People
Director of the Center
Grace Cheng, Ph.D.
Lecturer, Political Science
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Grace Cheng established the Interdisciplinary Human Rights Initiative (IHRI) in the College of
Arts and Letters in Fall 2018 and has served as Director of the IHRI and, now, the
Center for Human Rights. She teaches courses on human rights, political violence,
and the politics of resistance at SDSU. Dr. Cheng's writings and research interests
concern questions of human rights, self-determination, and sovereignty, as well as
migration and displacement. She is a Fulbright Specialist (2018-2023) and is involved
in scholar-practitioner projects to integrate human rights principles and redress
for past abuses in efforts to re-establish peace, including as a member of the Board
of Advisors of the West African Transitional Justice Centre (Nigeria) and Advisor
to the International Institute for Peace and Development Studies (Thailand).
Student Intern
Jenna Marie Bautista
Major in Interdisciplinary Studies (History, Women's Studies, and Religious Studies)
Being part of the AAPI community and a first-gen student, Jenna's interest in human
rights stems from the admiration of her family's home country and its people's constant
work towards further decolonization and liberation. She aims to engage in similar
work by not only uplifting the communities she belongs to both within San Diego and
worldwide, but other marginalized folk through awareness, education, and on the ground
community organization.
Steering Committee
Stuart C. Aitken, Ph.D.
June Burnett Chair & Distinguished Professor, Geography
Email: [email protected]
Stuart C. Aitken is the founding director of the research center Youth, Environment,
Society and Space (YESS). He has worked with the United Nations on child rights, labor
and migration issues.
Kimala Price, Ph.D.
Associate Professor & Chair, Women’s Studies
Email: [email protected]
Kimala Price's research interests are reproductive politics and policy, the reproductive
justice movement, political intersectionality, community-based research, interpretive
research methodology. In addition to teaching at SDSU, she serves on multiple non-profit
boards & remains active in reproductive rights/justice movements.
Rebecca Bartel, Ph.D.
Associate Director of Center Latin American Studies & Assistant Professor, Study of
Religion
Email: [email protected]
Rebecca Bartel is Assistant Professor in the Department for the Study of Religion
and Associate Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at San Diego State
University. An anthropologist of Christianity, Professor Bartel's work has covered
the political economy of Colombia's armed conflict, the effects of Canadian mining
on human rights discourse in Colombia, among other topics. Her current project considers
the religious worlds embedded in aspirational futures, towards economic liberation
and reformed immigration systems.
Erika Robb Larkins, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Anthropology; Director, Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies
Email: [email protected]
Erika Robb Larkins' research and teaching focus on urban anthropology, violence and
inequality, crime, drug policy, security, police, incarceration, political economy,
tourism, and public anthropology; Brazil, Latin America.
Mark Freeman, Ph.D.
Professor, School of TV, Film, and Theatre
Email: [email protected]
Mark Freeman, a filmmaker with over 40 years of experience, is a Professor of Television,
Film and New Media in the School of Theatre, Television and Film at San Diego State
University. He has produced and directed, written and edited programs for broadcast
on public television, often focusing on the plights of people.
Matthew Savage, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, School of Communication
Email: [email protected]
Matthew W. Savage's research interests focus on the intersection of health, interpersonal,
and mass communication. Dr. Savage’s scholarship is conducted within the context of
creating and supporting health communication campaigns aimed to deter negative and
risky behaviors among adolescents and young adults.
Jonathan Graubart, Ph.D.
Professor, Political Science
Email: [email protected]
Jonathan Graubart is a professor of political science at San Diego State and Director
of the ISCOR program. He specializes in the areas of international relations, international
law, Israel-Palestine, the UN, normative theory, and resistance politics.
Emily Schuckman-Matthews, Ph.D.
Associate Professor & Director, European Studies Program
Email: [email protected]
Emily Schuckman Matthews' primary research focus is examining the representation of
prostitution in Russian literature and film. Other areas of interest include human
trafficking, late/post-Soviet Russian literature and culture, cinema and Russian feminist
cultural studies.
Victoria González-Rivera, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Chicana & Chicano Studies
Email: [email protected]
Victoria González Rivera is the first woman of Nicaraguan ancestry to obtain a Ph.D.
in Latin American History from a U.S. university and is a pioneer in the fields of
Nicaraguan women’s & LGBTQ history. In addition to her work as a teacher & mentor
at SDSU, she is an active member of her community and serves on several non-profit
boards.
William Twayigize, Ph.D.
Staff, International Affairs; Lecturer, Politial Science
William Twayigize's main research interests include: African Political Affairs, International
Development, and Resource-Related Conflicts and Post-Traumatic Informed Care.
Roberto D. Hernández, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Chicana & Chicano Studies
Email: [email protected]
Roberto D. Hernández is an actively engaged, community-based researcher, scholar,
teacher and writer. His research, publications & teaching focus on the intersections
of colonial & border violence, the geopolitics of knowledge & cultural production,
decolonial political theory, social movements, hemispheric indigeneity, masculinity
& comparative border studies.
Mark Wheeler, Ph.D.
Interim Dean, SDSU Imperial Valley Campus; Professor, Philosophy
Email: [email protected]
Mark Wheeler is a full professor in the SDSU Department of Philosophy and the Director
of the SDSU Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs. Wheeler pursues research in ancient
Western philosophy, contemporary value theory, and contemporary metaphysics.
Kristen Hill Maher, Ph.D.
Professor, Political Science
Email: [email protected]
Kristen Hill Maher’s research has two main areas of focus: international migration,
and border politics. On the former theme, she has published work on the markets for
foreign labor and the capacities of migrant workers to claim rights and membership,
as well as how migration shapes gender identities.
