Kum-Kum Bhavnani is Professor of Sociology and Affiliate Professor with Feminist Studies and with Global and International Studies, where she is Chair of the interdisciplinary program in Women, Culture, Development. She completed her first degree, a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Psychology at the University of Bristol, completed her M.A. in Child and Educational Psychology at the University of Nottingham. Her PhD (1983-1987) was awarded in 1988 by Cambridge University (King’s College). She came to the University of California Santa Barbara in 1991.
Over the course of her career she has published or co-edited a number of books, numerous articles and book chapters, and has also guest edited Special Issues of Signs and Feminism and Psychology. Her books and co-edited volumes include Talking Politics (Cambridge University Press), Feminism and ‘Race’ (Oxford University Press), Feminist Futures (Zed Press) and On the Edges of Development (Routledge). She was the Inaugural Editor for Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism from 2000-2002 at Smith College, MA. In 2006, she premiered first feature length, award-winning documentary, The Shape of Water, her, based on her scholarly research in Senegal, Brazil, India and Jerusalem, (http://www.theshapeofwatermovie.com), narrated by Susan Sarandon. She premiered Nothing Like Chocolate in 2012 (http://nothinglikechocolate.com) and Lutah (http://www.lutah.org/lutah-a-passion-for-architecture-a-life-in-design.php) in 2014.