Valerie Bondura graduated magna cum laude from Brown University in 2013 with a double major in Archaeology and Anthropology. She has participated in archaeological research in the U.S. Northeast, in Greece, in Spain, and most recently in the U.S. Southwest. Her dissertation research examines inter-community relationships between Hispanic and Pueblo communities in the northern Rio Grande region of New Mexico during the 18th-20th centuries. Primarily through ceramic analysis, Valerie’s dissertation compares the material identities of Hispanic and Pueblo communities, investigates Hispanic connections with surrounding Indigenous nations, and applies ceramic ecology, Native Studies, and Chicanx Studies to understand relationships to place and landscape on the eve of American westward expansion in the region. More broadly, Valerie is interested in interdisciplinary work that bridges archaeology and American Studies, and she maintains a commitment to critical pedagogy, inclusive teaching, and teaching development.
