Department of Sociology

Year of Entry: 2018

I am a sociologist interested in how state agents produce knowledge about society, and why that knowledge might be more or less effective in shaping state agencies and public policies. Across my research, I rely on qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews, ethnography, and archival work, as well as spatial analysis. 

I am a PhD candidate in Sociology at Brown University and a Research Visitor at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Before arriving at Brown, I earned my MA in Sociology from Columbia University, where I studied Latin American immigrants’ participation in the informal economy in New York City. I am originally from Lima, Perú, where I have conducted research on the strengthening of labor inspections and also worked as a consultant on topics related to public unions and political reform. 

My dissertation focuses on the effects of the collaboration between social movements and the state in producing information about informal settlements. As part of this project, I also examine to what extent state agencies need social movements to produce knowledge about territories and populations that are “hard to measure,” particularly in developing countries of the Global South.

I received scholarships from the Watson Institute, the Program in Business, Entrepreneurship and Organizations, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and the Sociology Department at Brown University. 

Affiliations

• Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS)
• Latin American Association of Sociology and Labor Studies (Alas T)