Pavithra Vasudevan

Pavithra Vasudevan is an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, affiliated with the Department of African & African Diaspora Studies and the Center for Women’s & Gender Studies. She is also a member of the University of Texas Feminist Geography Research Collective.

• Education: Ph.D. in Geography (2018) from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
• Research: Focuses on racial capitalism, environmental justice, and feminist geography through the lens of industrial toxicity and community resistance.

Her work bridges critical theory with grassroots organizing, emphasizing arts-based methods like Bharata Natyam and Aikido. She has received prestigious fellowships from the National Science Foundation and the Society of Women Geographers.

• Scientific Awards:
  • National Science Foundation Dissertation Fellowship
  • Society of Women Geographers Dissertation Fellowship
  • Center for the Study of the American South Dissertation Fellowship
  • Graduate Education Advancement Board’s Impact Award

Vasudevan’s publications examine occupational health disparities, biopolitics, and the racialized burden of industrial environments. She teaches courses on feminist geopolitics, Black studies methods, and environmental justice storytelling.