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Dr. Mercedez Callenes

Assistant Professor of Global Affairs

Programs

Courses Taught

GLBL 250 Human Geography Seminar: Lat America
POLS 101 Pol, Pwr & You: Dem at Crosrds
POLS 345 Environmental Politics

Education

  • Ph.D., Public Policy and Political Economy, University of Texas at Dallas, 2021
  • M.S., Applied Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2013
  • B.S., Economics, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, 2006

Interests

  • Gender-sensitive policies, development studies, peace and conflict studies, and poverty reduction policies for Latin America

Affiliations

  • International Exchange Alumni - Fulbright Program
  • Latin American Studies Association (LASA)

Awards

  • Panelist at LASA Congress. América Latina y el Caribe: Pensar, Representar y Luchar por los Derechos. Vancouver, Canada, 2023
  • Dissertation Research Award. Office of Graduate Education at the University of Texas at Dallas, 2019
  • Travel and Study Abroad Grant. University of Essex, UK, 2019
  • Fulbright Foreign Student Program 2011-2013
  • The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association and Global Development Network Scholarship. Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia, 20018

Select Works Published

  • A hotspot analysis of critical hydrocarbons infrastructure in Colombia: ELN (Ejército de Liberación Nacional) and FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) attacks on Colombian pipelines
    Agustin Palao-Mendizabal, Jennifer S. Holmes, Neil Ortiz, Mercedez Callenes, Álvaro Cardenas, Applied Geography, 2021
  • Using hotspot analysis to prioritize security efforts in Colombian critical infrastructure, a focus on the power grid
    Agustin Palao-Mendizabal, Jennifer S Holmes, Mercedez Callenes, Neil Ortiz, Álvaro Cardenas, Security Journal, 2021
  • Crossing thresholds: The use of spatial analysis to identify intensification of the Colombian conflict
    Agustin Palao-Mendizabal, Jennifer S. Holmes, Mercedez Callenes, Álvaro Cardenas, Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 2019
  • Paramilitary Violence in Colombia: A Multilevel Negative Binomial Analysis
    Jennifer S. Holmes, Agustin Palao-Mendizabal, David Saucedo De La Fuente, Mercedez Callenes, Álvaro Cardenas, The Journal of Defence and Peace Economics, 2018
  • Fair Trade-Organic Coffee Cooperatives, Migration, and Secondary Schooling in Southern Mexico
    Seth R. Gitter, Jeremy G. Weber, Bradford L. Barham, Mercedez Callenes, Jessa Lewis Valentine, The Journal of Development Studies, 2012
  • Fair Trade/Organic Coffee, Rural Livelihoods, and the “Agrarian Question”: Southern Mexican Coffee Families in Transition
    Bradford L. Barham, Mercedez Callenes, Seth Gitter, Jessa Lewis, Jeremy Weber, World Development, 2011

Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is based on the belief that a supportive and encouraging environment determines students' academic proficiency. The rules that guide my teaching include awakening students' intellectual curiosity, fostering a safe environment, and keeping the classroom discussion relevant. I know that by teaching students how to engage their learning to the world's challenges, education can be used to inspire career purpose and civic-mindedness.