Profile:

I am a second year PhD student. I am interested in religious fundamentalism and conflict, particularly within Christianity.  My focus is Pentecostal intolerance and violence in Brazil, especially in regards to Afro-Brazilian religions. I am conducting research on the reasons that Pentecostals feel threatened by Afro-Brazilian religions and on forms of violence that they use to address their fears.  By construing Afro-Brazilians as a united “enemy" in dualistic and polarizing ways, Pentecostals not only see them as evil but also help to constitute their ontological power.  Ultimately, I aim to use my work to better understand the attitudes, ideologies, and motivations behind acts of religious intolerance and violence.  My dissertation research will build on work I began at UC Santa Barbara, where I earned an MA in Global and International Studies (2016). Prior to that, I received a BA in Linguistics from UC Santa Cruz (2014), where I also studied Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. I enjoy studying Romance languages, and my affinity for Portuguese fostered an interest in carrying out research in Brazil.