Garrett Alexandrea (Andrea) McDowell is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology. She has a M.A. in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in anthropology from Rhodes College. 

For her dissertation research, Andrea will measure the effects of transnationalism on the identity formation of Japanese immigrants in Latin America through a study of intermarriage. Revisions to Japan´s immigration laws (1991) have initiated a massive reverse migration trend of Nikkei (of Japanese descent) Latin Americans. Using marriage as a lens through which to analyze identity formation within the context of these transnational developments, her research will take advantage of a unique historical moment by investigating recent changes in patterns of intermarriage from the perspective of Latin American sending communities. Currently she is comparatively examining the cases of Nikkei in the Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico and in Lima, Peru. Her research methods include photography along with more traditional ethnographic approaches.