about me

I am a researcher and educator interested in the intersections of media, globalization, and cultural difference. Currently, I am assistant professor of global communication in the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

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. A short academic CV can be found here.

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. It is forthcoming from University of Minnesota Press. 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 global media, 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 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 am one of the co-editors of [in]Transition: Journal of Videographic Film & Moving Image Studies. I also serve on the Editorial Board of Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism. Previously, I was on the board of directors of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies, a member of the editorial collective for the Media Fields Journal, and 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.