Overview
Jessica's work incorporates a historical understanding of development patterns and ecologies of land use in Latin America and the Caribbean. She has studied environmentally contextualized human rights and social movements, decolonial approaches to nature, and media in the framework of environmental change. Her previous research focused on development projects in the newest state of Brazil, Tocantins, and on the effects of emerging environmental activism in these projects.
Currently, her work explores the ecological dimensions of media and visual culture from the perspective of Latin American history. Her dissertation project investigates social media activism, popular culture, and social movements emerging in the Amazon region in response to planetary climate change and local ecological tragedies.
Jessica holds a Masters of Science with distinction in Latin American Studies from Oxford University and a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from Columbia University.
Research interests: visual culture, globalization, social movements, ecocriticism, environmental aesthetics, technology, and art.