About
Currently, I am a Faculty Fellow with the Provost's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at New York University's Gallatin School for Individualized Study. I am a Du Boisian social theorist who is committed to researching social problems in a way that is historical, contextual, and relational. I emphasize a Du Boisian methodology that requires a thorough understanding of the historical, economic, political, and social elements of marginalized and racialized groups before drawing generalizable conclusions about them.
Research Interests
My research interests include social theory, race and ethnicity, urban sociology, and comparative historical methods. I received my Ph.D. from Brown University, where my work was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Cogut Institute for the Humanities. Prior to graduate school, I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic.
Positionality
I was born to a Brazilian father and a Mexican mother in Newark, New Jersey’s Ironbound neighborhood. Whenever I think of home, it is Newark that always comes to mind. Newark is often characterized by the media, the state government of New Jersey, and the wealthy suburbanites of surrounding towns as dangerous and hopeless.
Yet, these labels are directly contradictory to the beehive of activity I see Latino and African American residents undertake to protect their home and community. These disparate narratives have formed the basis for my research agenda where I examine the post-industrial city not as a site of deviance and decay, but of dynamism and vigor.