Nina M. Flores

Dr. Flores is proud to be a lifelong product of the California public education system, from K-12 to her PhD in Urban Planning from UCLA. Her classes are based in critical pedagogies, engage students in deep analyses of wide-ranging issues, and explore the broader themes of justice, power, and resistance. Dr. Flores uses current and community events to anchor academic ideas in everyday life. 

Dr. Flores was named as a fellow with the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement in support of her research project titled Tweets, Threats, and Censorship: Campus Resources to Support Faculty Through Incidents of Targeted Harassment. Her research agenda about online and on-the-ground harassment examines issues of gendered public space, harassment at conferences, and looks to how people use twitter to share, document, and organize against street harassment. Recently, she completed a sex education certification, and is engaged in new research that examines sex education as an issue of equity and justice.

Dr. Flores is a past fellow with The OpEd Project, and her public writing has been featured in national outlets such as the Washington PostHuffington Post, Ms. Magazine BlogYES! MagazineProgressive Planning Magazine, and the OC Weekly.

Ph.D., Urban Planning, UCLA, graduate certificate in Gender Studies
MA, Social & Cultural Analysis, CSULB, dual concentration in Urban and Comparative/International Education
MA, Political Science, San Diego State University, coursework focus in public policy and international relations
BA, Political Science, CSULB, concentration in public law; minor in communications

Dr. Flores uses an interdisciplinary approach to her research and teaching drawn from her graduate training in political science, education, and urban planning. Learn more about her research here. Research interests include:

  • Gender-Based Violence (street harassment, sexual assault)
  • Targeted Harassment of Faculty (free speech and silencing and self-censorship effect)
  • Sex Education
  • Pedagogy of the Body
  • Critical and Spatial Pedagogies
  • Student Activism and Organizing
  • Campuses as Communities
  • Biracial Identity

Representative Academic Publications:

2022    Flores, N.M. "Teaching, learning, and relationships to space: Toward a spatially engaged pedagogy" in Erualdo Gonzalez Romero, Zuniga, E. M., Hernandez, A. C. & Torres, R. D. (eds.) Gentrification, Displacement, and Alternative Futures. Routledge: New York, NY.

2021     Lee, C. A., Flores, N. M., & Hom, L. Learning From Asian Americans: Implications for Planning. Journal of Planning Education & Research, first published online March 31, 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X211006768

2021    Flores, N. M. Tweets, Threats & Censorship: Campus Resources to Support Faculty Through Incidents of Targeted Harassment. UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement. Permanent Link: https://issuu.com/ccowper/docs/flores_-_tweets_threats_and_censorship_2_

2020    Flores, N. M. Harassment at Conferences: Will #MeToo Momentum Translate to Real Change? Gender & Education, 32(1), 137-144.

2020    Flores, N. M. "Street Harassment: Old Issue, Ongoing Struggle, New Movement" in Tom Angotti (ed.) Transformative Planning: Radical Alternatives to Neoliberal Urbanism. Black Rose Books: Chicago, IL. 

2020    "Reimagining Citizen Science for Women's Human Security: Shifting Power with Critical Pedagogy and Feminist Perspectives" in Richard Matthews, et al (eds.) Women and Human Security (book chapter with Tera Dornfeld) *In Press*

2019    Flores, N. M. "A Love Letter to My Racial Affinity Group" in the anthology Our Voices Our Stories: Advancing, Celebrating, Embracing and Empowering Girls and Women of Color. National Girls and Women of Color Council, Inc.

2017    Flores, N. M. Tweeting the Gendered City: Analysis of Harassment, Reflections on Justice. Journal of Critical Thought and Praxis, 6(3), 115-127.

2015    Flores, N. M. “Campus Sexual Assault: Myths, Facts, and Controversies” in Shira Tarrant (ed.) Gender, Sex, and Politics: In the Streets and Between the Sheets in the 21st Century, New York: Routledge.

2015     Flores, Nina M & Wong, Karna. Protecting the Rights of Massage Parlor Workers. CSW Policy Briefs, August (2015). UCLA: UCLA Center for the Study of Women.

2014    “Gendered Public Spaces: Examining Cities Through the Nature-Culture Dichotomy,” escholarship. UCLA: UCLA Center for the Study of Women.

Representative Popular Publications:

2016    "La Sierra University Latest Campus to Face Allegations of Mishandled Sexual Assault Cases," for Huffington Post

2015    “17 Ways We Can Work Toward Justice for All,” for YES! Magazine

2015    “50 Ways to Up Your Critical Analysis Game,” blog post for Medium

2014    “As a Teacher, I Fought Predatory For-Profit Schools from the Inside,” opinion piece in Washington Post; reprinted in Miami HeraldValley NewsNewsday, and Herald & News.

2013    “How is Your College Improving Sexual Assault Policies? #AskYourCampus,” opinion blog for The Huffington Post

2013    “Beyond the ‘Secularism Tic’: An Interview with Feminist Philosopher Sandra Harding,” article for Ms. Magazine Blog

2013    “One Year Later: Fear Control, and Police Brutality in Anaheim,” opinion blog for The Huffington Post

2013    “Law Doesn’t Make It Right: Suppressing Votes Suppresses Democracy,” opinion blog for The Huffington Post

2013     “Inspired By Wendy Davis? Run for Office,” opinion blog for The Huffington Post

2013    “Campus-based Sexual Assault Coalition Fights Back,” opinion blog for The Huffington Post

2012    “A California College Hopes to Model Best Sexual Assault Practices,” opinion blog for Ms. Magazine Blog

Recent Conference Presentations

2021    Paper, "I Second that Emotion: Experiences Using Engaged Pedagogies and Emotional Intelligence in Planning Education," at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Annual Conference (presented online)

2020    Paper, "Championing Student Agency: From Sharing Classroom Power to Sharing Work with the Public," at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Annual Conference (presented online).

