Curriculum Vitae (C.V.)
Meyer and Walter Jaffe Assistant Professor of Politics
Brandeis University
Education
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Cambridge, MA. PhD in political science, June 1998. Field specializations in Latin American politics, international political economy, and comparative politics.
Harvard University: Cambridge, MA. BA, in history, June 1989. Concentration in history with an emphasis on the United States. Also coursework in sociology, anthropology, Spanish language and literature, and government.
Academic Employment
Meyer and Walter Jaffe Assistant Professor of Politics; Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts; March 2003–present.
Assistant Professor of Politics; Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts; January 2002–March 2003.
Assistant Professor of Political Science; Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts; 2000–2001.
Visiting Assistant Professor; Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts; 1999–2000.
“Latin American Politics.” Spring 2000. Developed syllabus, organized and delivered lectures for undergraduate students on issues relating to authoritarian rule, democratization, macroeconomic policymaking, electoral politics and racial politics. Countries covered in–depth included: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Mexico, with references to other Latin American countries.
“International Conflict and Cooperation.” Fall 1999. Developed syllabus, organized and delivered lectures for undergraduate students on issues relating to conflicts between state and non–state actors over. Issue areas covered included: development and environmental policy; human rights; indigenous peoples’ and women’s rights. The course also explored conceptual approaches to the study of international institutions (such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund), social movements, and transnational non–governmental organizations (NGOs). The course drew from the fields of international relations theory and comparative politics.
Visiting Lecturer; Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; Spring, 1997.
“Political Change in Latin America.” Developed syllabus, organized, and delivered lectures for a middle to upper level undergraduate course that explored the issues of democratization, party politics, social movements, and political economy in the Mexico, Chile, and Brazil, with references to other countries.
Teaching Assistant with Professor Richard Joseph, Department of Political Science, MIT; Fall 1996.
"Explaining Political Change in the Third World." Organized and delivered half of the lectures for an undergraduate course covering issues related to Latin America such as: democratization, social movements, international organizations, debt, and the environment. Led discussion sections and graded papers.
Teaching Assistant with Professor Jonathan Fox, Department of Political Science, MIT; 1993.
Community Service: Experience and Reflection.
Teaching and Research Interests
Latin American Politics:
The politics of race and ethnicity, comparative ethnic land rights, social movements, democratization and democracy, labor politics, public policy, environmental politics, and macroeconomic policymaking, the role of multilateral development banks in the region.
Political Economy:
International environmental and development policy, politics of multilateral development banks, capital markets in developing countries, global civil society, international and domestic economic adjustment politics and policymaking.
US Politics:
Faith-based institutions, US foreign and development policy, crime policy, gangs and ex-offender re-entry, social capital, institutional processes and policy change, inner-city economic development and black political leadership.
Comparative Politics:
Social movements and democratization in developing countries, political development, refugee/migration policy, the politics of race and ethnicity.
Publications
“The Politics of Afro-Latin Land Rights,” to be submitted to the Journal of Latin American Studies
“Garifuna Women and Land Rights in Honduras,” under review at Latin American Perspectives
“Garífuna Identity and Land Rights,” NACLA Report on the Americas. September/October 2004.
“Multilateral Development Banks and the Challenge of Reform,” review article, Global Environmental Politics. August 2004.
“Ethnic and Race-Based Political Organization and Mobilization in Latin America: Lessons for Public Policy,” in Mayra Buvinic and Jacqueline Mazza with Ruthanne Deutsch, editors. Social Exclusion and Economic Development in Latin America. Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank. 2004.
“Political Feasibility Assessment: Country Potential for New Research on Race in Latin America.” Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank. 2001.
Scholarly Works in Progress
“The World Bank, Indigenous Peoples, and the Politics of Ethnodevelopment,” article under preparation to be submitted to World Development.
Protest and Accountability: The World Bank and the Politics of Safeguard Policy Compliance, manuscript to be revised and resubmitted to Cornell University Press.
Papers, Talks, and Conferences
“Ethnic Race-Based Political Organization and Mobilization in Latin America: Lessons for Public Policy” paper delivered for the Latin American Studies Association Meeting, Dallas, Texas, March 27–29, 2003.
“Afro-Latin Women and the Politics of Land Rights,” paper delivered for the Latin American Studies Association Meeting, Dallas, Texas, March 27–29, 2003.
