Education

Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.A. University of Wisconsin-Madison
B.A. Curriculum Honors with Distinction, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana

Research

My research focuses on problems of historiography and representation, religious history, and visual culture.   Currently, I am engaged in two book length research efforts.  The first, tentatively titled "The Benedictines, Slavery and the History of Colonial Brazil," uses material culture including religious art and architecture to explore the Benedictine religious order in the Portuguese colonial world, from late medieval times through the late nineteenth century abolition of slavery in Brazil.  The second, co-authored with my colleague David Watt, examines the life and times of the Quaker scholar and activist Henry Cadbury, one of the early twentieth century co-founders of the American Friends Service Committee.  Previous publications include my first book, Rereading the Conquest: Power, Politics and the History of Early Colonial Michoacán (Pennsylvania State Unviersity Press, 2001).  This book combined literary theory and historical research to analyze the origins and transformation over time of a specific conquest narrative.   It was selected for the Association of University Presses' Books for Understanding:  Mexico Book List.  My second book, Paul Strand in Mexico,1932-34 (Aperture, 2010) utilized photography and film to examine social and cultural history in twentieth century Mexico.  As part of this project I served as co-curator for a photography exhibition appearing at several locations including the Aperture Gallery in New York (http://www.aperture.org/gallery). Reviews of the exhibit from a variety of perspectives can be found at artdaily.com and the Wall Street Journal.

Teaching

Each year, I teach an introduction to the late medieval and early modern world, survey courses on Latin American history, and a range of thematic courses dealing with my research interests in Latin American history, religious history, history and representation and visual culture.

Courses Include:

History 114:  Origins of the Global South

History 208:  Colonial Latin America

History 209:  Modern Latin America

History 317:  Topics in Latin American History.  Topics include:  Religion, Power and Politics in Latin America;  Visions of Mexico; The Latin American Baroque; Rio de Janeiro.

Publications:

Paul Strand in Mexico.  Aperture, 2010.

Rereading the Conquest:  Power, Politics and the History of Early Colonial Michoacán.  The Pennsylvania Sate University Press, 2001. 

I have also authored several articles and book reviews.  I currently serve as an Associate Editor and have served as a Book Review Editor for the Latin American History journal The Americas (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/americas).