Faculty

Laura Mendez Carvajal

Assistant Professor

Contact

Home Campus: Tampa
Office: SOC 361
Email: lmendezcarvajal@usf.edu

education

Ph.D. Political Science, Kent State University
MPA, New Mexico State University
B.S. Economics, Universidad de La Salle, Bogotá Colombia

• Curriculum Vitae

Bio

I am a scholar of the political economy of development with a focus on Latin America. I investigate how the rhetoric of development (such as self-help) shapes systems of beliefs and behavior in recipient communities. In particular, my work aims to understand how such rhetoric influences individual decision-making. My book project studies the relationship between foreign aid and structural violence by examining the consequences of foreign aid policy discourses on the reproduction of inequality in marginalized rural communities in Colombia.