Contested Illnesses Research Group
Brown University , Providence RI

Mercedes Lyson is a PhD student in Sociology. Mercedes's research interests in sociology are namely in urban and environmental sociology, stratification, and race and ethnicity. She is interested in land use change, contestation over land use, civic spaces/engagement/participation, and sustainable local food systems. She is especially interested in how local food system alternatives have the potential to create a more engaged citizenry that bridge across race and class divides. Her work is mostly domestic, with a regional interest in the southwestern United States. She has also done work on the impact of free trade policies on Mexico, and has future interests in comparing civic culture/food culture in Western Europe to the United States. Another broad area of research that pertains to her MA work is how nanoscientists view the social and ethical implications of their research, and how institutional factors at multiple levels interact to shape their perceptions.