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Hanover, NH 03766 - 603.646.1626
- Drake University, Culture and Society, Faculty Memberadd
- Indigeneity, Transnational Social Work Practice/theory, Autonomy and Sovereignty, Affect/Emotion, Race And Ethnicity (in ) migration of indigenous people, Belonging, and 41 moreLocality, Transnationalism, Latino/A Studies, Transnational Social Media and Communication Technologies, Oaxaca (Anthropology), Migration, Development, Latino Studies, Los Angeles, Mestizaje, Metis, Indigenism, Indigenismo, Afro-Latin America, Two Spirit, Transnational Conflict, Ideologies of Progress, Zapotec Migration, Decolonial Methodologies, Critical Social Work, Zapotecs, Race and Ethnicity, Migration Studies, Immigration, Culture and society, Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Indigenous Peoples, Border Studies, Borderlands Studies, Ethnic Studies, Anthropology of Borders, Transnational migration, Latina/o Studies, Mobility/Mobilities, US-Mexico Borderlands, Indigenous Studies, Chicano Studies, Second Generation Immigrants, Borders and Borderlands, and Migration (Anthropology)edit
- I am a cultural anthropologist whose broad interests include transnational migration, indigeneity, conflict, developm... moreI am a cultural anthropologist whose broad interests include transnational migration, indigeneity, conflict, development, and social movements. I received my bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles before pursuing graduate work at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where I earned a joint Ph.D. in Social Work and Anthropology. I also hold a professional degree in Social Work (M.S.W), with a concentration in Health Policy and Evaluation also from the University of Michigan.edit
Research Interests:
The effects of colonization on the Indigenous peoples of the Americas over the past 500 years have varied greatly. So too have the forms of resistance, resilience, and sovereignty. In the face of these differences, the contributors to... more
The effects of colonization on the Indigenous peoples of the Americas over the past 500 years have varied greatly. So too have the forms of resistance, resilience, and sovereignty. In the face of these differences, the contributors to this volume contend that understanding the commonalities in these Indigenous experiences will strengthen resistance to colonial forces still at play. This volume marks a critical moment in bringing together transnational and interdisciplinary scholarship to articulate new ways of pursuing critical Indigenous studies.
Comparative Indigeneities of the Américas highlights intersecting themes such as indigenismo, mestizaje, migration, displacement, autonomy, sovereignty, spirituality, and healing that have historically shaped the experiences of Native peoples across the Americas. In doing so, it promotes a broader understanding of the relationships between Native communities in the United States and Canada and those in Latin America and the Caribbean and invites a broader understanding of the relationships between Native and mestiza/o peoples.
Through path-breaking approaches to transnational, multidisciplinary scholarship and theory, the chapters in this volume advance understandings of indigeneity in the Americas and lay a strong foundation for further research. This book will appeal to scholars and students in the fields of anthropology, literary and cultural studies, history, Native American and Indigenous studies, Chicana/o studies, and critical ethnic studies.
Ultimately, this deeply informative and empowering book demonstrates the various ways that Indigenous and mestiza/o peoples resist state and imperial attempts to erase, repress, circumscribe, and assimilate them.
Comparative Indigeneities of the Américas highlights intersecting themes such as indigenismo, mestizaje, migration, displacement, autonomy, sovereignty, spirituality, and healing that have historically shaped the experiences of Native peoples across the Americas. In doing so, it promotes a broader understanding of the relationships between Native communities in the United States and Canada and those in Latin America and the Caribbean and invites a broader understanding of the relationships between Native and mestiza/o peoples.
Through path-breaking approaches to transnational, multidisciplinary scholarship and theory, the chapters in this volume advance understandings of indigeneity in the Americas and lay a strong foundation for further research. This book will appeal to scholars and students in the fields of anthropology, literary and cultural studies, history, Native American and Indigenous studies, Chicana/o studies, and critical ethnic studies.
Ultimately, this deeply informative and empowering book demonstrates the various ways that Indigenous and mestiza/o peoples resist state and imperial attempts to erase, repress, circumscribe, and assimilate them.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Zapotecs constitute the largest group of Mexican indigenous migrants now living in the United States; the majority in California. Their experiences are shaped by racial and ethnic structures atypical of dominant groups. Cultural and... more
Zapotecs constitute the largest group of Mexican indigenous migrants now living in the United States; the majority in California. Their experiences are shaped by racial and ethnic structures atypical of dominant groups. Cultural and linguistic differences, as well as legal status, also shape their reception and adaptation and ability to claim belonging, even in death. Thus, funerary practices offers an example of the transformation of an already ethnically marked space into a space where they can re-create community, became a meaningful practice of belonging as Zapotecs.
This paper builds on linguistic anthropology and ethnographic insights on Zapotec experiences with transnational death. Specifically, we examine Zapotec practices surrounding transnational migrant deaths and the narratives that surround them, we show how these practices allow migrants living in the U.S. to maintain ties to their town of origin while also opening up transnational spaces (via social media) of mourning, transcending the limitations of national boundaries.
This paper builds on linguistic anthropology and ethnographic insights on Zapotec experiences with transnational death. Specifically, we examine Zapotec practices surrounding transnational migrant deaths and the narratives that surround them, we show how these practices allow migrants living in the U.S. to maintain ties to their town of origin while also opening up transnational spaces (via social media) of mourning, transcending the limitations of national boundaries.
