PhD Student (Latin America and the Caribbean)
I am a third-year doctoral student in the History Department at UC Berkeley, and my research focuses on Indigenous (Taíno) Caribbean history during the early modern period. While my research currently emphasizes the sixteenth century, I am also interested in the ways that colonial discourse on race has impacted present-day understandings of Indigeneity, mainly the enduring myth of “Indigenous Caribbean Extinction.” I seek to employ archaeological methods in addition to historical methods to better grasp the material and economic conditions of the Caribbean at the time of the tripartite encounter among Indigenous American, European, and African peoples. My geographic concentration is on the Cuban Oriente.
I am happy to answer any questions that prospective applicants may have about the UC Berkeley history graduate program or history graduate programs, in general. Please email me at mrwasserman@berkeley.edu with questions or to set up a meeting in person or over Zoom. It is important to me that prospective applicants of all backgrounds receive support in the application process.
Research Interests
Indigenous theory; community-based archaeology; historical materialism; subaltern, postcolonial, and ontological studies; Spanish paleography
Awards and Fellowships
UC-CUBA Fellowship, 2024 & 2025
Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, UC Berkeley 2023-24
Pre-Dissertation Fellowship, Institute of International Studies (IIS), UC Berkeley 2023
Simpson Pre-Dissertation Fellowship, Global, International, and Area Studies (GIAS), UC Berkeley 2023
Davis Fellowship for Peace, Middlebury College 2022
University of California Regent Fellowship, UCLA 2020-22
Sandra Mabritto Memorial Fellowship, UCLA 2020-22
Monica Salinas Research Award, UCLA 2021
Education
M.A., Latin American Studies, University of California, Los Angeles 2022
B.A., Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley 2018