He is a graduate of UW-Madison (BA) and New York University (Ph.D.). Vitz teaches courses in Latin American history and environmental history. His research interests are in the urban, environmental, and political history of modern Mexico, and his book, A City on a Lake: Urban Political Ecology and the Growth of Mexico City, will soon be published by Duke University Press. This Global Seminar gives students the opportunity to learn about Mexican and Mexican-American history from a professor who has lived in Mexico City and researched its history for over 5 years.