Regular Faculty
Caroline Heldman, Chair
Professor, Critical Theory and Social Justice
B.A., Washington State University; M.A., Ph.D., Rutgers University
Caroline Heldman specializes in the presidency, media, gender, and race in the American context.
Mary Christianakis
Professor, Critical Theory and Social Justice
B.A., UCLA; M. Ed., UCLA; M.A., Loyola Marymount University; Ph.D., UC Berkeley
Mary Christianakis is a professor of language, literacy, and culture. She studies literacy development, language, and discourse from a critical sociocritical perspective.
Glenn A. Elmer Griffin
Professor, Critical Theory and Social Justice
B.A., Pacific Union College; Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary
Glenn A. Elmer Griffin, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and professor in the Department of Critical Theory and Social Justice.
Non-Tenure Track Faculty
Claire Crawford
Non-Tenure Track Instructor, Critical Theory and Social Justice
B.A., George Washington University; M.A., Georgetown University; Ph.D., University of Southern California. (in progress)
Justin de Leon
Non-Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Critical Theory and Social Justice
B.A., Allegheny College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Delaware
Aside from being a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Critical Theory and Social Justice Department at Occidental, Justin de Leon is a Senior Advisor to the Kroc Institute for International Peace...
Roxane Gay
Presidential Professor of Critical Thinking and Social Justice
B.A., Vermont College of Norwich University; M.A., University of Nebraska–Lincoln; Ph.D., Michigan Technological University
Roxane Gay’s writing appears in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, A Public Space, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short...
Marisol León
Non-Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Critical Theory and Social Justice
B.A., Yale University; M.A., Loyola Marymount University; J.D., U.C. Berkeley
Marisol León teaches courses related to critical theory, resistance movements, inequity, and the law.
Malek Moazzam-Doulat
Non-Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Critical Theory and Social Justice
B.A., Occidental College; Ph.D., State University of New York, Stony Brook
Prof. Moazzam-Doulat teaches courses on social and political philosophy.
Affiliated Faculty
Viviana MacManus
Assistant Professor, Spanish and French Studies
B.A., Occidental College; Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Viviana Beatriz MacManus’s research and teaching focuses on Latin American and Latinx feminist theory, literature, film, and cultural studies.
