|
 |
Teaching and Research Interests
I am interested in understanding how globalization affects our daily lives. We hear a lot about globalization, yet I do not think we understand it well. I like to approach the issue from the perspective of ordinary people, particularly people whose experiences may be less prominent due to gender, race, class, or sexuality differences. I believe these social relationships offer important insights-and opportunities for critical thinking-on globalization.
Much of my research and teaching is focused on Latin America and Latinos in the United States South. In fact, I got my job at UNC because I had done a lot of research in Mexico that was subsequently published as Women and Work in Mexico's Maquiladoras (Rowman and Littlefield 1998). I continue to research in Mexico and spend time there whenever possible. However, I am also beginning to examine globalization here in North Carolina by studying the many reasons that Latinos have moved to our state in the 1980s and 1990s. The United States South has been one of the last parts of the country to experience such massive rapid demographic changes, so local research provides another way for me to think about some of the issues I examined in my Mexico book. By the way, UNC is an amazing place to study Latin America, because of the Institute of Latin American Studies, a long-standing interdisciplinary group that includes many Latin American experts.
I teach courses on Latin American Geography, Social Geography, Political Geography, and Feminist Geography (Space, Place, and Difference). I also teach a First Year Seminar on Local Places in a Globalizing World. If you would like to find more details on courses I teach or projects I am involved with, please open the link to my curriculum vita, and take a look. Of course, I will be happy to chat on email or in person if you prefer.
Biographical Information
I went to high school during the 1960s and was influenced by the notion that people can have-and must find ways to have-a positive impact on society. This commitment shapes my professional and personal life, particularly my interest in critical thought. I believe that theorizing society and social change can offer guidance about how social change occurs and how we can best live in the world and contribute to progressive social change.
I was born and raised in Illinois and Indiana, and have lived in a number of places as an adult. As a kid, I spent many weeks each year in rural Georgia, so I do have some close connections to this region and am happy to be teaching and working in North Carolina. Bicycling in Chapel Hill is one of my passions, although it can be a bit daunting because of all the cars! I also love to grow vegetables in my back yard and make some great fresh salsa in the summertime. Most of all, I love to travel and see new things whenever I get the opportunity.
|
