Research in the dictionary

The UCSC Sociology Department faculty locate ourselves in various interdisciplinary sites, reflected in the courses we offer; research we undertake; and research working groups/centers we lead.

Each faculty member’s research and teaching focuses on at least two of the following five broad areas that are defining of our department.

Helen Shapiro
  • Title
    • Associate Professor
    • Director, UCDC
  • Division Social Sciences Division
  • Department
    • Sociology Department
  • Affiliations Latin American & Latino Studies, Dolores Huerta Research Center for the Americas
  • Phone
    831-459-3432 (office)
  • Email
  • Office Location
    • Rachel Carson College Academic Building, 338
    • Washington D.C.
  • Office Hours Available by email only
  • Mail Stop Rachel Carson College Faculty Services
  • Mailing Address
    • 1156 High St
    • Santa Cruz CA 95064
  • Courses Colleges Nine and Ten Core Course

Research Interests

Political economy, Latin American economic history and development (with an emphasis on Brazil), industrial policy, the auto industry, the state and transnational corporations

Biography, Education and Training

B.A. Hampshire College
Ph.D. Yale University

Selected Publications

  • "Review of Export Promotion Policies in Brazil," Integration and Trade, 1998.
  • Engines of Growth: The State and Transnational Auto Companies in Brazil (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
  • "Determinants of Firm Entry into the Brazilian Automobile Industry, 1956-1968," Business History Review, 65(4), Winter 1991.
  • "The State and Industrial Strategy" (with Lance Taylor), World Development 18 (6), June 1990.