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The FRI Seed Grant Competition was a grant program from the Feminist Research Institute that allowed UC Davis faculty to apply for funding for collaborative research projects rooted in feminist approaches. While the Feminist Research Institute no longer has access to this funding source, even years later, we are seeing the benefits of investing in feminist-centered research projects.

9/11 marks the World Trade Center attacks and demands annual commemoration. What receives far less attention, however, is the twofold crisis of social reproduction that followed. After 2001, Canal Street became an arbitrary geographic line separating those considered eligible for cleanup and assistance from those who were not, even though toxic air and dust did not respect that boundary. At the same time, as the local workforce was being retrained into hospitality and homecare, another arbitrary boundary emerged around working time.

FRI seeks students, community members, and partners to join our 2026-27 Research Teams. We will have teams working on the following research questions:

FRI believes in community knowledge production and radical collaboration. Part of this is hosting an affiliates and community-building program. Affiliates can be UC Davis faculty/staff, community leaders and organizational representatives who share a commitment to FRI's mission and values, and who are open to potential collaborations with FRI. Community-building programs support new or ongoing work that aligns with our values. 

Research requires intellectual work. It also requires emotion work. Emotion work is the managing of one's emotions and tailoring one's behavior so as not to evoke emotional responses from others. A feminist approach sees this labor as a form of care work. Feminist scholars have shown that this work is gendered and racialized, often undertaken by women and people of color. It is also under-valued, which reinforces systems of oppression. 

FRI welcomes applications from writing groups to participate in the 2026-27 FRI Feminist Writing Practices Collective. Selected writing groups will gain access to the FRI space to host writing retreats with nourishment for the body, soul, and mind. 

Keeping up consistent writing practices is best done in community. Our writing can flourish when approached from a feminist ethic of care and accountability. This means accountability not just to deadlines, but to our well-being and relationships. 

FRI visiting researcher Maya Weeks attended “From Durham to Santa Marta and Beyond: Equitable Pathways to Fossil Fuel Phase Out conference in March 2026. Read about how she applies her training as a feminist scholar and political ecologist to the just transition away from fossil fuels. 

The UC Davis Feminist Research Institute and UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies invite experienced environmental justice professionals interested in sustainable transportation, mobility justice, research justice, and/or 

Is the AI we use to understand the world might be restricting the way we view the world? AI systems are playing an increasingly important role in analysis, prediction, and decision-making. However, they are trained on mainstream and uncritical datasets that reproduce stereotypical gender roles, abilities, and behavioral patterns, reinforcing biases, which leads to a limited understanding of society.

Feminist work hard to fight against damaging narratives. These are stories designed to harm or limit us. They stymie our imagination and vision of what the world can be. 

Sometimes we get called killjoys because of this. But the "joy" we kill is built upon pain, violence, and damage. We see this in narratives such as: Girls don't like sports. Women are bad at math. She asked for it. Feminists refute such world-constraining stories. In their place, we fashion realities that are caring, restorative, and life-affirming. 

We celebrate and share the work of UC Davis feminist scholars who show us why we need queer, feminist collective movements. Take a moment to learn more about their work. They bring us hope, vision, and inspiration to continue forging paths towards liberation for all.

CRN: 41604

Course: 002-21

Units: 2
Day/Time: Thursday 4:10 pm - 6:00 pm

Instructor: Sarah McCullough & Harlin/Hayley Steele

A Student Assistant IV is sought to work for the Feminist Research Institute. The Feminist Research Institute is dedicated to changing research culture towards justice and liberation. Scientific practices remain infused with the legacies of white supremacy, colonialism, and patriarchy. And we seek to change this. If this mission resonates with you, please read on!