“The World Bank and Global Civil Society: Assessing The Relationship After Twenty Years,” lecture delivered for the Sustainable International Development Program, Heller School of Social Policy, Brandeis University, March 21, 2003.
“The Politics of Afro-Latin Land Rights,” paper delivered for the National Conference of Black Political Scientists Meeting, Oakland, CA: March 16–18, 2003.
“The Politics of Afro-Descendant Community Land Rights Struggles,” talk given for the conference: Implications of the Awas Tingni Case for Indigenous and Black Community From Human Rights to Cultural Empowerment: Land Rights in the Americas, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, April 18–20 2002.
Panel Chair: Struggling from the ground up—stories of resistance from activists for “Racism, Colonialism and Reparations: A Post-Durban Dialogue between Human Rights Activists and Academics”, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, March 16, 2002.
“The Politics of Afro-Latin Land Rights,” paper delivered at the Latin American Studies Association meeting, Wyndham Park Hotel, Washington, DC, September 2001
“The Challenges of Land Titling in Afro-Descendant Communities: Constitutional and Legal Considerations and Policy Implications,” presentation to the Inter-Agency Consultation on Race and Poverty in Latin America Meeting “Toward a Shared Vision of Development: High Level Dialogue on Race, Ethnicity and Inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean, ” Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC, June 19, 2001.
“Faith-Based Institutions and the Transformation of the Inner-City: Local and Global Perspectives,” presentation to the Housing, Community and Economic Development Seminar Lunch Series, MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning, March 14, 2001.
“Understanding the Impact of Non-State Actors on the World Bank,” talk given for the Northeastern University’s Doctoral Program in Public and International Affairs, February 28, 2001.
“Protest and Accountability: The World Bank and the Politics of Safeguard Policy Compliance,” Paper presented at the International Studies Association meeting, Chicago, Illinois, February 20–24, 2001.
“The World Bank and Safeguard Policy Compliance: Lessons from Latin America,” presented at the Faculty Colloquium at the Department of Political Science, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, January 26, 2001.
“The Role of Civil Society in the Collection of Data on Race,” Presentation for Inter-American Development Bank conference in Cartagena, Colombia, November 8, 2000.
“The Politics of Ethnodevelopment: The World Bank, Indigenous Peoples and Latin America,” presented to the Department of Anthropology, Department of Government, Center for African and African-American Studies, and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas–Austin. Austin, TX, April 1, 2000.
“Policy Recommendations for Addresssing the AIDS Holocaust in Sub-Saharan Africa,” written for the Seymour Institute for Advanced Christian Studies, January 2000.
“The Politics of Policy Compliance: The World Bank and the Social Dimensions of Development,” presented to the SPURS Seminar, MIT Department of Urban Studies, Cambridge, MA, May 5, 1999.
“The Social Politics of Accountable Environmental Policymaking: The World Bank and Latin America,” presented to the Institute on Race and Social Division, Boston University, May 3, 1999, Boston, MA.
"Meeting People Where They Are: Bringing Social Change to the Streets," talk given at Brookings Institution conference “Solving the Urban Crisis through Sustainable Community Development, April 22, 1999.
“The Crisis of New Black Leadership,” lecture given for the 21st Century Group (along with Cornel West), Boston Private Bank and Trust, November 30, 1998.
“Preliminary Reflections On Strategic Opportunities for US Black Elites,” discussion paper for the Seymour Institute for Advanced Christian Studies, November 30, 1998.
"The World Bank and the Politics of Environmental Policymaking in Latin America," presented to the New England Council of Latin American Studies," Wellesley, MA, November 1998.
"Institutions and Reform: The World Bank and the Social Dimensions of Development," presented to the Department of Political Science, Tufts University, Medford, MA, November 1997.
“Identity and Community Mobilization: Quilombo Resistance to Forced Displacement in Brazil,” paper presented at the New England Council on Latin American Studies, Williamstown, MA. October 1996.
“Rural Social Movements and the Social Politics of Accountable Environmental Policy in Brazil,” presented to the Social Science Research Council Conference for IPFP recipients, Quito, Ecuador, May 30–June 6, 1993.
Fellowships and Academic Honors
Bernstein Award, Brandeis University (paid leave for a semester to complete book manuscript), Spring 2005.
Lead Principal Investigator, Ford Foundation Program on Global Civil Society Grant: “Afro-descendant Land Rights Reach the Agenda: Comparative Lessons for Action—Research and Policy Advocacy,” December 2002.
