Presented in collaboration with UCLA Campus Advocacy Resources & Education (CARE), the November 19 event will explore sex, power, consent and the role of community in preventing sexual violence on college campuses.
LOS ANGELES, CA – The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (TFT), in collaboration with UCLA Campus Advocacy Resources & Education (CARE), will welcome acclaimed sociologist, author and TFT Executive Board member Shamus Khan to campus on November 19, 2026, for a special edition of TFT Reads, the School’s shared reading and conversation series.
The event will spotlight Sexual Citizens: A Landmark Study of Sex, Power, and Assault on Campus, co-authored by Khan and Jennifer S. Hirsch. The book, named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020, is an examination of the social and institutional forces that shape sexual experiences and sexual violence among college students.
Designed to bring students, faculty and staff together through the power of scholarship and dialogue, TFT Reads encourages the School’s community to engage with important works and participate in meaningful conversations with the authors behind them. This second edition of the series is open to all UCLA students and offers a special chance to hear from Khan, Professor of Sociology and American Studies at Princeton University and prolific writer whose work has appeared in numerous national and international outlets including The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post.
“At TFT, we believe that education is about developing our creative and intellectual capacities while cultivating the empathy, awareness and sense of responsibility that inspire us to care for one another,” said Celine Parreñas Shimizu, Dean of UCLA TFT and Distinguished Professor of Film, Television and Digital Media. “Welcoming Shamus Khan to our campus for TFT Reads is an extraordinary opportunity to engage with scholarship that asks us to confront difficult truths, question deeply rooted assumptions and imagine how we can build a more informed, compassionate and accountable community.”
Sexual Citizens draws on comprehensive research conducted through Columbia University’s Sexual Health Initiative to Foster Transformation (SHIFT), a project examining the individual, interpersonal, and structural factors that shape sexual health and sexual violence for undergraduates at Columbia and Barnard College. Kahn and Hirsch draw on the ethnographic component of the SHIFT research that they co-led, consisting of over 150 student and student group interviews, and time spent in student spaces.
The November 19 event will feature an in-depth conversation with Khan, joined by TFT associate professor and Equity Advisor Jasmine Nadua Trice and Angela Rivera, LCSW, a trauma informed clinician at the Compassionate Response (CORE) and former staff at the Santa Monica Rape Treatment Center. Shimizu, a leading scholar whose research explores race, sexuality, gender and representation, will moderate.
The discussion will explore the book’s central findings and their implications for college communities, inviting attendees to consider how education, cultural awareness and collective responsibility can contribute to safer, more equitable environments.
“As a scholar whose work has long examined the intersections of gender, sexuality, power and representation, I recognize the profound importance of creating spaces where difficult conversations can lead to deeper understanding and meaningful change,” Shimizu added. “We must not shy away from the difficult work of building the structures of support and accountability needed to turn these conversations into meaningful change”
Recognizing the sensitive nature of the subject matter, TFT is partnering with CARE, UCLA’s confidential resource for advocacy, healing and education related to sexual and gender-based violence. The partnership reflects a shared commitment to approaching these conversations with sensitivity, compassion and an awareness of the diverse experiences participants may bring to the discussion.
“Conversations about sexual violence require both courage and care,” said Rivera. “By bringing together rigorous scholarship, thoughtful dialogue and campus resources, this collaboration creates an opportunity to deepen our understanding of sexual violence while centering the emotional well-being of our community. Our hope is that participants leave with new perspectives, and a stronger sense of how we can support one another and contribute to a campus culture rooted in respect, safety and belonging.”
TFT will maintain focus on the topic of bodily self-determination and social transformation throughout the academic year. In winter 2027, the Theater department will facilitate a closed expert-led workshop that educates graduate students on building a culture of consent in performance spaces. In spring 2027, Liliana Padilla’s play How to Defend Yourself that confronts questions of desire, power and safety will be staged followed by an audience talkback.
About UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (TFT) is a premier global interdisciplinary professional school, dedicated to developing visionary creators, industry leaders and scholars whose diverse and innovative voices inspire change for a better world. Consistently ranked among the world’s top entertainment and performing arts institutions, TFT offers a dynamic curriculum advancing the study and creation of live performance, film, television, digital media, and emerging algorithmic technologies. Its distinguished bachelor’s and Master’s degrees span acting, directing, writing, producing, animation, cinematography, design (costume, lighting, set, and sound), and research-based professions in arts institutions and archives. TFT’s doctoral alumni in theater and performance studies, as well as cinema and media studies, teach at leading universities in the U.S. and around the world.
About UCLA Campus Advocacy Resources & Education
UCLA Campus Advocacy Resources & Education (CARE) champions a vision of a campus free from sexual and gender-based violence and rooted in equity, dignity, and collective well-being. Guided by an anti-oppression framework, CARE is dedicated to building and sustaining a community where all people can thrive in safety and respect. Our work encompasses three interconnected service areas—Education, Advocacy, and Healing—which together address primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of prevention and support. By cultivating compassion, expanding knowledge, and strengthening individual and collective resilience, CARE advances meaningful culture change and promotes a safer, healthier, and more just UCLA community.
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