Publications

Teaching Fellow Brisa Smith-Flores is this year’s recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award!  This award is given to individuals who inspire their students through respect and leadership during their time teaching at UCLA.

Brisa Smith Flores earned three degrees and three minors at The Pennsylvania State University. She earned her master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018. She has served as the graduate fellow for UCLA Prison Education Program and the Inclusive Teaching Fellow for the Center for the Advancement of Teaching at UCLA. Her research has earned Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship honorable mention. She is a winner of UCLA Institute of American Cultures Research Grant, Clifton Webb Scholarship of the Arts, and Graduate Summer Research Mentorship grant. She is a member of the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society and Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society. Additionally, she serves as the Co-Editor-in-Chief for UFAHAMU: Journal of African Studies, an important forum for the publication of materials addressing Africa and the African Diaspora for 45 years. In her free time, Brisa works to produce a YouTube channel (Brisa Marie-Future PhD) focused on demystifying the graduate school process. Currently, Brisa is a PhD Candidate in Culture and Performance within UCLA’s World Arts and Culture/Dance Department. Her research interests center cultural sovereignty, Afro-diasporic identity, visual culture, and decolonization. Her dissertation explores how Afro-Latin communities reimagine museums and public art spaces to construct opportunities for decolonial futures.