Brenda Nicolas, global and international studies assistant professor and member of the Indigenous Zapotec people of Sierra Norte in Oaxaca, Mexico, pursues research on global Indigeneity, Latin America, and transborder migration diasporic studies. Her work looks at the transborder communal experiences of Zapotec diasporas in Los Angeles. Her book in progress, Transborder Comunalidad: Gendering Practices of Belonging and Identity Across Settler Colonial Borders, examines how the experiences of the U.S.-raised generations – particularly women – are central to sustaining transnational immigrant Indigenous communities across borders.

Nicolas has a bachelor’s in sociology and Latin American studies from UC Riverside, a master’s in Latin American studies from UC San Diego, a master’s in Chicano/a studies from UCLA, and a Ph.D. in Chicana/o and Central American studies from UCLA. She comes to UCI following two years as an assistant professor in the Department of Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles. She’s excited to be joining UCI’s diverse faculty in the emerging Department of Global and International Studies where many faculty are pursuing Indigenous studies in different regions around the world. And she’s looking forward to working with both undergrads and graduate students and teaching courses on racism, global perspectives and apartheid while continuing her interdisciplinary research.