Rebecca Overmyer-velazquez

Biography

Professor Rebecca Overmyer-Velazquez teaches courses in racial and ethnic relations, urban politics, social movements, and third world economic development. She is the author of Folkloric Poverty: Neoliberal Multiculturalism in Mexico (Penn Press, 2010) and several articles on indigenous people's social movements in Mexico during the 1990s. Her current research project compares the political and economic development of two industrial cities in Los Angeles County and their relationships with surrounding residential communities in order to better understand the politics of environmental regulation and to help promote a more vigorous public discussion about the relationship between democracy, the environment, and public health.

Research Interest

Class & Gender Racial and Ethnic Relations Sociology of Development Political Sociology Social Movements