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Having been born in Los Angeles and raised in Las Vegas, I spent a decade in San Diego, which I came to consider my home. My active engagement revolves around fostering connections with artists and the local tribal community, grounded in principles of land pedagogies, liberatory practices, and resistance.

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The first member of my family to attain a doctoral degree, I draw significant inspiration from the work of Gloria Anzaldúa, particularly her exploration of liminal spaces. My research emanates from this realm of the unknown, propelling me to cultivate meaningful relationships both within and beyond my immediate community.