Global Languages Day at Dokk1
On September 17th, we celebrated language diversity at the Global Languages Day event at DOKK1. The day included insightful talks and an engaging roundtable Read More »
Academic Background:I completed a Masters degree in ethnomusicology at the University of Texas in Austin and a PhD in cultural anthropology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
My research in a nutshell: My research has focused on issues of urbanism, migration and expressive culture throughout the Black Atlantic, specifically the Luso-African worlds of Brazil, Portugal and Cape Verde. I have also conducted fieldwork on “Muslim youth” in Aarhus. What is particularly distinctive is my approach to textual composition. I have developed a dynamic relationship between multimodal content (sound-image-text) and style (ethnographic fiction, mixed genres). Such an approach and a willingness to explore sensibilities complement a transdisciplinary perspective on knowledge and representation of multispecial conditions. My recent work on the night as a culturally variable time-place filled with creative human anxiety and differentiated relationships with natural and human ecologies has added an essential layer of theoretical reflection and aesthetic inspiration to my work.
What was it that initially sparked your interest Brazil: In 1994 I hitchhiked from Texas to Guatemala. It was during the World Cup and I met a group of Italians and Brazilians in Oaxaca, México. It was a day before the final between these two football giants. So, I ran off with a French woman to an indigenous community and participated in a mescaline ritual. We were absolutely silent and lay still for hours. Upon hearing a word in Zapotec, we arose and gorged ourselves on fruit. We returned to the capital city and after a round or five at a local saloon, I found myself with two Brazilians playing bossa nova music. A life choice was made. Obs: Some of that was fabricated. You choose what. Or just email me and we’ll chat.
To learn more about my academic work Click Here
Academic Background: Dr. phil. (History) Freie Universität Berlin. I did my MA in History at the University of Essex, Colchester, where I was able to specialize in Brazilian history. Before that I studied History and Economics at Freie Universität Berlin.
My research in a nutshell: I am broadly interested in nature-society relations, science and knowledge, and North-South inequalities. My regional focus is Latin America and its connections to the wider world with a particular emphasis on nineteenth- and twentieth-century Brazil. My ongoing research deals with agriculture, migration and environmental change in savanna-like landscapes in several South American countries. Using comparative, transnational and global history approaches, I examine state-led agricultural colonization programs since the Second World War as contested materializations of “modern” visions of rurality. I have previously worked on the history of knowledge about Brazil’s mineral resources, and I keep a strong interest in material history/Stoffgeschichte, natural collections, infrastructures and supply chains. I am furthermore interested in framings of global justice and emerging transnational memory practices in the context of the climate emergency.
What is your favorite place in Brazil? Downtown São Paulo is the most amazing place in the world. It has seen cycles of boom and bust, and it keeps attracting newcomers who seek their luck in this beautifully crazy and scary city. I begin most trips to Brazil observing street artists and preachers around Anhangabaú, enjoying Japanese food in Liberdade or visiting exhibitions on Avenida Paulista or at Luz station before taking a bus to my final destination. For almost 15 years my research has repeatedly brought me to the State of Minas Gerais, a region whose landscapes and history continue to fascinate me.
To learn more about my academic work Click Here