Arlene M Davila

Arlene M Davila is a Professor of Anthropology and American Studies at New York University, and Founding Director of the Latinx Project. She holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from The Graduate Center, CUNY (1996), an M.A. in Anthropology and Museum Studies from NYU (1990), and a B.A. in Anthropology from Tufts University (1987). Her research focuses on urban ethnography, the political economy of culture/media, consumption, immigration, and geographies of inequality and race across the Americas.

Her work bridges comparative ethnic studies, media/visual culture, and Latinx/Latin American Studies. Key research themes include cultural politics in U.S. Latino/a communities, the spatial politics of shopping malls in Latin America, and the interplay between art markets and political economy. She is affiliated with the American Anthropological Association, American Studies Association, and Latin American Studies Association.

Notable publications include Latinx Art: Artists, Markets, and Politics (2020), El Mall (2016), and Culture Works (2012). She co-edited volumes such as Mambo Montage: The Latinization of New York (2001) and Contemporary Latin@ Media (2014). The Latinx Project, which she directs, advances interdisciplinary research on Latinx cultural dynamics.