Researcher and Educator
I am an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and an Adjunct Professor in Leadership Studies at the University of Victoria (UVic).
I explore climate and gender justice theories of change in social movements and women-led collectives in Latin America. I work in long-term collaboration with women water and land defenders to centre their knowledges as educators and political actors and support their community organizing.
I draw on decolonial and feminist frameworks, community-engaged research, and critical qualitative methodologies. I am the Principal Investigator of Pedagogies for Climate and Gender Justice, an SSHRC-funded project that studies how women-led collectives conceptualize climate and gender activism and envision their role in enacting more livable futures.
Research Interests
- Climate and gender justice
- Adult learning and education
- Intergenerational learning
- Critical leadership studies
- Social movement learning and solidarity
- Decoloniality and intersectional feminisms
- Affect studies
Research Keywords
community-engaged research · climate justice · gender justice · decolonial feminist methodologies and pedagogies · social movement learning · adult education · affect theory · place-based pedagogy · popular education · land and water defenders
Supervision Experience
Dr. Diaz-Diaz supervises doctoral and master’s students interested in education, social movements, and climate and gender justice. Students’ research topics include climate and gender justice in women-led collectives, settlers’ efforts toward truth-telling and reconciliation, youth leadership and intergenerational learning, digital literacy and migrant women.
Current Research Projects
Pedagogies for Climate and Gender Justice
A community-based research project that examines the pedagogical practices and theories of change of women water protectors in Latin America, in collaboration with the ecofeminist organization Sur Territoria.
Cartographies of Interruption and Influence: Women’s Museums Responding to Gender-Based Violence
A feminist, arts-based collaboration that brings together scholars, museum educators, and curators to share educational and institutional strategies for addressing gender-based violence through the arts.
Childhood and Reading Difficult Knowledge
A collective of literacy mediators exploring creative pedagogies that help children engage with complex issues—such as environmental disparities, racism, and homophobia—through the works of local writers and poets.
Contact: claudia_diaz-diaz@sfu.ca
CLAUDIA DIAZ-DIAZ 