Briana Bivens, Ph.D.

Research Interests:
History of Education, Informal and Nonformal Education, Social Justice in Education

Dr. Briana M. Bivens is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Teachers, Schools, and Society at the University of Florida, where she teaches courses in the history and social foundations of education. Her teaching is informed by an expansive and interdisciplinary notion of education. In addition to her education courses at UF, she has taught in women’s and gender studies and child, youth, and family studies.

Building on her time as a community-based educator and organizer in Georgia, Dr. Bivens’ scholarship focuses on the theory and history of community-based education, youth political education, and sustainable movement-building. Her current book-length project draws on archival, oral history, and community-engaged methods to document and analyze the history of child and youth work at the Highlander Research and Education Center. She is especially interested in how the care and political education of young people have supported, and can continue to support, the sustainability of social movements.