Desirée Poets

Desirée Poets is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Virginia Tech and a core faculty member of the Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought (ASPECT) PhD Program. Her research focuses on settler colonialism, dependency theories in Latin America, urban (de-)militarization, and the intersection of arts, collective memory, and community change. She collaborates with urban Indigenous, favela, and maroon communities in Brazil’s Southeast Region, emphasizing Black and Indigenous struggles against dependent settler capitalism.

Her work includes ethnographically informed studies of marginalized communities and their resistance strategies. She co-curated the Maré from the Inside art exhibit and leads a research lab examining community art, memory, and development in Rio de Janeiro. While no formal awards are listed, her contributions to critical theory and applied community research are central to her academic profile.

As a co-principal investigator, she engages in interdisciplinary projects bridging academic research with community-driven initiatives. Her research emphasizes the transformative potential of art and collective memory in decolonial frameworks.