Biography
Whether delving into street crime, incarceration, or mining companies in Latin America, sociology is about understanding the deeper structures of our lives. My classes explore the legal system, policing, prisons, borders/migration, and gender inequality. Previously, I taught at DePauw University and the University of San Diego.
I enjoy supporting students in their academic journey to integrate critical thinking and community engagement into their identities, supporting them to become leaders in different areas of their lives. I also regularly invite other working professionals, community organizers, activists and guest authors to my classes and to the ULV campus.
When teaching Senior Thesis (SOC 499), I guide students on how to convert their favorite topics into solo-authored empirical research papers that they present before graduating.
In my research, I interview and support indigenous people in Oaxaca, Mexico who are confronting large mining companies and other forms of dispossession. My first book will be based on this ethnographic research with defensores/as del territorio (land defenders) and community members in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.