Since Fall 2023, Felicia has been an Assistant Professor of Chicanx Latinx Studies
at Cal State Long Beach.
Felicia is an educator that has worked in various settings and schools since 2001. She has been a college lecturer/adjunct professor since 2018. She has also worked as a secondary school substitute teacher from 2001-2006 working in East Los Angeles area secondary schools and helping to organize educational and empowering assemblies and programming within the schools. She has also conducted creative writing, poetry, and ‘zine workshops in afterschool programs and conferences with various schools, universities, non-profit arts and social service agencies.
At the college level Felicia has taught at UC Santa Barbara and East LA College and currently Cal State LA and Cal State Dominguez Hills.
She is available to teach college level Chicana/o/x Studies, Ethnic Studies, and Women’s Studies courses. Her area of study and interest is Chicana/o/x art, Chicana/o/x culture, Chicana/o/x poetry and literature, performance & cultural studies, Chicana feminisms, Chicana spirituality/religions, Mesoamerican Art and spiritualities/religions and more.
Felicia holds a B.A from UCLA in World Arts & Cultures with a minor in Chican@ Studies, a M.A in Chican@ Studies from Cal State Northridge, and a M.F.A from Otis College of Art & Design in Public Practice Art.
Please contact Felicia directly for more information: feliciafemontes@gmail.com
Education
Master of Fine Arts, Public Practice 2011 Otis College of Art & Design
Area of Specialization – Multidisciplinary social/public art practice, including visual art, film, installation, and performance.
Master of Arts, Chicana/o Studies 2009 California State University Northridge
Area of Specialization: Organizing and documenting the L.A. women’s art group Mujeres de Maiz. Focus on art & spirituality.
Bachelor of Arts, World Arts and Cultures 1999 University of California, Los Angeles
Minor in Chicana/o Studies. Area of Specialization – Xicana feminist arts and literature.
Teaching Experience
Assistant Professor Cal State Long Beach Fall 2023-Present
Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Chicana/o Latinx Arts and Social Practice. Conducted lectures and activities, as well as grading and service. Classes include Introduction to Ethnic Studies and Introduction to Chicano/a Latina/o Studies. Organized three events on campus in Spring 2024. Received funding for three events and conference travel.
More about Fe’s work in Education from her…
“My teaching and research interests include art history, cultural studies, Mesoamerican religions and art, gender and women’s studies, spirituality, religion, social movements, creative writing, poetry, folklore, and performance studies. One of my passions is to connect these areas in and out of the classroom. I have done that with the non-profit I co-founded in 1997 Mujeres de Maiz and I am always eager to build bridges with the work and students.
One of the key classes I teach often is an Introduction to Ethnic Studies where I focus on the experiences of Chicana/os, gender and intersectional identities, ethnicity, anti-racism, social justice and liberation struggles in solidarity with other people of color. As a lecturer at various colleges and universities for the last four years, I have created engaging and inclusive environments that support student learning. In addition to lecturing at CSULA, my experience also includes teaching Chicana/o/x Art at UC Santa Barbara in 2012 and Chicano Politics at East LA College in 2012. My classes always employ community engaged scholarship and action-based research as well as creative endeavors tied to the community and the student’s interests. For example, I have students work on community case studies and reports as well as mural critiques and mural planning in groups or have access to attend or support my own or other non profit programming. Some of the work is shared with local non profits for their possible use. Students also choose their topic and interests giving them ownership of their research interests.
This work is not a job for me but a deep calling, a responsibility, and an honor. I come from generations of social justice advocates. My parents attended ELAC in the late 1960’s. They advocated for Chicano Studies courses and were active in student groups and events often discussed in ethnic studies classes. My family and I are dedicated to the community of Los Angeles and the generations of connected families and we continue to advocate for these families and support efforts on and off campus. My long standing work in the local activist, academic, and arts community over the last 25 years as well as my deep connection to the Chicano/a/x movement and is a huge asset to any department and college.
My peer observations and student and course evaluations have all been outstanding and commendable and I regularly receive messages of gratitude and support from students. As faculty, I continuously work to improve my skills by attending professional development training. I have completed various workshops and certificates on college teaching related to Canvas and online teaching and pedagogy. Even as a lecturer, I participate regularly in Department meetings and have been a part of various campus cultural event planning committees. I also participated in the committee meetings at the start of the new College of Ethnic Studies.
In addition to college classrooms, I worked as a substitute teacher for more than five years within the Los Angeles Unified School District in both middle and high schools where I taught Social Studies and English courses and helped to organize educational assemblies with different schools and teachers. I was a “preferred sub” because of my skills in cultural competence and building a classroom community. Along with this work, I have worked in various arts education and school programs as a teaching artist with various populations of young people from different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds to help them express themselves through different mediums. Each of these programs connected art, cultural diversity, and highlighted important issues in the community. These experiences will inevitably support my ability to successfully teach dual enrollment courses.
I also bring a wealth of knowledge in curriculum development and community engagement. I developed two courses, “Contemporary Chicana/o/x Art” and “Healing Traditions in Chicana/o/x Latinx Communities” for the Chicana(o) Latina(o) Studies department at Cal State LA and I have studied curriculum development and curriculum mapping activities, including development and assessment of course learning outcomes. Moreover, since 1996 I have worked with the key Chicana/o community organizations across the greater Eastside including Proyecto Pastoral, Homeboy Industries, United Farm Workers, and many more. I am more than willing and very excited to connect these organizations with the students as well as support student interests, activities, and groups.
My teaching philosophy is rooted in the belief that all people have embodied knowledge and cultural wealth. I make sure that my classroom remains student-centered, making it a safe space as we discuss and attempt to dismantle the intersecting issues of racism, classism and sexism. I truly believe that it is important to validate and support the process of each student’s consciousness raising and journey. Through using active learning techniques I am able to make sure all students participate, support one another as peer educators, and apply their scholarship beyond the classroom including bringing in open education resources as well as new technologies such as social media.
I am eager and qualified to teach a variety of classes at the university level and am especially interested in classes focusing on the arts, cultural studies, social/public practice art, gender, social justice, and intersectionality. My extensive background gives me the experience and knowledge to teach specific classes in Chicano/a healthcare, literature, folklore, gender and sexuality, art (pre columbian to modern), film, religion, and politics.
In my varied experiences and paths I have always connected different communities including students, universities, government and private agencies, schools, artists, activists, and the community at large to bring respect, quality, and integrity to the creative collaborative educational partnerships we create.”