GSS Faculty Highlights
Sheilla Rodriguez Madera and Nelson Varas-Díaz
Monday January 13, 2025
Dr. Sheilla Rodriguez Madera and Dr. Nelson Varas-Diaz's new book, The Bad Bunny Enigma: Culture, Resistance, and Uncertainty, has been published by Lexington Books. This volume, co-edited by Dr. Madera and Dr. Varas-Díaz, brings together scholars from various disciplines to explore the cultural, political, and artistic dimensions of Bad Bunny’s work and its broader sociocultural impact.
The book critically examines:
- Nostalgia and collective memory in Bad Bunny’s music.
- His role in political movements, including the “Verano del 19” protests in Puerto Rico.
- Representations of gender and queerness in reggaeton.
- The tension between global commercialization and local authenticity in his art.
The introduction, co-authored by Nelson, Daniel Nevárez Araújo, and Sheilla, frames Bad Bunny as a cultural enigma—a figure who navigates identity, resistance, and innovation while grappling with the sociopolitical realities of Puerto Rico and its colonial legacy.
Here is the link to the book on Amazon, where you can find the cover and additional details: https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Bunny-Enigma-Socio-Cultural-Explorations/dp/1666935964
Zachary Levenson
Monday March 4, 2024
GSS professor Zachary Levenson's new book, Delivery as Dispossession: Land Occupation and Resistance in a Post-Apartheid City is featured in a review forum at Environment and Planning D: Society and Space. Read commentaries from Malini Ranganathan, Ananya Roy, Nandita Sharma, and Yousuf Al-Bulushi, and Zach's response, at https://www.societyandspace.org/book-review-forums/delivery-as-dispossession-by-zachary-levenson
Mark B. Padilla
For nearly twenty years, Mark Padilla, Ph.D., has been conducting ethnographic and survey research on the social and political-economic structure of tourism areas in the Caribbean, focusing on the implications of tourism labor for the health and well being of local populations employed in this industry.
Matthew D. Marr
Matthew D. Marr, Ph.D., urban sociologist and ethnographer researches how homelessness is shaped by different social contexts in American and Japanese global cities in: Recovery Zone? Human Security at the Margins of American and Japanese Global Cities.