Hello, and welcome to my website!
I am a cultural and medical anthropologist who specializes in the effect of institutions (medical, economic, development) on the behavior and choices of marginalized populations, especially women. I have explored the impact of an economic development program on the reproductive lives and motherhood of indigenous women in eastern Mexico. From this research emerged my book, Shaping the Motherhood of Indigenous Mexico (Vanderbilt, 2013).
I also researched the doctor-patient relationship in a maternity ward in the city of Puebla, particularly the role of space/place notions of social and medical risk, and quality of patient care. My current research is investigating how skills, practices, and attitudes of medicine are transmitted to medical students. I am specifically addressing the process by which practices such as obstetric violence become prevalent across some societies.
I currently have three projects: (1) the investigation of the transmission of knowledge and attitudes to medical students in Mexico, (2) an analysis of renewed perceptions of indigeneity among college-educated indigenous youth in eastern Mexico, and (3) an investigation into the effects of obstetric violence among women living in an urban slum in Kenya.
I am interested in working with undergraduate and graduate students who want to work in medical anthropology, the culture of medicine, the anthropology of reproduction, motherhood and maternity, social network analysis, and cultural consensus analysis.