About
I am the Berit Ingersoll-Dayton Collegiate Professor of Social Work at the University of Michigan (U-M), School of Social Work in Ann Arbor. I have an appointment as a Professor of Theater and Drama at U-M’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance; and I am a University Diversity & Social Transformation Professor.
I was born in Brazil, where I earned a degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Education. I moved to the United States in 1987. My careers in social work and in the arts have been inspired by my growing up poor and queer during a military dictatorship in Brazil, then being poorly treated as a racial/ethnic minority in the United States. I have dedicated my life to developing empirical and artistic responses to these types of oppression.
Specifically, my work raises awareness and inspire action to dismantle racism, xenophobia, sexism, heterosexism, classism, and ageism. This website is dedicated to my artistic practice, my research, and my teaching. My other accomplishments as a social science researcher can be found here.
My work centers around my autoethnographic writings, including poetry and dramatic writing. I create and perform my own theatrical and installation performance work in collaboration with experts in dramaturgy, videography, visual art, stage design, and others. The finished installations integrate sculpture, video, photography, fashion design and other media to embody and convey social justice and healing messages.
I use art to inspire the development of critical consciousness – our capacity to critique oppressive socioeconomic and political conditions and to take personal and collective action against oppression. I attempt to answer questions I ask myself about the state of the world and my experience of it. In addition to the art forms listed above, I draw on my knowledge of biology and psychology to evoke experiences of oppression and vulnerability that I and my audience may share. By using humor and wonder I hope to facilitate dialogue and to unearth new feelings and perspectives for me and my audience.
About Me
I am the Berit Ingersoll-Dayton Collegiate Professor of Social Work at the University of Michigan (U-M), School of Social Work in Ann Arbor. I have an appointment as a Professor of Theater and Drama at U-M’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance; and I am a University Diversity & Social Transformation Professor.
I was born in Brazil, where I earned a degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Education. I moved to the United States in 1987. My careers in social work and in the arts have been inspired by my growing up poor and queer during a military dictatorship in Brazil, then being poorly treated as a racial/ethnic minority in the United States. I have dedicated my life to developing empirical and artistic responses to these types of oppression.
Specifically, my work raises awareness and inspire action to dismantle racism, xenophobia, sexism, heterosexism, classism, and ageism. This website is dedicated to my artistic practice, my research, and my teaching. My other accomplishments as a social science researcher can be found here.
My work centers around my autoethnographic writings, including poetry and dramatic writing. I create and perform my own theatrical and installation performance work in collaboration with experts in dramaturgy, videography, visual art, stage design, and others. The finished installations integrate sculpture, video, photography, fashion design and other media to embody and convey social justice and healing messages.
I use art to inspire the development of critical consciousness – our capacity to critique oppressive socioeconomic and political conditions and to take personal and collective action against oppression. I attempt to answer questions I ask myself about the state of the world and my experience of it. In addition to the art forms listed above, I draw on my knowledge of biology and psychology to evoke experiences of oppression and vulnerability that I and my audience may share. By using humor and wonder I hope to facilitate dialogue and to unearth new feelings and perspectives for me and my audience.
