Biography

Broadly, I study how language and interaction processes shape practical action and moral concerns in everyday life with a particular focus on exchange behavior, technology use, and Latin American institutions. I hold advanced degrees in Linguistics and Sociology, and I’m currently a PhD candidate in Sociology.

In my dissertation, I take up a recent corruption scandal in Peru’s justice system as a study case to explore what I’ve been calling “the pragmatics of corruption” — a constellation of language and interaction practices that frame and give shape to “corrupt” deals and patronage associations in the everyday life of state institutions by way of organizing different dimensions of bureaucratic and political corruption, such as indirect communication, reciprocity in favor exchange, and group solidarity. My data includes several month of media coverage on the scandal and +150 wiretapped phone calls from the massive audio leak that brought the scandal to light.

Since 2020, I’ve been involved in an international initiative to promote the methods of conversation analysis (CA) for the study of language and social interaction in Spanish-speaking academia. As part of this effort, together with a group of colleagues from Latin America and Spain, I coordinate Seminario Permanente de Análisis de la Conversación (SPAC), a virtual space for learning what CA is all about — ¡en español! The schedule is here, and a post about it here. ¡No dudes en contactarme si tienes interés en participar de estas actividades! Additionally, in 2022, my dear colleague Chase Raymond (UC Boulder, Linguistics) and I published the first comprehensive textbook on CA written in Spanish. You can find the book here.