معرفی
Nessette Falu serves as Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Graduate Studies in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin's College of Liberal Arts. Her scholarship bridges clinical medicine and anthropological inquiry to confront systemic inequities in reproductive healthcare, particularly through the lens of Black queer experiences.
Education
- PhD in Socio-Cultural Anthropology, Rice University
Research Interests
Dr. Falu specializes in medical anthropology, Black queer studies, and reproductive justice, examining intersections of anti-Blackness, heteronormativity, and medical power structures. Her work centers on gynecology, erotic autonomy, and structural violence, informed by 17 years of clinical practice as a Physician Assistant across neurosurgery, HIV care, and pain management. She investigates how marginalized communities navigate and resist medical oppression through embodied knowledge and collective action.
Publication Trends
Her 15 most recent publications (2015-2025) demonstrate sustained ethnographic engagement with Black queer reproductive justice in Brazil. Recurring themes include gynecological trauma, erotic resistance, and the politicization of Black queer bodies in medical spaces. Works like Unseen Flesh (2023-2025) and Vivência Negra (2019) reveal methodological consistency in centering lived experiences while exposing institutional violence, with increasing emphasis on design-based interventions for justice.
Advising and Grants
As Associate Chair of Graduate Studies, Dr. Falu oversees academic programs and mentors graduate students though specific advisees are not documented. Her clinical background informs pedagogical approaches in courses like AFR 386C (Black Queer Studies) and WGS F335 (Queer Reproductive Justice). No grant details appear in available sources.
Laboratory
She founded the Gxnecologx Justice Lab (December 2023), a Black feminist research-design collective that develops tangible interventions for medical justice through community collaboration, digital archives, and public installations focused on gynecological autonomy.
