His research interests include popular religion, the social and political construction of race (particularly for people of African descent in Mexico), and anti-state rebellion. His most recent publication, “Confraternities and Popular Conservatism on the Frontier: Mexico’s Sierra del Nayarit in the Nineteenth Century,” appeared in The Americas in 2014. Outside academia, Aaron serves as the vice-chair of the International Relations Commission for the City of Holland, Michigan, and conducts freelance research work. He is currently working on a project on long-term incarceration for the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.