From the Book to the Big Screen: Grandma, Are You a Lesbian?

Dr. Natalia Borges Polesso

A conversation about Brazilian cinema and the adaptation for cinema of Dr. Polesso's short story "Grandma, Are You a Lesbian?" from her award-wining collection Amora.

A Civil War of Ideas: Progress and Reaction in American Public Perception of The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

Carter Barnwell, Doctoral Candidate in History at UNM

In this presentation, Carter Barnwell will discuss the impact of the Spanish Civil War on American public opinion on one University campus, as played out in print on the pages of The Campus newspaper of the City College of New York.

Peace Corps Information Session

Maria Goodfellow, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer

Join the Latin American Studies programs at CNM and UNM and the NM Mexico Humanities Now! project for an information session about opportunities in the U.S. Peace Corps.

The Refugee Crisis in Latin America: Perspectives from UNHCR Offices on the Frontline

Fernando Flores, UNHCR, Head of the Lago Agrio Field Office

Fernando Flores will discuss his experiences working in various UNHCR offices in Africa and throughout Latin America.

The Art and Craft of Oaxacan Mezcal

Dr. Ronda Brulotte, UNM Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies and Director of Latin American Studies

In this presentation, Dr. Ronda Brulotte discusses the rise of mezcal as a global commodity within the artisanal food movement, as well as how this transformation has impacted rural producer communities in southern Mexico.

Race and Mexican Art of the Late Colonial and Early National Periods

Ray Hernández-Durán, Department of Art, University of New Mexico

In this talk, Ray Hernández-Durán will focus on a transitional period in Mexican art history, 1750–1850, and explore the role of the Academy of San Carlos in shaping Mexican art production. By looking at the academy in Mexico City during this period, we can trace how the image of the Indian was transformed and the Black subject gradually erased as the colonial period came to an end and independent Mexico emerged.

MALAS Alumni Panel

Kalyn Mae Finnell, Sam Johnson, Nora Lamm and Devon Lara

Burying Pinochet’s Legacy: Chile’s New Constitution

Sergio J Ascencio, UNM Department of Political Science

This talk will consist of two parts. The first part will put the Chilean case in a broader context by discussing some of the challenges of institutional design in transitional democracies. The second part will provide an overview of the events leading to the constitutional referendum and the road ahead.

Locating the Martial Middle Class: A Case for Bringing Military Families into Argentina’s History of Counterinsurgency and Cold War Modernization

Dylan Maynard, PHD Candidate, UNM History Department

Argentina’s military officers and their families, by midcentury, belonged to a martial middle class. But while past studies of Argentina’s Cold War military center on its political interventions, there is a need to explore how the intimate lives of military families structured officers’ professional identities and, in turn, a model for economic and social development in the 1960s.

Global History as Hemispheric: Latin America, the U.S., and Canada in the 1920s

Joel Wolfe, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Joel Wolfe is currently writing a book, “The Global Twenties,” that recasts our understanding of modern globalization by studying the ways the Western Hemisphere was integrated through trade, the exchange of ideas, and the movement of people during the 1920s. This talk provides some of the basic findings from that book.

Still Searching for Providence: Mayan Migration to the United States through the Decades

Patricia Foxen, Deputy Director of Research at UnidosUS

Patricia Foxen will discuss her book "In Search of Providence: Transnational Mayan Identities" and the new updates made to the reprint as well as her thoughts on the current migration situation.

Seeking Refuge: The Role of Expert Witnesses in Latin American Asylum Cases

Kimberly Gauderman, UNM History Department, Former Director of UNM Latin American Studies Program

This presentation offers a description of the asylum system and the role of expert witnesses, focusing on the specific challenges faced by women and LGBTQ persons seeking refuge in the U.S.

Latin American Studies Convocation

The Latin American Studies (LAS) program will hold its Spring 2021 Convocation virtually, honoring those undergraduate and graduate students who will receive LAS degrees in May and August. The convocation is a departmental event that is held in addition to the University-sponsored commencement. At convocation, each graduating student will be recognized and will have time to talk about their experience in the program.