Fumi Okiji

Fumi Okiji is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and serves as the Head Undergraduate Advisor. Her work bridges black study, critical theory, and sound and music studies, focusing on how black expression illuminates modern and contemporary life. She arrived at academia through her involvement in the London jazz scene as a vocalist and improviser.

Education: Ph.D. from Royal Holloway, University of London.

Research interests include Black Study, Frankfurt School Critical Theory, Sound and Music Studies, Performance Studies, and Black Feminist Thought. Her 2018 book Jazz as Critique: Adorno and Black Expression Revisited re-examines Theodor Adorno’s theories through a black expressive lens, arguing that jazz’s socio-musical dynamics challenge dominant narratives of individualism and democracy.

Current projects include Billie’s Bent Elbow: The Standard as Revolutionary Intoxication, exploring frameworks for transformative praxis through black feminist love-politics and jazz. She co-founded the Le Mardi Gras Listening Collective, combining study, music, and communal reflection.