Grants | 5 October 2026

CFA: Latinx Carceralities Research Hub Community Fellow

Application Deadline: December 6, 2026
Please note that we do not accept any late application materials.

Amount: $50,000

The Latinx Carceralities Research Hub (LCRH) brings together scholars, artists, journalists, and activists to explore the myriad ways that Latinxs experience the carceral state as it weaves itself into the social fabric of institutions, communities, and relationships. The carceral state refers to the vast web of punitive institutions, policies, practices, and logics that are implicitly and explicitly sanctioned by the state and function to incapacitate criminalized populations and eliminate social threats. In many ways, the history of Latinxs in the United States is deeply intertwined with the history of the carceral state, yet these histories are seldom discussed and analyzed together. The LCRH aims to challenge this elision by supporting research and public facing work that not only shows how diverse Latinx communities have navigated the United States’ law enforcement apparatus but also how those interactions have fundamentally shaped ideas about race, citizenship, class, spatial location, gender, and sexuality for Latinxs and about Latinxs. To that end, we are excited to announce a number of opportunities aimed at creating a cohort of scholars and practitioners who can advance our understanding of the various ways that carceral practices and logics structure the experiences of Latinx people in the United States

While the themes and topics that applicants can pursue through participation in LCRH opportunities are open, we are especially interested in work that intersects with at least one of two themes: 1) Blackness and Latinxs’ experiences of and resistance against carceral structures and 2) queer and feminist encounters with the carceral state.

Community Fellow

The LCRH will select 1 Community Fellow who will be awarded $50,000. The Community Fellow will be an artist, journalist, or activist (not officially affiliated with an academic institution) who is working on a public facing, policy, digital, and/or media project related to Latinx carceralities. Community Fellows are not expected to be in residence as they may be working on place-dependent projects, but they are expected to attend working group meetings (remotely) as well as the three in-person events described above.

Eligibility: This opportunity is open to an artist, journalist, or activist (not officially affiliated with an academic institution) who is working on a public facing, policy, digital, and/or media project related to Latinx carceralities.

Application: Applications must include the following:

  1. Project abstract (up to 750 words)
  2. Statement of fit (up to 500 words)
  3. CV or résumé
  4. Work sample description (short text explaining what is being submitted and its relevance)
  5. Relevant work sample: artists, activists, and/or journalists should submit portfolios, literary samples, and/or links to relevant work for evaluation.
  6. Names and contact information for three references
Apply

This is one of three LCRH opportunities in Fall 2026. To learn more about the Latinx Carceralities Research Hub and see the other calls for applications, visit: https://thi.ucsc.edu/projects/latinx-carceralities-research-hub/

Questions? Please contact Faculty PI Marisol Lebron, malebron@ucsc.edu and Saskia Nauenberg Dunkell, THI Research Programs and Communications Director, saskia@ucsc.edu.

To top