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We explore how an ideologically diverse group of white students at Tulane University respond to evidence of racial inequality in post-Katrina New Orleans. In line with prior research, we find commonalities in racialized attitudes and... more
We explore how an ideologically diverse group of white students at Tulane University respond to evidence of racial inequality in post-Katrina New Orleans. In line with prior research, we find commonalities in racialized attitudes and behaviours between students whose racial ideologies otherwise differ. Drawing from anthropological theories of boundary construction and sociological work on colour-blind racism, we argue that the Otherization of non-whites is part of the everyday worldviews and social practices of white Americans. We draw on fieldwork in New Orleans to demonstrate that racist stereotypes and beliefs in racial difference continue to be transmitted within white social spaces. We find that even the most progressive Tulane students are engaged in the construction and reinforcement of symbolic and spatial boundaries between themselves and African Americans. This achieves the purpose for which racial stereotypes were originally constructed – namely, the persistence of racial inequality.
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This paper examines the problematic labels of deserving and undeserving within a broader context of undocumented immigration. Specifically, we interrogate the categorization of deservingness that imposes distinctions between “good” versus... more
This paper examines the problematic labels of deserving and undeserving within a broader context of undocumented immigration. Specifically, we interrogate the categorization of deservingness that imposes distinctions between “good” versus “bad” immigrants. We demonstrate these categories are assumed and subverted by undocumented youth in order to challenge disempowerment and racism experienced at both an interpersonal and institutional level. Our findings reveal how narratives of hard work and perseverance mitigate stigma to help youth reframe narratives of undeserving at a micro-level of analysis while at the macro-level racialization shapes individuals’ experiences and motivations for activism. The study highlights the narrative strategies used by youth to frame their narratives of inclusion and contributes to the scholarship of undocumented youth in higher education through its examination of the experiences of Latino undocumented students in northeastern elite private institutions.
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Preface to, De la Emigración al transtierro (Diásporas del Caribe hisnapnohablante en los Estados
Unidos). Written by Keiselim A. Montás. New York, NY: Escribana Books. 2015. Pp. 7-8.
Unidos). Written by Keiselim A. Montás. New York, NY: Escribana Books. 2015. Pp. 7-8.
This collaboratively written essay discusses the creation of the New England Consortium of Latina/oStudies (NECLS), which is now entering its fifth year. In the following pages we outline the history, vision, mission, leadership,... more
This collaboratively written essay discusses the creation of the New England Consortium of Latina/oStudies (NECLS), which is now entering its fifth year. In the following pages we outline the history, vision, mission, leadership, activities, and future of NECLS in the hopes that our coming together provides a community-building template for other Latina/o studies scholars who seek to create a scholarly collective in regions where they are socially and academically isolated yet in relative close proximity to potentially supportive colegas. Our Consortium brings together scholars whose research, teaching and/or activism is rooted in Latina/o studies and represents a direct response to (1) the shifting Latina/o demographic in New England, as well as within the national landscape in the new millennium; (2) the rapidly growing demand for courses and services for the institutionalization of Latina/o studies programs; and (3) the absence of Latina/o studies faculty mentoring organizations in the broader Northeast region in comparison to the Southwest and the West. In short, our primary objectives are to document the critical work that is taking place in the Northeast concerning the largest demographic minority in the nation and to feature the regional intellectual resources that we have in New England.
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Research Interests:
According to some scholars, we are living in a world where state borders are increasingly obsolete. This view holds that international borders are becoming so porous that they no longer fulfill their role as barriers to the movement of... more
According to some scholars, we are living in a world where state borders are increasingly obsolete. This view holds that international borders are becoming so porous that they no longer fulfill their role as barriers to the movement of goods, ideas, people, and as markers of the extent power of the state. Yet, border buildups and massive deportations suggest that they are all the more relevant and that the state's power has not diminished. Other social processes like the policing of black and brown bodies, the nativist political rhetoric that stigmatizes Latin@ migrants and privileges some refugees over others suggests that borders remain relevant at social levels, beyond the nation-state. This class provides a solid overview of the study of Borders and Boundaries from within anthropology and beyond. Important questions we will consider include: What are borders and borderlands? How have they been created? Do borders produce a particular kind of culture? How are borders artifacts of history and geography? How do borders change over time and what impact does change have on the lives of people? How are border people imagined, constructed, and exploited by individuals, governments, and corporations on both sides of the border? How do citizens of the borderlands themselves resist injustice and violence? In exploring these questions, we will consider various analytical and interdisciplinary approaches. This class will be conducted in a combination lecture/seminar format focusing on a detailed discussion of the required texts and questions provided in the syllabus. Lecture will provide necessary background for each set of readings, while discussion will allow students to think critically about the diverse issues presented by the lecture and readings. Students will create questions prior to class to help set tone for discussion. Students will be co-facilitators throughout the term. NOTE: This course counts toward sociology and ANSO theory-intensive requirements.
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The Camp Health Aide Program is a lay health promotion program for migrant and seasonal farmworkers. The program increases access to health care while facilitating leadership development and empowerment of individual farmworkers through... more
The Camp Health Aide Program is a lay health promotion program for migrant and seasonal farmworkers. The program increases access to health care while facilitating leadership development and empowerment of individual farmworkers through training and experience as lay health promoters (camp health aides [CHAs]). This article describes a study which documents impacts on the CHAs of working as lay health promoters in terms of changes in personal empowerment. The authors developed a working definition of personal empowerment and interviewed 27 CHAs at three program sites (Arizona, New Jersey, and Florida) at hree different times. CHAs are grouped in five descriptive categories reflecting varying degrees of change in empowerment over this period. Of the total group of 27 CHAs, 24 exhibited some increase in personal empowerment during the study period. These changes are described in detail, and implications are discussed.