Assistant Professor
My research and writing examine modern Latin American history in a global context, with particular interests in race, development, political violence, and foreign relations.
I am currently completing my first book, tentatively titled The Americas at War. The book reconstructs the history of U.S. military basing in Latin America during World War II – through high diplomacy and on-the-ground examinations of race, labor, sex and law – to reveal the origins and impact of inter-American “security cooperation” on domestic and international politics in the region. I have also authored past and forthcoming articles and book chapters on the Cuban literacy campaign, the Brazilian labor justice system, and U.S.-Latin American relations. I am now moving into the very early stages of a second book project on public health and social welfare.
Prior to entering academia, I spent several years in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Brazil working as a freelance translator, researcher and documentarian. Before joining the faculty at Berkeley, I was Assistant Professor of International Studies and Latin American Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle. I have received fellowships and awards from the Mellon Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, the Social Science Research Council, and the Council on Library and Information Resources, among others.
I received my Ph.D. in History from Berkeley and my B.A. in Literature and History from Duke.
Education
PhD, University of California, Berkeley
MA, University of California, Berkeley
BA, Duke University
Fields
Modern Latin America, especially Brazil, Argentina, Cuba and Panama; U.S.-Latin American Relations; Latin America in the World