2019    Presentation, "Preparing Students for the Potential Peril of Joining the Public Conversation Online," at the Teaching, Learning & Technology Conference in Harrisonburg, VA.

2019    Paper, "Public Harassment from Street to Screen," at the National Women's Studies Association annual meeting in San Francisco, CA.

2019    Panelist, "Improving Faculty Responses to Student Disclosures of Predatory Violence," at the 24th annual International Summit on Violence, Abuse & Trauma in San Diego, CA.

2019    Panelist, "Shaking Up the Idea of 'Progressive Planning': The Case of the Radical Planning Escuelita," at the Urban Affairs Association annual meeting in Los Angeles, CA.

2018    Paper Presentation, "Toward a Typology of Public Harassment" at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning annual meeting in Buffalo, NY.

2018    Paper Presentation, "Seeking Spaces of Mixed Race Resistance: Connecting Campus to Community," at the Critical Mixed Race Studies conference in College Park, MD.

2018    Panelist, "Sex and Social Media: The Politics of Free Speech. CatlystCon in Los Angeles, CA

2017    Roundtable, "Hope and Struggle: Jackie Leavitt and the Fight for Radical Planning," at Spaces of Struggle: A Mini-Conference on Radical Planning in Denver, Co.

2017    Roundtable, "Indigenous Feminisms: Keywords in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Crisis," at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning annual meeting in Denver, CO.

2016    Paper presentation, "On Pedagogy and Practice: Lessons Learned Conducting Social Media Research," at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning annual meeting in Portland, OR.

2016    Roundtable, "Opinion Writing, Blogs, and Social Media: The Potential Peril of Contributing to the Public Conversation," at the Western Political Science Association Conference in San Diego, CA.

2015    Paper presentation, "#Resistance to Street Harassment: Contextualizing On-Line Actions in a New Era of Women's Resistance in Public Space," at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning annual meeting in Houston, TX.

2015    Paper presentation, “A Qualitative Approach to Social Justice-Based Twitter Research,” at the Social Equity Leadership Conference in Nashville, TN.

2015    Paper presentation, “#Resistance to Street Harassment: On-line Activism, On-the-Ground Action Agendas,” presented at the Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, NV.

2015    Roundtable, “Interdisciplinarity and Intersectionality,” at the Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, NV.

2014    Paper presentation, “Freirian-Feminist Pedagogy: Coming Soon to a City Near You,” at the Californian Association of Freirean Educators conference in Los Angeles, CA.

2014    Paper presentation, “Gendered Public Spaces: Examining Cities through the Nature-Culture Dichotomy,” at the Thinking Gender conference at UCLA.

2013    Paper presentation, “One Word, One Meaning?” There’s More than One Rung on the ‘Ladder of Empowerment’,” at the Comparative and International Education Society Western Regional Conference, Los Angeles, CA.
 

Invited Speaking and Guest Lectures

2022    Invited Presentation for the Equity & Public Affairs Training at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs titled More Than Words: Critical Race Studies and Critical Pedagogies.

2021    Invited presentation (with Dr. Nina Wooldridge) for the California Global Education Project titled Practices to Foster Radical Love and a Community of Care for Our Students and Ourselves.

2020    Invited presentation for the University of Oklahoma Urban Planning Department titled Gawking, Stalking, and Doxxing — Oh My! Gender-Based Harassment from the Street to the Screen.

2019     Keynote Speaker for WomenShelter of Long Beach's 2nd Annual Building Healthy Relationships Through Prevention Education Youth Conference. 

2019     Invited speaker at Demography, Redistricting & Power: A Symposium in Honor of Dr. Leobardo Estrada, hosted by the Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA.

2018     Invited Speaker for the American Association of University Women, Long Beach titled Gawking, Stalking, and Doxxing — Oh My! Gender-Based Harassment from the Street to the Screen.

2018    Gentrification 101 in Southern California. Invited presentation for the Deconstructing Diversity Initiative (DDI) at the University of California Irvine.

2018    A Rare Lesson on Justice From a Jury. Invited keynote speaker for the Emerging Scholars in Social Justice Conference, California State University Long Beach. 

2018    Resistance Through Research Methods. Invited Speaker at the Resistance Through Research Conference, University of California Los Angeles.

2017    Gawking, Stalking, and Doxxing — Oh My! Gender-Based Harassment from the Street to the Screen. Invited speaker at Cypress College, Cypress, CA.

2016    Guest Lecture, #Resistance to Street Harassment: Contextualizing On-Line Actions in a New Era of Women's Resistance in Public Space" for the course Urban Transportation Planning, School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia.

2016    Speaker, 3rd Annual Women's Conference, California State University Dominguez Hills 

2014    Speaker, “Grassroots & Media Activism,” Gender Justice in the 2014 Election, San Diego State University.

2014    Speaker, “Street Harassment and Sexual Assault,” Department of Social Work, California State University Northridge.

 

Member, President's Commision on Sustainability (2019-2021)

Member, Coordinated Community Response Team (CCRT)

Chair, President's Commission on the Status of Women (2017-18)

CSULB Moot Court Program

Graduate Courses in the Social & Cultural Analysis of Education program:

SCAE 550: Foundations of Social & Cultural Analysis of Education

SCAE 551: Critical Pedagogies

SCAE 560: History of Social & Educational (In)equality

SCAE 561: Urban Education Policy

SCAE 566: Education & Global (In)equality

SCAE 567: Educational Issues in Global Perspective

SCAE 568: Globalization & Educational Reform

SCAE 695: Social & Cultural Analysis of Education Capstone

Teaching with the Liberal Studies Department:

L/ST 111: Critical Thinking & Public Education