UWCHR steering committee member Chandan Reddy has been named a 2023 “Freedom Scholar” by the Marguerite Casey Foundation. Chandan is an associate professor of gender, women and sexuality studies and of the comparative history of ideas at the University of Washington. He joined the Center for Human Rights’ steering committee in 2022 and co-leads the Center’s newest research project and collaboration, Strategies for Massage Parlor Workers’ Rights. Hear from Chandan about recent project updates in the UWCHR 2022-23 Annual Report here.
Chandan’s work focuses on exploring themes of gender, sexuality, and race. His 2011 book, “Freedom with Violence: Race, Sexuality and the U.S. State,” won the Alan Bray Memorial award for Queer studies from the American Studies and Modern Language Associations, as well as Best Book in Cultural Studies from the Asian American Studies Association. Other publications include the 2020 book, “Convergence, Dissymmetry, Duplicities: Enactments of Queer of Color Critique.” He is coeditor in chief of GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies.
Launched in 2020, the Marguerite Casey Foundation Freedom Scholar awards exemplify a commitment to scholarship benefitting movements led by Black and Indigenous people, migrants and queer people, poor people, and people of color. Award recipients receive funds of a one-time, unrestricted $250,000 to advance their work. The awards recognize the role that Freedom Scholars play in cultivating and nurturing movements for justice and freedom. Awardees are proven movement leaders who entered academia and academics with a demonstrated commitment to supporting social movements.
In just three years since the creation of the Freedom Scholar awards, two other UW faculty have been named Freedom Scholars, including the Department of Political Science’s Megan Ming Francis and the School of Law’s (and UWCHR faculty associate!) Angélica Cházaro.
Join us in congratulating Chandan Reddy on his impactful work!