“My pedagogical practice, informed by social justice and critical Black feminist theory, centers on global connections that shape agency and marginality. Incorporating local and internationalized approaches and perspectives in an Africana Studies curriculum presents new opportunities to promote decolonization and inclusive knowledge.”

— Felima, Crystal A. (2022). Teaching Haitian Studies and Caribbean Digital Humanities: A Rasanblaj of Critical Pedagogical Approaches and Black Feminist Theory in the Classroom. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education, 21 (1).

Below are descriptions of the courses that I’ve taught at the University of Kentucky and my key pedagogical themes..

  • Decolonizing Ecologies

    This graduate level course considers knowledge and cultural realities from Black, Indigenous, and other racialized global communities in order to examine and interrogate the impacts of capitalism and Eurocentric ecological thought. We survey a variety of knowledge and case studies to learn about different worldviews and environmental ethics. This course also considers key sociocultural theories and concepts from Africana Studies, anthropology, geography, sociology, and feminist studies.

  • Human Rights: A Global Perspective

    Drawing from anthropological theories, ethnographic research, and case studies, this undergraduate course surveys the cultural, social, and political dimensions of human rights and consider the diverse experiences and challenges faced by individuals and communities around the world. The class encourages critical thinking, engagement with course material, and the application of anthropological concepts to contemporary, real-world contexts.

  • Culture, Environment, and Global Issues

    This undergraduate course explores topics that link explores the role power and politics play in the distribution of global environmental impacts, and how people and cultures adapt and resist those processes. Students will gain content knowledge of global human-environmental issues and learn more about issues related to environmental justice, climate equity, social movements, grassroots action, and corporate responsibility.

  • Disasters and Racial Ecologies

    This course provides an overview of how disasters emerge from the confluence of a natural or man-made force, risk, and vulnerability. It considers gender, sexuality, and class to help us shape our understanding of racial ecologies. Additional topic areas include environmental racism, eco-feminism, the environmentalism of the poor and the dispossessed, indigenous environmental movements, the ecological debt, climate justice, food sovereignty, land grabbing, and water justice.

  • Culture and People of Africa

    This undergraduate Africana Anthropology scourse takes a geographically and thematically broad approach to explore various topics including (post)colonialism, kinship, ethnicity and nationality, economics and politics, globalization, religion, health, gender and sexuality, the arts, and popular culture. Students will read text from African scholars that research and write about the diversity of cultures and societies in the continent. Students will also engage in contemporary issues such as LGBT rights, repatriation of artifacts, tech and business investments, and women’s political voice.

  • Debility and After/Alterlives

    Reading across the fields of health geography, medical anthropology, decolonial feminist rhetoric, and feminist disability studies, the graduate seminar explores how race, gender, class, nation, sexuality, and ability shape which bodies (both human and non-human) are rehabilitatable, which bodies are marked as contagious or toxic and in need of containment, and which bodies are consequently rendered disposable.

Black Feminist Pedagogy

I cultivate a learning environment through an ethics of care. I emphasize intersectionality, acknowledging the interconnectedness of race, gender, and other social identities. As a professor, my goal is to encourage critical thinking, amplify diverse perspectives, and foster dialogue that interrogates power.

Disasters and Crises

My research and professional interests in disasters and crises is integrated within my courses. Students learn more about risks, vulnerabilities, and inequalities to consider the realities of crises and catastrophes to cultures and communities.

Racial Ecologies

My courses consider race, violence, and solidarity. Understanding how race has shaped the contemporary lives of individuals and communities helps us think about futurity, worldmaking, and coalition building with others.

Justice and Rights

While my courses survey inequalities and structural issues that impact communities, I ensure that students learn about social movements, justice, human rights, and social movements. My goal is to help students imagine ways to support solidarity efforts.

Digital Humanities

Some of my courses are intentional opportunities to introduce students to digital tools for public engagement. In my Decolonizing Course, students created dynamic story maps for their final projects. In my Haitian Studies course at the University of Florida, students created collaborative websites.