معرفی
Lieba Faier is a Professor of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), holding a courtesy appointment in Gender Studies and serving on advisory committees for the Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and Center for the Study of Women (CSW). Her ethnographic research examines transnational political economies through fieldwork in Japan, the Philippines, and the United States, focusing on cultural geography, migration, and environmental change.
Education:
- Ph.D. in Anthropology (Women’s Studies), University of California, Santa Cruz, 2003
- M.A. in Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1996
- B.A. in World Arts and Cultures (Anthropology), University of California, Los Angeles, 1993
Faier’s interdisciplinary research integrates feminist studies, queer theory, and critical race theory to analyze how intersecting identities shape spatial processes. Her landmark projects include The Banality of Good: The UN’s Global Fight against Human Trafficking (2024), which critiques bureaucratic failures in anti-trafficking governance; Intimate Encounters: Filipina Women and the Remaking of Rural Japan (2009); and pioneering work on Japan’s pollen allergy epidemic. She co-founded the Matsutake Worlds Research Group to study multispecies commodity chains and recently launched an AI/autism collaboration with Purnima Mankekar.
Her 12 most recent publications (2007–2021) reveal evolving themes from transnational migration to multispecies ethnography, with increasing emphasis on environmental health, fungal networks, and the politics of everyday encounters. Key journals include International Journal of Urban and Regional Research and Social Analysis, often contextualizing local phenomena within global political economies.
Scientific Awards:
- ACLS Fellowship (2017–2018)
- Howard Fellowship (2017–2018)
- Hellman Fellowship (2011–2012)
- Toyota Foundation Grant for Matsutake Worlds Research (2007–2009)
- SSRC Abe Fellowship (2006–2008)
- Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship (2004–2005)
- Fulbright Fellowship (1998–2000)
Faier mentors 4 current and 2 former primary graduate advisees (now in academia), plus 8 dissertation committees. Her grant portfolio includes ACLS, Howard, and Toyota Foundation support for collaborative projects. Current work on allergy geographies and AI/neurodivergence demonstrates her commitment to innovative, socially engaged scholarship that bridges theory and urgent global challenges.
She leads the Matsutake Worlds Research Group and the AI/autism project, fostering collaborative inquiry across geography, anthropology, and science studies while advancing decolonial and multispecies approaches to environmental research.
