Anat Schwartz

Women’s Studies Professor Works to Combat South Bay Gender and Justice Issues
*By Larry R. Hygh, Jr., Ed.D.

“I’m hoping to grow our course offerings and deepen our ties to community organizations that work on gender and justice issues in the South Bay,” says Anat Schwartz, Assistant Professor in Women’s Studies department at California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). “I want to deepen these connections with our immediate community surrounding the campus.”

Schwartz is teaching the courses: Foundations in Women’s Studies; Feminist Principles; Feminist Research Methods; and a special topics course Gender, Justice and Community Organizing. “I’m hoping to be a space where students can find solidarity and support in the classroom and beyond,” she says.

Schwartz’s research interests include South Korean anti-sexual violence activism, digital technologies, feminist organizational studies, transnational anti-feminist backlash, and community-based research.

Schwartz participated in the California State University (CSU) Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program (CDIP) at California State University Long Beach (CSULB). “I was always interested in working at a CSU for the quality education it provides for all students.” CDIP prepares promising doctoral students for careers as CSU faculty. Its mission is to ensure that the CSU future faculty pool can meet the demands of its student body through teaching and research. CDIP Fellows receive mentorship from CSU faculty, professional development and financial support in the form grants and loans.

Schwartz cites Sara Ahmed as an influence. Ahmed is a British-Australian writer and scholar whose area of study includes the intersection of feminist theory, lesbian feminism, queer theory, affect theory, critical race theory, and postcolonialism. Schwartz read Ahmed’s “Living A Feminist Life” in 2017 while doing some research abroad. “It spoke to her way of life and finding balance as a feminist scholar and researcher,” she says. “It’s a challenge to balance the things you want to do with the things you have to do…Finding the balance between all of the different things that we want to accomplish and do, given all of the limitations we have as an institution is a challenge.”

Schwartz earned a Ph.D. in East Asian Studies with a feminist emphasis from the University of California Irvine (UCI), and a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies with a minor in Anthropology from Temple University. Prior to CUSDH, she was a Lecturer at CSULB in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and a Lecturer at UCI.

Scwartz, a native of Israel, is fluent in Hebrew and speaks advanced Korean. She is a member of the Association for Asian Studies, National Women’s Studies Association, and the Modern Language Association.

What’s the best part of being at CSUDH?
“The students and the camaraderie with fellow faculty. We are a small department.”

What advice do you have for students?
“Try out courses in different departments that you never would have thought of before. Step out of your comfort zone and come and talk to your professors about their path. Make the most of being a student.”

What do you like doing outside of being a professor/hobbies
Schwartz is the Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer for California Queer History, a grassroots digital humanities nonprofit dedicated to collecting, preserving, and presenting the history of queer LGBTQIA+, and gender and sexual-nonconforming groups in California.

She enjoys going on walks with her dog, Reo, and does standup paddleboarding with Reo. She also describes herself as a bookworm who loves reading.

Website/Instagram
www.anatschwartz.com
www.CaliforniaQueerHistory.org
@reomcfurry (Schwartz’s Dog Reo)

*Hygh is an Assistant Professor in the Communications Department teaching in the Advertising and Public Relations degree program. Prior to academia he spent 20 plus years as chief communications officer in The United Methodist Church. Visit him on the web at www.LarryHygh.com.