“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.”
Zora Neale Hurston
Authored Works
Street Sovereigns
How, and at what cost, do people improvise political communities in the face of state collapse? Through a detailed ethnographic account, Street Sovereigns: Young Men and the Makeshift State in Urban Haiti reveals how young men seek power and respect by positioning themselves as chiefs of the geto (ghetto)—urban districts where the government is largely absent. “We make the state!” as they say.
Image: AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery
A Dream Deported
My current project, A Dream Deported: Race, Crime, and Deportation in Transnational Haiti, explores changing notions of citizenship, statehood, and the social contract through an ethnography of the global regulatory regime of criminal deportation, as manifested between the United States and Haiti.
Image: Yves André Midy
Manman Bèlè
The film Manman Bèlè (Mother of Bel Air), directed by Chelsey L. Kivland and Moïse Pierre, chronicles Fèt Pèpètyèl, Haiti’s annual patron saint festival held in Bel Air, Port-au-Prince. Despite the area’s violent and volatile reputation, thousands participate in the festival every June. The film follows local leaders as they challenge negative perceptions of the urban poor by showcasing their talents, generosity, and communal spirit.
Image: Paolo Woods/INSTITUTE
Other Writing
My writing reflects a broad array of interests. I have written ethnographic articles and book chapters about carnival bands, graffiti, community activism, and the military in urban Haiti, as well as research and policy reports in the areas of global health and development.