Faculty

Cecília Santos received her PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master in Law from the University of São Paulo. She joined the University of San Francisco in 2001, and since 2006 she is also a research member of the Center for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. She teaches courses on gender and development, globalization, sociology of law, and Brazilian culture and society.

Her research focuses on legal mobilization within and across...

Bernadette Barker-Plummer received her PhD from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, her MA from the University of Texas at Austin, and her BA from Edinburgh University in Scotland. Her research interests are in media, social movements, and social change. Some of her work can be found in Critical Studies in Media Communication, Feminist Media Studies, Journalism Quarterly, Journalism Monographs, and Peace Review. She teaches Gender and Media, Introduction to...

Paula J. Birnbaum is the inaugural Ann Getty Endowed Chair and Academic Director of the Museum Studies Master of Arts Program and Professor of Art History and Museum Studies at USF. She is a specialist in modern and contemporary art and holds a doctorate in Art History from Bryn Mawr College. Professor Birnbaum is a former Fulbright Scholar and fellow at the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at Stanford University.

Birnbaum’s research focuses on modern and contemporary art in...

Sarah Burgess is an Associate Professor in Communication Studies, Gender and Sexualities Studies, and Critical Diversity Studies. Working at the intersections of rhetorical theory, political theory, legal theory, philosophy, and gender and sexualities studies, she examines the rhetorical contours of recognition in order to understand the possibilities and limits of justice. She recently edited a special issue of Philosophy & Rhetoric that brought together authors from several disciplines to...

Lilian Dube is an associate professor and former chair of the Theology and Religious Studies Department at the University of San Francisco where she started in 2006 after a decade of teaching at universities in the USA and UK and the University of Zimbabwe, with tenure. In 1999, she made history as the first Black woman to earn a Doctor of Theology degree from Stellenbosch University.

She is the executive director of the film, USF in Zambia: HIV/AIDS and Social Justice, co-author of African...

Aaron J. Hahn Tapper, the Mae and Benjamin Swig Professor in Jewish Studies and the founding Director of the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice, has been at USF since 2007. An educator for more than two decades, his primary academic interest is the intersection between identity formation, social justice, and marginalized groups.

Aaron completed his PhD in the Religious Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he studied the History of Religions...

Aysha Hidayatullah is Associate Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, and she teaches undergraduate courses on gender, sexuality, race, ethics, and religious studies in Islamic traditions. She began teaching at USF in 2008, after receiving her MA and PhD in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her BA in Women's Studies and English from Emory University. 

She is the author of Feminist Edges of the Qur'an (Oxford University Press, 2014...

Elisabeth Jay Friedman was awarded her BA by Barnard College (1988) and her MA/PhD by Stanford University (1997). She is the author of Unfinished Transitions: Women and the Gendered Development of Democracy in Venezuela, 1936-1996 (Penn State Press, 2000), the co-author of Sovereignty, Democracy, and Global Civil Society: State-Society Relations at UN World Conferences (SUNY Press, 2005) and the author of Interpreting the Internet: Feminist and Queer Counterpublics in Latin America (University...

Rebecca Mason is originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, where she completed her BA and MA in philosophy at Dalhousie University. In 2015, she received her PhD in philosophy from Northwestern University. She specializes in metaphysics (especially social metaphysics), feminist philosophy, and social and political philosophy. She also has interests in epistemology and philosophy of language, especially where these intersect with her areas of specialization.

Stuart McKee is a full professor of Design at the University of San Francisco. As an environmental graphic designer, Stuart designed exhibition typography for the J. Paul Getty Center in Los Angeles; the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland (as Senior Graphic Designer for the Burdick Group); and the United States Pavilion at the 1992 World's Fair in Seville, Spain (as Senior Graphic Designer for Staples & Charles Ltd). As a print designer, Stuart has designed books for the MIT...

Prof. Olmedo general area of expertise is Latin American Literary and Cultural Studies. Her research interests focus on Gothic Literature, Women and Gender Studies, and Emergent Horror Cinemas. She teaches courses in language and culture and also literature and film, such as: Feminist Theory and Feminist Discourse, The Revenge of the Monsters and Conflicts and Confluences in the Spanish speaking world. She is the curator of the Latin Horror Film Festival at USF.

Dr. Stephanie Sears has been a member of the USF faculty since 2002. She is a faculty member in the Department of Sociology and African American Studies and Critical Diversity Studies programs. Before her current role as Associate Dean of Social Sciences, Dr. Sears served as the College of Arts and Science faculty director of JEDI, the director of the African American Studies Program, Chair of Sociology, Chair of the Arts Council, Co-chair of College Council, Co-Director of the Marshall-Riley...

Jennifer Turpin joined USF's faculty in 1991 after receiving a doctorate in sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. She has received USF's Distinguished Teaching Award and the College Service Award, as well as an honorary doctorate from USF in 2015. She founded USF's Women's Studies program and served as chair of the sociology department before spending 17 years in the university administration, as provost (2010-2015); dean (2003-2010); and associate dean (1997-2003).

Her research...

Christine Young is Director of the Honors College. As a feminist theater practitioner, Professor Young’s research combines creative and scholarly work. She develops and directs plays about social issues affecting women’s lives, practices creative casting that seeks to put as many female performers onstage as possible, mentors young women theater artists, and promotes a world where women’s lives are understood not as special interest stories, but rather as essential human stories. Prior to...

James Zarsadiaz is Associate Professor of History and Director of the Yuchengco Philippine Studies Program. He specializes in United States history, particularly urban and suburban history and Asian American history. James currently sits on the board of the Association for Asian American Studies. Prof. Zarsadiaz was a fellow at both the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History and Asian Pacific American Center. Prior to entering academia, James worked in the U.S. House of...

Camille Shira Angel, an adjunct professor in the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice, is also an ordained rabbi from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and the author of articles including "Crafting a Liturgical Mirror," in the wonderful new anthology The Sacred Encounter: Jewish Perspectives on Sexuality, and "Ruach Acheret-Ruach Hakodesh: Different Spirit-Sacred Spirit" in Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible.

She was the spiritual leader...