Andreina Torres Angarita

I am a cultural anthropologist with an interest in urban studies, feminism and Latin American/Latinx studies. My book project focuses on the politics of welfare provision (via housing) and grassroots activism during the Bolivarian period (1998-present) in Venezuela. Through three years (2014-2017) of ethnographic fieldwork in Caracas, I looked at how working-class women’s leadership in housing movements shaped claims for land redistribution and struggles for social reproduction in a changing urban environment. Following on my dissertation research I am eager to explore the historical pendular migration between Afro-Colombian rural towns and low-income neighborhoods in Caracas, and the growing Venezuelan diaspora in the U.S., with a specific interest in tracing family trajectories and transnational home and place-making strategies. I have taught courses in urban anthropology, feminist anthropology, ethnographic methods, Latin American and Latinx studies, with a focus on social movements, political economy, and feminist geographies.

Prior to joining Barnard College, I was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and a Postdoctoral Fellow at CUNY’s Center for Latin American Caribbean and Latino Studies. I received my B.A. (International Development Studies and Art History) from McGill University, my M.Sc. (Gender and Development Studies) from FLACSO Ecuador and my Ph.D. (Anthropology) from CUNY the Graduate Center.