Celebrating our Past and Envisioning FRI’s Future

On December 1, 2023, FRI hosted its annual Open House from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thank you to all of the community members and UC Davis faculty, staff, and undergraduate and graduate students who attended. Together, we reflected on the history of FRI, discussed our current programming and feminist research visions, and began conversations about our plans for the future. 

Reflecting on the History of the Feminist Research Institute 

The creation of FRI was spearheaded in 2016 by a committee who believed that UC Davis needed a research center that could support feminist research in the humanities and social science as well as integrate those insights with research in STEM fields. FRI envisioned a definition of feminist research beyond more well-known issues such as gender inequity, aspiring to also critique systems of power and investigate histories of knowledge production. The founding board members were foundational in the groundwork of envisioning FRI. They include Amina Mama, Xiaoling Shu, Karen McDonald, Ellen Hartigan-O’Connor, Susan Kaiser, Suad Joseph (Chair), Maxine Craig, Laura Grindstaff, and Colleen Clancy.  In 2020, FRI created the Asking Different Questions Program which trains researchers to do more justice-oriented research. FRI prides itself on being a space where we work together to embody collectively-created working values: humility, collaboration, and liberation. We share and honor each other’s situated knowledges, an intertwinement of intellectual training and lived experience. We also humbly acknowledge what we do not know and listen to others. This makes radical collaborations possible. Overall, we believe that the goal of feminist research is liberation, creating a world where everyone can thrive and where autonomy and agency are not limited by systems of oppression. 

Current Programming and Future Directions

Many in attendance at the FRI open House expressed overwhelming support for ongoing programs such as Asking Different Questions. In the future, many hope to see greater connections facilitated by FRI. For example, FRI could help facilitate research collaborations among faculty across different disciplines. In addition, community members voiced a desire to get more engaged with FRI’s research projects and other learning opportunities, such as our new Earthly Feminisms Reading Group. 

What do you hope to see from FRI in the near future? Join our upcoming Strategic Planning Workshop on March 1st from 12 to 4 p.m. at the Feminist Research Institute.