About & Credits

Who we are as a class: 

We are the Critical Theory & Social Justice 259-1625: Bodies for Exchange: Migrations, Markets, Politics here at Occidental College 

• • This interdisciplinary course investigates how bodies are bought, sold, circulated, exploited, and resisted within global systems of power. We explore trafficking not just as a crime, but as a political and economic logic embedded in border regimes, labor markets, elite networks, and cultural ideologies. With a theory-forward approach grounded in racial capitalism, feminist political economy, and post/decolonial critique, students will analyze current practices such as agricultural labor trafficking, elite sexual exploitation networks, unaccompanied minor detention, scam-compound enslavement, and more. Students will produce research and policy-oriented recommendations for real-world application.

1. Course Objectives 

   • Apply critical theory to analyze historical and contemporary forms of human trafficking.

   • Interrogate the role of race, gender, class, and empire in bodily commodification.

   • Synthesize investigative journalism and academic theory to evaluate trafficking systems.

   • Develop policy interventions informed by survivor-centered, decolonial, and justice-based frameworks.

2. Student Learning Outcomes 

   • Compose short policy memos grounded in weekly readings and case studies.

   • Complete a research brief connecting a trafficking issue with policy interventions.

   • Contribute meaningfully to discussions about ethics, representation, and justice.

   • Deliver a final presentation or policy simulation to synthesize applied learning.

• As our final project, we, as a class, are building a public-facing, research-grounded site that synthesizes scholarship on trafficking, law, data, and lived realities, clearly presented to lay readers while remaining rigorous enough for policy and academic use.

Professor Mary Christianakis, Ph.D.

Andrea Ibarra 
Ozmhara Guadalupe Guzman Morales

Anderson Conkle

Angus Parkhill

Day Rhizal 

Lee Chaloemtiarana

Samantha Palacio

        Sienna Tandon

Ruby McDonald

Evan Zeltzer

Sophia Celi

Lensa Taha

Kimaya Hegde

Ben Martinez

Disclaimers: 

This website is operated by students for educational and informational purposes only. By accessing or using this site, you agree to the following Terms of Service. Please read them carefully before using the site.

While this site is meant to be an educational resource, this website covers difficult topics such as abuse and exploitation. Children should request parental permission before using this website, and we do not recommend this site for any specific age group. We are not responsible for how the content on this site is used, nor how it may be used by visitors. 

This website is not an official publication of Occidental College, nor is associated with the college itself, faculty, or associates, and does not reflect or represent any endorsement of views, values, or affiliations with organizations or people shown or stated on the pages themselves, or through hyperlinks. This website is not affiliated with any governmental entity or organization. Any material shown is for educational purposes only, and the sole goal of this site is for education. There is no affiliation with any organization or survivor groups highlighted on this website, and all questions about these groups should go to the respective organization. We do not partner with, and are not funded by any organization/group. 

If you wish to report known trafficking, please see the resources page, or use: https://globalmodernslavery.org/ to report to organizations in your country.

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