My name is Dr. John A. Mundell and I am an interdisciplinary scholar of Black Studies and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, a foreign language educator, and translator. My research and teaching focus on black popular culture, critical whiteness, gender and sexuality, and theories of racial formation in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Lusophone Africa.

I am currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in African and African American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. I completed my Ph.D. in African American and African Diaspora Studies with a Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality, from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to my Ph.D., I earned a Masters in Ethnic and African Studies from the Universidade Federal da Bahia in Salvador, Brazil where I lived for five years. Before moving to Brazil, I earned a Masters in Spanish Education from Wake Forest University and my B.A. in Spanish, Latin American Studies, and Afro-American Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

I call many places home, among them Raleigh, North Carolina; St. Louis, Missouri; Salvador, Brazil; and Quito, Ecuador. I am an enthusiastic supporter of study abroad for students, having studied in Ecuador and Argentina during my undergraduate career. In addition to my love of travel and learning languages, I am a passionate chef and baker. Beyond WashU, I work as an instructor at Fennel Cooking Studio in St. Louis where I teach Latin American and Caribbean cuisine, offering students the tools and confidence to explore an array of ingredients and flavors within a culturally informed context.

Outside of academia and the kitchen, I enjoy wandering around St. Louis with my partner, Cliff, and our toy Goldendoodle, Pepita, to peruse the farmers’ markets and scout out all the dog-friendly establishments around town.