Chela Sandoval

Chela Sandoval is a Professor in the Department of Chicano Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on third space feminism, cyber and millennial studies, critical media theory, and decolonial methodologies. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with advanced film theory studies at UC Berkeley. Key works include Methodology of the Oppressed and co-editing The Chicano Studies Reader.

Education:

• B.A. and B.S., University of California, Santa Cruz
• Advanced graduate work in Film Theory, University of California, Berkeley
• Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz

Research emphasizes intersectional frameworks addressing oppression, digital activism, and Indigenous knowledge systems. Her publications span feminist theory, decolonial pedagogy, and cultural studies. Recent work explores Xican/x-Indigenous performance art and transnational music studies.

Her academic contributions include foundational texts in U.S. Third World Feminism and cyberfeminism. Sandoval’s theoretical work bridges critical theory, postmodernism, and activist praxis, influencing global feminist and decolonial scholarship.