Research Interests

I study Contemporary Latin American history, with a focus on the protection of indigenous cultural heritage sites. I research how the Nazca Lines, an ancient indigenous site in Peru, has been threatened by mining interests. I am especially interested in the racial, social, and economic context of post-WWII Peru that led to the intentional destruction of the 2,000-year-old Nazca Lines in 2012. My other interests are Latin American commodities, Women and Gender, and Southwest Borderlands.

Accomplishments

Larry W. and Judith Luckett Endowment (Fall 2019)
Departmental Summer Research Grants (2019 and 2020)
David Chapman Graduate Fellowship (Fall 2018)
Ben Powell Writing Award for MA Thesis (Spring 2016)

Conference Presentations
“With an Audacity and Boldness that Is Rare: Female Andean Insurgents” (1780-1781) at the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies (RMCLAS) Conference in April 2018
“Mexican Americans in World War One: Private Emilio Gonzalez” at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Studies Association of Texas in November 2016
“Protecting Peru’s Cultural Heritage” Thesis chapter presented at the 3rd Annual Woodlands Center Symposium in April 2016
“The Peruvian Cultural Attachment to Mining” Thesis chapter presented at the Phi Alpha Theta Biennial Convention in Orlando, Florida in January 2016
“Saving the Nazca Lines: The Destructive Powers of Mining in Peru” at the World History Association Conference in Savannah, Georgia in July 2015″