Summer Fellowship, Rockefeller Foundation, 2002.
Fellow, WEB DuBois Institute, Harvard University, 2001–2002.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for African and African-American Studies, University of Texas at Austin, 2001–2002. (Declined)
Research Associate, Institute on Race and Social Division, Boston University, 1999–2000.
International Environmental and Energy Policy Research Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Center for International Studies, MIT, 1998–1999.
Institute for the Study of World Politics— Dissertation Fellowship, 1997–1998.
Institute for the Study of World Politics—Dorothy Compton Dissertation Fellowship, 1995–1996.
International Environmental and Energy Policy Research Fellowship, Center for International Studies, MIT, 1994–1995.
Social Science Research Council—International Predissertation Fellowship Program, 1993–1994.
Inter-American Foundation—Predissertation Fellowship, 1993–1994.
US Department of Education Foreign Languages and Area Studies Fellowship, 1992–1993.
MIT Graduate Fellowship, 1991–1992.
Other Work Experience
Lead Principal Investigator, Ford Foundation Program on Global Civil Society Grant: “Afro-descendant Land Rights Reach the Agenda: Comparative Lessons for Action–Research and Policy Advocacy,” December 2002– Spring 2007. A series of four interlocking workshops convenes academics with relevant track records, NGO researchers, and Afro-Latin grassroots activists to encourage exchanges of information and experiences about the complex processes of Afro-descendant land titling.
Principal Investigator: “Diagnostíco sobre tenencia de la tierra en las comunidades étnias en Honduras,” study financed by the World Bank to document history and land use of fifteen Garífuna communities on the Atlantic coast of Honduras, 2001–2003. The $500,000 project involves participatory ethnography and mapping. Responsibilities include: identifying, hiring, training and managing a team of five Garífuna researchers; carrying out intensive fieldwork and writing the ethnography; assisting in the writing of the final report.
Consultant: Foundation for Community Empowerment, Dallas, TX, . Provide strategic advice and planning related to convening relevant stakeholders to address issues concerning crime, education, and civic life for a foundation working in poor communities in Greater Dallas.
Participant: Rockefeller Foundation, Program on Global Inclusion (Exploration on Conflict and Security), Sept. 2000. Participant in planning content and agenda for “Strengthening Minority Rights Globally” Rockefeller meeting to be held in Bellagio, Italy. Input around the use of UN mechanisms to advance minority (black and indigenous) rights in Latin America.
Consultant: World Commission on Dams, Capetown, South Africa, Fall 1999. Researched and co-wrote a thematic review on regulation, compliance and implementation of policies and procedures concerning dams and dam-related projects. The review was a contribution for the Commission’s Report, which will be widely disseminated to academics, development institutions, policymakers, dam construction companies, non-governmental organizations, and grassroots organizations.
Consultant: Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC, 2000–2002. Developed a political strategy to encourage Latin American governments to include questions about racial origin on their censuses. Researched a wrote a second policy paper on political mobilization by black and indigenous organizations in Latin America and public policy responses. This paper will be published as part of an edited volume.
Consultant: Ford Foundation–Mexico/Caribbean Central American Research Council (based at University of Texas–Austin), 2000. Carried out extensive interviews with black and indigenous organizations in Panama for Ford Foundation–Mexico project. Interview results will help Ford–Mexico develop a strategic plan to fund indigenous and black organizations in Central America.
Marketing Researcher: Villagephone, Arlington, VA, 2000. Carry out market research and analysis for a telecommunications company with markets in Latin America. Of particular interest is micro-enterprise development, with a focus on poor communities.
Public Relations Associate: New England Medical Center, Boston MA, 1991. Researched and wrote articles for hospital publications; pitched stories to print and electronic media on health-related issues.
Assistant Director of Community Relations: Lead Free Kids, Boston, MA, 1989–1991. Maintained retention of participants for an EPA-funded lead poisoning prevention program; developed plan for publicity of project; conducted interviews for participants in Spanish.
Professional Associations and Activities
Member: American Political Science Association, New England Council on Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies Association, New England Political Science Association, International Studies Association, National Conference of Black Political Scientists.
Board Service: Caribbean Central American Research Council, Austin, Texas; Close to Home, President, Dorchester, MA; PACT, Washington, DC.
Languages
Reading, writing and speaking knowledge of Portuguese and Spanish.
Travel
Europe, Central America, the Caribbean, South America, and Africa,