My research interests include violence, emotion, morality, human rights, Latin America, visual anthropology and phenomonolgy. I have done long-term fieldwork in Venezuela and Argentina.

My monograph Phenomenal Justice. Violence and Morality in Argentina received the international award Outstanding Academic Title 2020 and shortlisted for the Juan E. Mendez Book Award for Human Rights in Latin America.

My current research focuses on the Venezuelan humanitarian crisis and refugees in the neigboring countries for which I was awarded the Independent Social Research Foundation Political Economy Research Fellowship 

You can hear more about my research here.

The professional is personal. That's what represents me best as an academic. The combination of fieldwork, creative writing and filming are my personal blend of doing anthropology. My regional interests and experiences are definitely Latin America. In total, I lived for more than ten years in Venezuela and Argentina. Since 2018, I am editor of the Dutch anthropological journal Etnofoor and I recently joint the advisory board of the  Dutch Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation Film (CEDLA).

Read here more about my research, creative work and public anthropology. 

My teaching experiences range from ethnographic methods, violence and trauma, Latin America, morality, film and creative writing. I like to inspire students to experiment with ethnographic methodologies and to creatively explore the limits of academic writing.

In 2006, I received a Bachelor degree in Language and Culture Studies, with a specialization in Latin American Culture at Utrecht University. My Master degree (2007) in Latin American and Caribbean Studies is also from Utrecht University. In 2016, I  received my Doctoral degree in Cultural Anthropoly at Utrecht University for ethnographic research on trials for crimes against humanity in Argentina.

Outstanding Academic Title 2020

Phenomenal Justice was awared the best 10% of the 6,000 annually reviewed books by Choice Magainze for U.S. academic libraries

Faculty of Social Sciences Research Prize 2020

I was one of the five nominees for the annual prize for best social science researcher at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Kitty van der Vliet Diversity Essay Award, International School of Philosophy (ISVW)

Een kwestbaar besef was one of the five awarded essays on learning from history

Camera Interactiva, Centre of Humanities, Utrecht University

Het Papierparadijs was awarded second best storytelling media project 2015

Nominee for Servicio2 best short documentary

International Film Festival ‘Mujeres en Foco’ in Argentina 2010

Nieboer Masterthesis Award 2007

 Department of Cultural Anthropology, Utrecht University 2008

Independent Social Research Foundation (ISRF) Political Economy Fellowship 2020

Institute for Societal Resilience Seed money grant 2020

National Network for Female Professors (LNVH) Travel grant 'Distinguished Women Scientist Fund' 2018

Institute for Societal Resilience Travel grant 2018

UU Culture, Citizenship, and Human Rights Seed money grant 2017

 UU Centre of Humanities Funding documentary 2015

AMIDILA Erasmus Mundus Programme Doctorate exchange to Universidad Nacional de Misones 2015 

Dutch Embassy in Venezuela Funding documentary 2009

Cultuurfonds Gemeente Utrecht Funding documentary 2008

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