I am a Religious Studies-trained Ph.D. and my research and scholarship focuses on religion, migration, and work in the United States. I focus on the cultural history and anthropology of Catholicism and am a specialist in Latina/x/o Catholicisms. I have authored five books and numerous articles and am working on a new book about the value of colleges and universities today, and why the humanities matter more than ever. I have been a college professor since 2001, and have mentored numerous undergraduates and graduate students in the humanities and adjacent fields. I am currently Associate Vice President of Research at The University of Iowa, where I oversee and support faculty and graduate student research and creative work in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
Experience
2012–present
Professor, University of Iowa
2002–2012
Associate Professor, Augustana College, Rock Island, IL
2001–2002
Visiting Assistant Professor, Berea College, Berea, Kentucky
Education
2001
Indiana University, Ph.D. Religious Studies
1994
Arizona State University, M.A. Religious Studies
1992
Indiana University, B.A. Religious Studies & Political Science
Publications
2022
The Oxford Handbook of Latinx Christianities in the United States,
2021
Meatpacking America:How Migration, Work, and Faith Unite and Divide the Heartland,
2013
The Cursillo Movement in America: Catholics, Protestants, and Fourth-Day Spirituality (UNC Press),
2005
The Virgin of El Barrio: Marian Apparitions, Catholics Evangelizing, and Mexican American Activism (NYU Press),
Grants and Contracts
2023
Writing for the Public Good
Role:
Funding Source:
University of Iowa
2016
Louisville Institute Sabbatical Grant for Researchers
Role:
Funding Source:
Louisville Institute
Honours
2023 American Catholic Historical Association Distinguished Teaching Award