Professor Dr. Ilā Ravichandran

Biography

Ilā Ravichandran is an assistant professor of legal studies at the University of Washington, Tacoma. As an interdisciplinary sociologist, she works at the intersections of feminist studies, critical carceral studies, legal studies, Black studies, and science & technology studies. Her research focuses on the intersections of science and law, particularly engaging with the global policing apparatus. Currently, her multi-method inquiry analyzes the expanded use of genetics and genomics as tools for racialized policing, with particular attention to assemblages that converge to promote this apparatus. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Social Science Research Network. Ilā is a co-author of the book 'Imperial Policing: Weaponized Data in Carceral Chicago' published by the University of Minnesota Press. Additionally, she is a visual artist and urban farmer, orienting her life's work towards liberatory imaginative futures.

Research Interests