Alejandro Nuñez is a doctoral student in the School of Social Welfare at UC Berkeley whose research bridges education policy, youth mental health, and critical theory. His work examines Social Emotional Learning (SEL) through the lens of ideology and hegemony, exploring how SEL policy normalizes and standardizes particular conceptions of youth emotion and behavior. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, he examines how SEL policy and guidance define and constrain what counts as healthy youth emotion and development. Approaching youth well-being through a structural and materialist lens, his work centers the political and economic conditions that shape young people's lives and give rise to youth mental distress, grounded in the everyday material realities young people actually live. His research also evaluates SEL's potential to advance a more materialist, structuralist, and racially just approach to youth well-being, one rooted in collective care and critical-political engagement. When not working on research, he enjoys taking walks with his dog, Ellie, around Lake Merritt, or gaming with friends.
Department and Institution:
School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley
Bio/CV:
