Year in Program: 4
Fields: Latin American and Caribbean History
Advisor: Dr. Edward Murphy
Committee: Dr. Glenn Chambers, Dr. Michael Stamm, Dr. Peter Beattie
Research Languages: Spanish, English (some Portuguese)
Educational Background:
B.A., Bowling Green State University, Sociology
B.A., Bowling Green State University, History
M.A., University of Chicago, Center for Latin American Studies
Email: oppenhu4@msu.edu
I am a fourth year Ph.D. student at the Department of History with a focus on Modern Latin American history. I hold two Bachelor’s degrees from Bowling State University in the fields of History and Sociology as well as a Masters of the Arts from the University of Chicago Center for Latin American Studies. My previous research focused on diplomatic discussions about the oil industry in Argentina and depictions of middle class in Argentina in the comic strip Mafalda.
My current research is focused on Modern Chilean history with a particular focus on journalism, the formation of publics, state repression, urban histories, and politics. I analyze print journalism – at local levels within poblaciones as well as national and transnational levels – during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990). My project explores the circulation of media and information in campaigns that functioned as counter-publics in relation to the policies implemented by the civil military regime. Analyzing local and international bulletins, oppositional magazines, and clandestine ephemera I explore the roll of journalism under State censorship and misinformation campaigns.
In the summer of 2019 I received a second Tinker scholarship from the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) at MSU. With these funds I have conducted preliminary dissertation research in Santiago, Chile. I have had the honor of meeting with scholars on social and cultural history of Chile’s poblaciones and continued archival research at MMDH, FASIC, Educación y Comunicaciones, and private collections of journalist that worked in the 1970s and 1980s.
As for Spring 2020 I am a Fulbright IIE finalist and plan to conduct dissertation research from March to November of 2021.
Teaching Appointments:
IAH 201: US and the World – Spring 2019; Fall 2019
IAH 206: Biotechnology & The Human Condition – Fall 2017
IAH 203: Latin America & The World – Spring 2018; Fall 2018; Spring 2020; Fall 2020
HST 425: American and European Healthcare since 1800 – Summer 2019
HST 320: Michigan History – Summer 2020
Research Appointments:
Research Assistant for Dr. Walter Hawthorne for the Enslave project – Summer 2018