Dana-Ain Davis

Dana-Ain Davis serves as Professor of Urban Studies and Anthropology at the City University of New York (CUNY) and directs the Center for the Study of Women and Society at the Graduate Center. Her scholarship critically examines the intersections of race, reproduction, and systemic power through Black feminist ethnographic frameworks.

Her research focuses on reproductive justice with specialized attention to obstetric racism, medical anthropology, and the racialized politics of pregnancy and birth. Davis analyzes how neoliberal policies and historical legacies of slavery perpetuate reproductive injustice, particularly for Black communities, using ethnographic methods to document bodily experiences within medical systems. Her work connects theoretical frameworks to material conditions affecting birthing practices and healthcare access.

Analysis of her publications reveals consistent engagement with medical anthropology and critical race theory across two decades, with increasing emphasis on institutional racism in obstetrics after 2015. Her scholarship demonstrates methodological innovation in linking historical analysis with contemporary reproductive politics, particularly through case studies of high-profile events like the Nadya Suleman case and the Obama/Trump administrations.

Davis has received significant recognition including:

• Eileen Basker Memorial Prize (Society for Medical Anthropology)
• Senior Book Prize (Association of Feminist Anthropology)
• PROSE Award Finalist (Association of American Publishers)
• Victor Turner Ethnographic Writing Honorable Mention

Beyond academia, Davis co-founded Art of Childbirth with doula Nubia Earth-Martin to provide free artistic birth education workshops in Yonkers. She actively engages in public scholarship through Projects PS2 (Public Scholarship Practice Space), recently hosting May 2024 events exploring race and resistance in cinematic contexts.