Associate Professor of Sociology

I am an Associate Professor of Sociology at Colorado State University, where I conduct research and teach both undergraduate and graduate courses. I am also an editor at the Journal of Agrarian Change, a leading journal of rural change and agrarian political economy. 

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Broadly, my research investigates how cultural politics intersect with processes of capitalism in ways that can produce and naturalize social inequalities and environmental change. I draw on an interdisciplinary background in environmental sociology, political ecology, human geography, development studies, and science studies. Across my projects, I use ethnographic and qualitative methods to think about the interface of political economy, culture, and contestations over knowledge.

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My new book The Upright Farmer examines how processes of agricultural modernization in Burkina Faso have been shaped by historical and contemporary dynamics of racial capitalism. I have also studied embodied status politics among white runners in Boulder, Colorado and representations of Africans at Western zoos. I am currently working on new research on the dilemmas of sustainable agriculture and pesticide use in Côte d'Ivoire, in collaboration with Ivorian sociologists.

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At CSU, I have been recognized for impactful teaching. In 2024, I won the Provost's Teaching Scholar Award, the University's highest teaching award. In 2023 I was recognized with the Excellence in Teaching Award from the College of Liberal Arts. I regularly teach large undergraduate courses in the sociology of race and environmental sociology. ​

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Before joining CSU, I completed a Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder and a Masters degree in “Global Ecology and Sustainable Development” from the Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland. I also lived in Europe for several years and worked as a bicycle tour guide in France. Before that, I served as an agriculture Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, West Africa, where I became passionate about the complex puzzles of sustainability, development, and global inequality. I speak French and Bambara/Dioula.