René Rojas is an assistant professor of Human Development with a PhD in sociology from New York University, who focuses on the social and political consequences of the neoliberal turn, particularly in Latin America. His research examines how the adoption of free-market policies has reshaped the state, policymaking and contentious movements in the region. His work is primarily dedicated to understanding how neoliberalism reconfigures social actors' collective capacities for pursuing their interests and demanding or blocking reforms. PhD, New York University MA, University of Wisconsin, Madison BA, Harvard University Latin American politics and development Social foundations of collective action Working-class political formation 2023 Presidential Diversity Research Grant —“The Formation of Political Identity in Post-Industrial Rural America” 2022-2023 SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching 2021- 2022 Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities Fellowship—"Parsing the Paradox of Reaction” 2021 College of Community and Public Affairs Research Excellence Award—“The Formation of Political Identity in Post-Industrial Rural America” (with Dr. Suzy Lee)
René Rojas
Assistant Professor; LACAS Faculty Affiliate
CCPA Human Development; Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program
Background
His forthcoming book addresses how liberalization has transformed twenty-first-century progressive movements and parties in Latin America, comparing their trajectories to those of the classical Left during the region's post-war context. For his next project, Dr. Rojas aims to examine how the proliferation of illegal industries is impacting the region's politics by restructuring communities' economic activities and ordinary people's work experiences. Dr. Rojas's scholarship is largely shaped by and overlaps with his commitments to public and community-engaged scholarship. He prioritizes reaching broader non-academic audiences by regularly publishing in outlets like Jacobin and NACLA Report on the Americas and writing for magazines in other regions like Latin America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. As a community-engaged scholar, he is currently collaborating with a department colleague on a project that trains university students to conduct fieldwork in the area on the formation of local political attitudes and behaviors. He has published on these subjects in journals such as Mobilization, New Labor Forum, and Catalyst.Education
Research Interests
Awards