Jason De León
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jason De León is an anthropologist, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer (2013), and a
MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...
2017 Fellow. He studies the migration from
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
of clandestine migrants crossing the U.S.–Mexico border. De León is Professor of Anthropology and Chicana, Chicano, and Central American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles and Director of th
Undocumented Migration Project
t, a non-profit research/arts/education collective aimed at documenting and raising awareness about migration issues while also assisting families of missing migrants search for their loved ones. Since 2009, he has traveled frequently to the
Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Ariz ...
in
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
to collect artifacts left behind by migrants trying to gain access to the United States. His Undocumented Migration Project includes more than 9000 objects, some of which are on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. From 2013 to 2017, he co-curated an exhibition of these artifacts and other materials collected by the Undocumented Migration Project in a show called ''State of Exception'' that was featured in multiple locations including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit (MOCAD) and the
New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. He is Head Curator of the global participatory exhibition Hostile Terrain 94 that will be installed in 130 locations on six continents in 2021. De León is a Mexican-Filipino American Army brat who grew up largely in
McAllen, Texas McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...
near the Mexican border in the
Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. Th ...
and Long Beach, California. His native language is
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
and he is also fluent in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
. Outside of his academic work, he is a musician who has been involved in various bands and musical projects over the years. He hosted a television show on the Discovery Channel in 2011 called '' American Treasures''. He currently plays bass in a rock band calle
The War Pigs


Education

De León is a graduate of Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. He received his BA in
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
in 2001 from the
University of California in Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
, CA. He received his MA in 2004
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
from Pennsylvania State University, PA where he completed his thesis titled, “Aztec Salt Production in the Basin of Mexico: A Domestic Perspective. He received his PhD in
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
in 2008 from Pennsylvania State University, where he completed his dissertation titled, "The Lithic Industries of San Lorenzo-Tenochtitlán: An Economic and Technological Study of Olmec Obsidian" on the many years he spent in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
excavating obsidian tool artifacts left by indigenous people thousands of years ago.


Academic positions

De León is currently a Professor of
Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
and Chicana/o and Central American Studies and is also Affiliate Faculty in the Latin American Institute at the University of California,
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, CA. From 2008 to 2010 he was a Lecturer in anthropology at the University of Washington. He taught at the University of Michigan from 2010 to 2019. His current research lab is located in the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. From 2013-2014 he was a
Weatherhead A weatherhead, also called a weathercap, service head, service entrance cap, or gooseneck (slang) is a weatherproof service drop entry point where overhead power or telephone wires enter a building, or where wires transition between overhead a ...
scholar at the School for Advanced Research. He is currently President of the Board of Directors for the Colibrí Center for Human Rights.


Publications and awards

De León has published numerous peer reviewed articles and book chapters, has been involved in dozens of museum works and exhibitions, and has been the recipient of numerous research grants, awards, fellowships and honors, including a 2017-2022
MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...
Fellowship. He received the 2016 Margaret Mead Award for his book The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail, with photos by Michael Wells, which combines the use of ethnography,
archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...
,
linguistics Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...
, and forensic science to document the human consequences of US immigration policy. He is the author of the book '' The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail'' (University of California Press, 2015). The book received the 2016 Margaret Mead Award and the 2018 JI Staley Prize and has received positive reviews in many media outlets including ''The New York Times''. His scholarly articles have been published in ''
American Anthropologist ''American Anthropologist'' is the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association (AAA), published quarterly by Wiley. The "New Series" began in 1899 under an editorial board that included Franz Boas, Daniel G. Brinton, and John W ...
,
Journal of Forensic Sciences The ''Journal of Forensic Sciences'' (''JFS'') is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal is the official publication of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, published by Wiley-Blackwell. It covers all aspects of forensic science. The mi ...
,'' and ''Journal of Contemporary Archaeology.'' De León's new book
Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling
will be published by Viking Books in March 2024. The book is based on seven years of ethnographic work in Mexico and Honduras and traces the lives of several individual's involved in the smuggling of Central American migrants across the length of Mexico.


Areas of interest and study

De León’s self-described areas of interest and methods include undocumented migration and
deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
, human smuggling,
violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...
, materiality, archaeology of the contemporary, photo-ethnography, and forensic science. His work has been described as a multidisciplinary approach to
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
to US migration and involves ethnographic analysis of migrant stories, forensic science, and archaeological research. It has also been described as an “intersection of physical geography, cultural geography, and archaeology,” as he uses tools like
GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
to document sites. He says that
archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...
is “studying the past through material traces." We tend to think these must be ancient things” and asks us to question, “What happens if you think about the archaeology of the recent past, as recently as this morning in some cases”?


Undocumented Migration Project (UMP) and Hostile Terrain 94 (HT94)

As Executive Director of the long-term Undocumented Migration Project (UMP) Inc., a 501(c)(3) that began in 2009, De León uses fieldwork to “collect, catalogue, and interpret nearly 10,000 objects left in the desert by migrants making the treacherous, undocumented border crossing from
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
into the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
” and says these objects become artifacts. The UMP project has focused on the last 20 years, but broadened more recently in 2020 to include longer histories of
migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
,
labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...
, and environmental changes centered on
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, which is a main area of undocumented crossings from
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
; they will conduct
interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...
s and collect oral histories. As part of UMP, De León directs Hostile Terrain 94 (HT94), a participatory art project resulting in an exhibition of “3,200 handwritten toe tags that represent migrants who have died trying to cross the Sonoran Desert of Arizona between the mid-1990s and 2019. These tags are geolocated on a wall map of the desert showing the exact
location In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...
s where remains were found”. HT94 was shown in the US and around the
world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
, debuting a virtual exhibition on July 17, 2020. This ongoing exhibition has been installed in over 100 locations around the globe including various locations in the United States, as well as Mexico, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, and beyond. References


External links

*
Undocumented Migration Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:de Leon, Jason 21st-century American anthropologists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of California, Los Angeles alumni Pennsylvania State University alumni University of Michigan faculty