Cathy J. Cohen
Encyclopedia
Cathy J. Cohen is an American author, feminist and social activist whose work has focused on
the African American
experience in politics
from a perspective which is underlined by intersectionality
.
A former Director of the Center for the Study of Race (2002–2005), she is currently David and Mary Winton Green Professor in Political Science and the College at the University of Chicago
. She received her BA from Miami University
; Ph.D. from the University of Michigan
in 1993 and began her academic career at Yale University where she received tenure. Professor Cohen joined the faculty of the University of Chicago in 2002.
As an academic activist Cohen frequently writes and speaks about gender
, sexuality
, class
, ethnicity, and their interrelatedness, and connection to power. This approach puts her in a class of leftist intellectuals who work to have social and public policy influence the lives of marginalized groups in a positive way. Cohen, a black
lesbian
and a parent
, is the principal researcher on the www.blackyouthproject.com, and is the author of Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the future of American politics and boundaries of Blackness: AIDS and the Breakdown of Black Politics among others.
Professor Cohen is one of the founding board members of the Audre Lorde Project
and is active in a number of
organizations working on social justice
issues. She moderated the plenary of the Applied Research Center's 2010 conference
"Popularizing Racial Justice", and has served as secretary of the American Political Science Association (APSA).
University of Chicago biographic profile
the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
experience in politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
from a perspective which is underlined by intersectionality
Intersectionality
Intersectionality is a feminist sociological theory first highlighted by Kimberlé Crenshaw . Intersectionality is a methodology of studying "the relationships among multiple dimensions and modalities of social relationships and subject formations"...
.
A former Director of the Center for the Study of Race (2002–2005), she is currently David and Mary Winton Green Professor in Political Science and the College at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. She received her BA from Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
; Ph.D. from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1993 and began her academic career at Yale University where she received tenure. Professor Cohen joined the faculty of the University of Chicago in 2002.
As an academic activist Cohen frequently writes and speaks about gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
, sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
, class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
, ethnicity, and their interrelatedness, and connection to power. This approach puts her in a class of leftist intellectuals who work to have social and public policy influence the lives of marginalized groups in a positive way. Cohen, a black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
and a parent
Parent
A parent is a caretaker of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is of a child . Children can have one or more parents, but they must have two biological parents. Biological parents consist of the male who sired the child and the female who gave birth to the child...
, is the principal researcher on the www.blackyouthproject.com, and is the author of Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the future of American politics and boundaries of Blackness: AIDS and the Breakdown of Black Politics among others.
Professor Cohen is one of the founding board members of the Audre Lorde Project
Audre Lorde Project
The Audre Lorde Project is a Brooklyn, New York-based organization for queer people of color. The organization concentrates on community organizing and radical nonviolent activism around progressive issues within New York City, especially relating to queer and transgender communities, AIDS and HIV...
and is active in a number of
organizations working on social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
issues. She moderated the plenary of the Applied Research Center's 2010 conference
"Popularizing Racial Justice", and has served as secretary of the American Political Science Association (APSA).
See also
- Race and healthRace and healthRace and health research, often done in the United States, has found both current and historical racial differences in the frequency, treatments, and availability of treatments for several diseases. This can add up to significant group differences in variables such as life expectancy...
- Audre Lorde ProjectAudre Lorde ProjectThe Audre Lorde Project is a Brooklyn, New York-based organization for queer people of color. The organization concentrates on community organizing and radical nonviolent activism around progressive issues within New York City, especially relating to queer and transgender communities, AIDS and HIV...
, an LGBTSTGNC organization for people of color in New York City, named for Audre LordeAudre LordeAudre Lorde was a Caribbean-American writer, poet and activist.-Life:... - Teaching for social justiceTeaching for social justiceTeaching for social justice is an educational philosophy designed to promote socioeconomic equality in the learning environment and instill these values in students. Educators may employ social justice instruction to promote unity on campus, as well as mitigate boundaries to the general curriculum...
- Black FeminismBlack feminismBlack feminism argues that sexism, class oppression, and racism are inextricably bound together. Forms of feminism that strive to overcome sexism and class oppression. The Combahee River Collective argued in 1974 that the liberation of black women entails freedom for all people, since it would...
- WomanismWomanismThe word womanism was adapted from Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker's use of the term in her book In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose...
- Critical social theory
- Cultural StudiesCultural studiesCultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
- bell hooksBell hooksGloria Jean Watkins , better known by her pen name bell hooks, is an American author, feminist, and social activist....
- LGBT and multiculturalismLGBT and multiculturalismLGBT and multiculturalism is the diversity within LGBT community as a representation of different sexual orientations, gender identities—as well as different ethnic, language, religious groups within LGBT community...
External links
Applied Research Center Conference Sept. 2010- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXQULHoIKmE&feature=channel
University of Chicago biographic profile
- http://political-science.uchicago.edu/faculty/cohen.shtml