معرفی
Dr. Erika Robb Larkins is a Professor of Anthropology, Behner Stiefel Chair of Brazilian Studies, and Director of the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University (SDSU). She holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and an M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Chicago. Her research examines violence, inequality, race, and gender in urban Brazil, with a focus on private security systems, policing, and environmental racism. Her books include *The Spectacular Favela: Violence in Modern Brazil* (2015) and the forthcoming *The Sensation of Security: Private Guards and the Social Order in Brazil*. She has received grants from the National Science Foundation and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), including a 2022 NEH Summer Institute co-lead on race and urban spaces in Brazil. Larkins is also a Pushcart-nominated fiction writer, with awards for creative ethnographic works like her 2021 story *Working for Nico*.
- Education: Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison; M.A., University of Chicago
Her research explores the political economy of violence in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, the role of private security in urban governance, and the intersection of environmental racism with extreme heat in Brazil. Recent projects include NSF-funded studies on heat and inequality, and NEH-supported faculty training programs. Larkins frequently publishes in journals like *American Ethnologist* and contributes to public outlets like *El País*.
Her articles analyze topics ranging from policing dynamics in Rio to the moral frameworks of security labor under Bolsonaro. Awards include the Society for Humanistic Anthropology’s creative prose award (2021) and Pushcart nominations. She leads the Behner Stiefel Center, fostering interdisciplinary Brazilian studies research and outreach.
