Chris Bobel

Chris Bobel likes to study what is often ignored, silenced or shamed.

Chris is Professor of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston where she teaches courses on Gender & the Body, Feminist Theory, Feminist Research Methods, Gender & Race in US Social Movements and Feminist Activism. During 2024-25, she designed and taught courses in the Gender Studies PhD program at Kadir Has University in Istanbul, Turkey as a Fulbright Senior Lecturer.

Her scholarship lies at the intersection of social movements, gender, health, embodiment, and more recently, emotions. She is fascinated by the diverse ways activists understand themselves, the issues they address and the transformative power of engaging in social change work.

She is currently at work on a book exploring what she is calling "accidental activism"--contemporary activism inspired by grief and trauma. The book draws on in depth interviews with 70+ grieving activists as well as Chris' story of the death of her teenage daughter Gracie in 2010 and the grief journey she has been walking since.

Chris is often quoted in the mainstream media about the rapidly growing menstrual activist movement including. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Time, NPR, USA Today, The Atlantic, El Mundo, Agence France-Presse, and the Associated Press, among others.