Héctor Beltrán is a sociocultural anthropologist focusing on the intersection of technology and society. His interdisciplinary research examines how technical aspects of computing shape social structures, lived experiences, and identities with a specific interest in race, ethnicity, class, and nation. He explores information technology through various themes such as the digital economy, forms of hacking, and future digital labor, employing ethnographic methods to understand how people use technology to address everyday challenges. Beltrán completed his PhD in Anthropology in 2018 and holds an MA in Folklore from 2012 and a BS in Computer Science Engineering from MIT. He has worked as a President’s Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Irvine before coming to MIT. His recent book, "Code Work: Hacking US/México Techno-Borderlands", investigates how Mexican Latinx coders navigate the tech economy while developing their political identities. His teaching includes subjects around the cultural dimensions of computing and Latinx identities. He has received various fellowships and awards, highlighting his contributions to the field of anthropology and the study of computing cultures.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology • Cambridge, MA
Teach courses on cultural dimensions of computing and ethnographic research on technology use in various communities.