Pamela K. Sertzen completed her PhD in geography at Syracuse University, and holds a master's in geography from The University of Texas at Austin and a dual BA in Hispanic Studies and Sociology from the College of William and Mary.
Her current book project, titled Contesting Erasure: The Museu da Maré and the Right to the City in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil examines the role of museums in shaping and defining urban space through the re-centering of history and memory at the margins. In particular, the framing joins insights from social museology--a type of museology meant to transform society through its practices--and the right to the city, or who and what has a claim to belonging in a city. In addition to highlighting the critical role of community museums in the fight for spatial justice, the book pushes back against centering narratives of violence in favelas by building on an understanding of Maré as a nucleus of knowledge production.