Academic interests
I am an Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Anthropology. My work moves across economic, political, medical, and multimodal anthropology.
About
My geographical areas of specialization are Southern Europe and Latin America. My research examines the political imagination of transnationality and social mobilization, focusing on migrant communities.
My first monograph explores how novel forms of political resistance develop in response to the evolving dynamics of transnational financial flows, using decolonial perspectives to challenge predominant views of financialization based on the experiences of migrant communities. My book manuscript, After Debt: Transnational Household Economies and the Politics of Speculation, is an ethnographic account of the predatory financial inclusion of Ecuadorian migrants in Spain and their political engagement to combat over-indebtedness. It documents creative forms of social organizing against foreclosure and precarity through detailed ethnographic accounts. The book follows Ecuadorian families in Barcelona who helped create the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages—or la PAH for its Spanish acronym—altering Spain’s political history. It offers new perspectives for imagining democratic responses to the colonial legacies of finance and property regimes that perpetuate extreme inequality and racism today. It critically examines the financialization of global migration and the potential for genuine democratic transformation.
I’m also involved in various research projects based on multimodality, collaboration, and critical pedagogies, particularly around health and climate change preparedness. Some research themes include: the production of knowledge around mental health, transnational pandemic responses, and the growing need for digital, collaborative platforms. Another aspect of my research is interested in the possibilities for alliances and solidarities among different groups I have worked with, including housing movements in Spain, migrant communities across the Atlantic, and the research center I cofounded in southern Ecuador called Kaleidos at the University of Cuenca where I continue to hold a visiting professorship.
Courses taught
ANTH4030 – Advanced Anthropological Methods
ANTH4100 - Core Themes in Contemporary Anthropology
SOSANT2270 – Contemporary Studies in Kinship and Gender
Background
PhD in Anthropology, Goldsmiths College
MA in Development Studies & Political Economy, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Visiting Professor, Departamento de Espacio y Población (DIEP), Universidad de Cuenca, Ecuador (2021- current)
Member, School of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ, USA (2021-2022)
Assistant Professor, University of Cuenca, Ecuador (2018-2020)