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Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice

ISGRJ Postdoctoral Fellows

These humanities-centered fellowships support recent doctoral recipients whose research demonstrates a deep investment in the areas of inquiry related to anti-racism and social inequality.

Cohort I, 2021–2022

Baba Badji Headshot

Baba Badji

Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow in Comparative Literature

Area of Expertise: Social Justice and the Arts

Baba Badji’s research examines négritude in Anglophone and Francophone cultures. He earned his Ph.D. in comparative literature at Washington University in St. Louis.

Minju Bae

Minju Bae

Postdoctoral Associate in History, Rutgers–New Brunswick

Area of Expertise: Social and Economic Justice

Minju Bae is a historian whose research examines how Asian Americans navigated the politics of work, racial difference, and the radical restructuring of the urban-based global economy. She earned her Ph.D. in history from Temple University.

Jessica Calvanico

Jessica Calvanico

Postdoctoral Associate in Childhood Studies, Rutgers–Camden

Area of Expertise: Social and Criminal Justice

Jessica Calvanico studies how histories of sexuality, race, and class converge to create a carceral system of girlhood by exploring the historical foundations of the juvenile justice system in the southern United States. She earned her Ph.D. in feminist studies at University of California, Santa Cruz.

Melinda Gonzalez

Melinda González

Postdoctoral Associate in Sociology and Anthropology, Rutgers–Newark

Area of Expertise: Social Justice and the Arts

Melinda Gonzalez’s research examines the lived experiences of hurricane Maria survivors in Puerto Rico and New York through the use of digital space, poetry, and community organizing, and also examines racial disparities in the ongoing water crisis in urban centers of the United States. She earned her Ph.D. in geography and anthropology from Louisiana State University.

Amelia Simone Herbert

Amelia Herbert

Postdoctoral Associate in Urban Education, Rutgers–Newark

Area of Expertise: K–12 Education

Amelia Herbert’s research examines how youth, families, and educators navigate the racial and spatial politics of aspiration in the unequal and marketized schooling landscape of Cape Town, South Africa. She earned her Ph.D. in anthropology and education at Columbia University, Teachers College.

Franklin Moreno

Franklin Moreno

Rutgers-Newark

Postdoctoral Associate in Psychology

Rutgers-Newark

Area of Expertise: Criminal Justice

Franklin Moreno’s research examines child and adolescent development and exposure to violence in the US and in Central America. His doctoral research examined moral reasoning about violence associated with gangs known maras. Currently, he is studying youth development and experiences with policing in New Jersey and in Honduras. He earned his Ph.D. in Education at the University of California, Berkeley.