Alan Pelaez Lopez

Alan Pelaez Lopez is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chicana/o/x Studies at the University of California, Davis. Their research focuses on Black illegalities, transgender studies, anti-colonial feminisms, and undocumented migration. They hold a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley's Department of Chicana/o/x Studies.

Research interests include state violence against Black migrants, trans* studies critiques of Global North categories, and the intersection of legal/philosophical/theatrical performance contracts. They expanded queer ethnic studies to include trans* studies at San Francisco State University and introduced Afro-Latinx trans* studies at NYU’s Latinx Project.

Publications include Intergalactic Travels (2020), to love and mourn (2020), and the anthology When Language Broke Open (2023). Their work bridges literature, visual art, and activism, with exhibitions at Harvard and Berlin’s SAVVY Contemporary. They hold a Miriam Jiménez Román Fellowship (2022) and were an International Latino Book Award finalist (2020).

Teaching includes courses on Chicana/o/x culture, queer Latinidad, and Afro-Mexican studies. They serve on NYU’s Intervenxions editorial board and maintain art residencies in Germany and the U.S.