I am a doctoral candidate in the political science program. My dissertation research examines narco-messages, thousands of which have appeared throughout Mexico since 2006. These messages range from a few words scrawled on a scrap of cardboard left at a crime scene, to massive, printed banners hung from highway overpasses during rush hour traffic. During…

Elaine’s research in Venezuela in summer 2018 will continue her dissertation fieldwork conducted from 2016-2017. She plans to continue her research on música llanera, or music from the interior plains region, specifically regarding questions of transmission and pedagogy. Her research is focused in particular on the program Alma Llanera, a project developed within Venezuela’s national…

My research analyzes the production and circulation of information about illicit coca in the context of Colombia’s War on Drugs. Originally, I was going to conduct preliminary fieldwork in this country last summer. However, due to travel restrictions I had to stay in New York. CLACLS funding has allowed me to explore ways to continue…

My dissertation project explores the unique experience of government-led, human rights-oriented prison reforms in the Dominican Republic. Over the past fifteen years, the Dominican Republic has created a new kind of prison (new facilities, programs, and staff) in about half its prison facilities — the Nuevo Modelo de Gestión Penitenciaria. The other facilities, which are…

I am broadly interested in understanding patterns of violence in democracies. In my dissertation, I focus on instances of restrictions on media freedom in Latin America. In many democracies, it is not uncommon to see cases where activists, journalists, or media outlets are targeted by state or non-state actors who want to impede the dissemination…