Alexia Arani

Dr. Alexia Arani is an Assistant Professor in the Women's, Gender & Queer Studies Department at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), joining in Fall 2022. Her work bridges scholarship and activism, focusing on queer/trans/crip of color critique, disability justice, prison abolition, and community-based research. She teaches courses on social justice praxis, including Race, Gender, Disability Justice and Queer Disability Studies.

Her research integrates political education and mutual aid organizing, emphasizing care work and transformative justice. Notable publications include auto-ethnographic explorations of queer femme burnout and co-edited works on abolitionist frameworks and borderland dynamics. She co-hosts a podcast analyzing media through a critical lens.

Dr. Arani’s academic contributions emphasize praxis-oriented scholarship, blending academic writing with grassroots activism. Her current projects include exploring abolitionist care models and the intersections of carcerality and healthcare. She is committed to decolonizing academic practices through community-centered methodologies.