I am a comparative-historical sociologist whose research examines the political economy of development, colonialism, slavery, class formation, race, and state formation in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

My dissertation project, tentatively titled “Slavery, Class Structure and Social Mobility in the Spanish Caribbean: A Comparative-Historical Study,” traces the evolution of slavery, the boundary between slavery and freedom, and the class position of those who crossed that boundary in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic across three major historical conjunctures: the early modern period, the nineteenth century, and the first half of the twentieth century. The dissertation combines data from a wide range of sources, from Spanish colonial archives to nineteenth-century censuses and twentieth-century US government reports. It also engages a range of scholarly literatures, including on the comparative sociology of slavery and early modern state formation; the “second slavery,” abolition, proletarianization, nationalism, and revolutions; and migration, development, colonialism, and racially segmented or “split” labor markets. 

For more information on my research, see the "Research" tab.