He can speak on the history of Brazil. He teaches courses on the history of Brazil, the history of modern Latin America and the emergence of new nations in Latin America. He has conducted research in Rio de Janeiro, Recife and São Paulo. He is the author of “Political Struggle, Ideology and State Building: Pernambuco and the Construction of Brazil, 1817-1850” as well as articles on the political history of Brazil. He is currently focused on religion in contemporary Brazil, preparing an ethnography of a Tibetan Buddhist temple in São Paulo. He has received funding from the Fulbright Commission and the National Science Foundation to conduct research in Brazil. He earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy, his master's in Latin American studies and a doctorate in history with a focus on Latin America.