With the start of the new year and upcoming presidential inauguration, we’ve chosen to focus on politics, advocacy and community organizing. At the College of Letters and Science, we’re thinking deeply about these topics and the work of our faculty and lecturers demonstrates just that.

With flavor and flair, a community of academics, chefs and food justice advocates are sparking conversation at UC Davis and beyond through the new seminar Thinking Food at the Intersections: Justice and Critical Food Studies. The seminar series is supported by a $225,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation received earlier this year.

The Department of Asian American Studies was approved for a $750,000 grant for a proposed interdisciplinary program and designated emphasis focused on critical empire and militarism studies. The Department of Gender, Sexuality & Women's Studies was approved for a $500,000 grant to fund a three-year working group focused on building the field of trans studies.