about me

I am a researcher and educator interested in the intersections of media, globalization, and cultural difference. Since fall 2017, I have worked as assistant professor of critical media studies at the University of Texas at Dallas.

I have a PhD in Film and Media Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara; a MA in Film Studies from Concordia University in Montreal; and a Honors BA from the University of Toronto, where I majored in Cinema Studies and Economics.

Currently I am finishing two books. The first examines representations of border tunnels at the U.S.-Mexico border in media such as TV news, video games, reality TV, and action films. The second analyzes the legacy, popularity, and queer significance of the Mexican film Y Tu Mamá También and is under contract in the Queer Film Classics series at McGill-Queen’s University Press. I also regularly write about the class, race, and gender politics of Netflix original programming in Mexico.

My areas of research and teaching include transnational media theory, digital technologies, border studies, infrastructure studies, and Latin American film and television. My work also engages queer and feminist studies, science and technology studies, animation studies, critical theory, and postcolonial theory. Read the articles I have written on these topics in the Publications page.

In addition, I contribute to several critical and creative projects. I am the host of the Global Media Cultures podcast, the lead of the Borders in the Time of COVID-19 project, and a member of the Global Internet TV Consortium. I created a claymation interactive art piece for the “Word Matter” project and designed a board game about sewers in the U.S.-Mexico border. Read more about my creative projects in the Projects page.

Currently, I serve on the Faculty Advisory Board for the Center for U.S.-Latin American Initiatives and on the Editorial Board of Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism. Previously, I served on the board of directors of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies, as part of the editorial collective for the Media Fields Journal, and as a research assistant for the Carsey-Wolf Center, where I participated in the Media Industries Project and the Environmental Media Initiative.

I’m a regular YA book reader, Converse aficionado, and perpetual cheese lover.