I research the aesthetics and experiences of desert places in 20th and 21st century literature, poetry, art, and film.

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How did fierce arid landscapes become a monolithic object voided of people or agency? 

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I am interested in human and more-than-human entanglements, such as geological time and elemental forces like light and heat.

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In what ways does vastness and an abundance of light and space contribute to desert aesthetics? 

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I am dedicated to encouraging people to consider and care about the various communities, especially Chicanx and Indigenous peoples, whose desert placemaking and placekeeping contains hope, wonder, and joy despite centuries of colonial violences.

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What do deserts as home places look, sound, or feel like? 

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