Matthew C. LaFevor
— BA, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN; MA, Universidad de las Américas, Puebla, México; PhD Candidate, University of Texas at Austin
Doctoral Candidate, Assistant Instructor
Contact
- E-mail: mattlafevor@utexas.edu
Biography
Matthew LaFevor received his BA from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee and his MA from la Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, México. He is currently a PhD Candidate in the Department of Geography and the Environment at the University of Texas at Austin and is writing his dissertation.
His dissertation is the product of two years of fieldwork studying the effects of hill-slope terracing on water conservation in the Mexican state of Tlaxcala. This research explores the cultural and biophysical links between indigenously developed agricultural technologies, such as terracing, and modern-day conservation initiatives that seek to imitate them. His dissertation is entitled Conservation Engineering and Cross-Slope Earthworks in Tlaxcala, Mexico.
LaFevor also has a focused research interest in the human and environmental history of natural resource management in New Spain (Colonial Mexico). This work is based on archival research of colonial documents from Mexican collections, and, when possible, incorporates mapping and field-based investigation of written historical data.
LaFevor’s work has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Fulbright-Hays (IIE/Mellon Foundation), the David L. Boren Fellowship for International Study (IIE), Rotary International, and other sources from the University of Texas and external foundations.
Recent papers are listed below. In addition, LaFevor is involved in several ongoing collaborative projects that incorporate both archival and field-based research. He can be reached at mattlafevor@utexas.edu.
LaFevor, M. 2013. (submitted) Structure and Process in Agricultural Restoration: Maintaining Hillslope Terraces in Tlaxcala, Mexco. Journal of Environmental Mangement.
Hudson, P., Sounny-Slitine, A., LaFevor, M. 2013. (accepted) Hydrologic Connectivity along the Lower Mississippi River: Geomorphic and Anthropogenic Influences on Embanked Floodplain Inundation. Hydrological Processes. Submitted, March 31, 2012
LaFevor, M. 2012. Building a Colonial Resource Monopoly: The Expansion of Sulphur Mining in New Spain (1600-1820). Geographical Review. 102(2): 202-224.
LaFevor, M. 2012. Sulphur Mining on Mexico’s Popocatépetl Volcano (1820-1920): Origins, Development, and Human-Environmental Challenges. Journal of Latin American Geography. 11(1): 79-98.
