Picture of a brown-skinned person starting to smile at the camera, their long black and brown hair falling past their shoulders. They are wearing a black shirt, and are standing against a yellow wall with green foliage in the background.
Hi, I'm Kim!
I am a researcher, writer and educator interested in how the body meets and moves through the world. Trained as a cultural anthropologist, my work lies at the intersections of disability, data, and emerging technologies.
I’m an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Brown University. I am also an affiliate at Data & Society and the DISCO (Digital Inquiry, Speculation, Collaboration, and Optimism) Network. I am the Managing Editor of Platypus, an interdisciplinary science studies blog. I hold a joint PhD (with distinction) in Anthropology & Education from the University of Pennsylvania.
My interdisciplinary research is situated between disability studies, science and technology studies, medical anthropology, and critical data studies. My current book project, Quantifying the Body: Disability, Data and Governance in Urban India examines who comes to be counted by the state as disabled, and how this work of making oneself legible to the state impacts peoples’ everyday lives. This work has been generously supported by the Social Science Research Council’s International Dissertation Research Fellowship, the Taraknath Das Foundation’s Marion Jemmott Fellowship, the Center for the Advanced Study of India, the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy, the Mellon Humanities, Urbanism and Design Initiative, and the SNF Paideia Program, among others. It has also been named as a finalist for the 2025 Gail P. Kelly Award for Outstanding Dissertation.If you’d like to learn more about my work, explore potential collaborations, or chat about shared interests, you can contact me at kim_fernandes@brown.edu.Recent Updates
Sep 25: I will be co-organizing several panels at 4S — one with Randy Burson, “Corporeal Quantification: Numerical Negotiations with/and/of the Body,” and another series with Joy Ming, Lucy Pei and Rosemary Steup, “Reclaiming the Future of Work.”
Aug 25: I began a new position as an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Brown University.
Jul 25: I was elected to the Society for Disability Studies’ Board of Directors, and will begin serving in this role as of Sept 1.
Apr 25: I was selected for the Ann Johnson Institute’s 2025 Book Manuscript Workshop program!
Feb 25: I am excited to join the community of 2025 DISCO Network Affiliates!
Jan 25: Aparna Nair and I received funding for a 2025 working group on empire and enumeration, from the from the Office of the Vice-Principal Research & Innovation (University of Toronto, Scarborough). Please get in touch if these topics interest you and you’d like to participate!
Dec 24: Together with Winifred Poster and Karina Rider, I co-organized the LaborTech Research Network’s End of Year showcase.
Nov 24: At CSCW 2024, I co-led a Special Interest Group on organizing for more just and inclusive futures with disability justice at the center.