As a graduate student in the Latin American Studies Program, my academic interests have taken me through an interdisciplinary journey mapped by a series of courses on race, class, gender, indigeneity, globalization, transnational migration, and the intersectionality of all these social formations. However, I was struck by the persistent absence of…

This dissertation disaggregates the "Hispanic" category to examine the various factors shaping the educational trajectories of students who encompass this large ethnic group. This project consists of three studies, each presenting the perspectives of principal stakeholders: families, schools, and a community-based educational initiative.…

This study seeks to learn about and understand what constitutes successful leadership cultures in Latin American universities. The research calls attention to one national university rector and subordinate members of his leadership team, as well as students at the university in order to understand the values and actions needed to fulfill the role…

Ethnogeology is the scientific study of human relationships with the Earth as a system, typically conducted within the context of a specific culture. Indigenous or historically resident people may perceive local places differently from outside observers trained in the Western tradition. Ethnogeologic knowledge includes traditional indigenous…

The purpose of the present research was to examine how five self-identified Cuban-American social studies teachers in Miami, a city where they are considered the dominant culture, described their ethnic and cultural identity, expressed educational beliefs on teaching and learning, promoted culturally inclusive pedagogy, and approached the official…

This study investigates how the Pierre Verger Cultural Space (PVCS), an educational organization dedicated to teaching Afro-Brazilian culture in Bahia, uses music to construct a sense of Afro-Brazilian self. Located in a poverty-stricken neighborhood of Salvador, Bahia, the PVCS sees its mission as "rescuing" ("resgatar") an…

Building on 18 months of fieldwork in the Bolivian highlands, this dissertation examines how traversing landscapes, through the mediation of spatial practices and spoken words, are embedded in systems of belief. By focusing on "wak'as" (i.e. sacred objects) and on how the inhabitants of the Altiplano relate to the Andean deities known as…