UNM Department of Spanish & Portuguese Holds First Human Rights Symposium
March 8, 2013
The UNM Department of Spanish and Portuguese holds its first annual Human Rights Symposium, "Human Ecologies of Ethnicity, Race and Memory in Human Rights Discourse," on March 7 and 8, 2013. The symposium will confront three pivotal issues in contemporary human rights: memory and transitional justice; indigenous and environmental rights; and race and human rights. These issues all center on experiences of Latin America, with a focus on Brazil.
On March March 7th, cultural critics Rebecca Atencio (Tulane University) and Idelber Avelar (Tulane University), internationally renowned Afro-Brazilian writer Ana Maria Gonçalves, and Brazilian scholar and filmmaker Charles Bicalho will address the aforementioned issues vis-á-vis human rights. On March 7th in the evening Dr. Charles Bicalho will screen Kotkuphi (2011) and Xupapoynãg (2011).
On March 8th, selected UNM graduate student papers will be read on a variety of issues that confront themes of human rights. Latin Americanist research and interest is strongly represented in these student presentations, much as in the invited guest speakers of the first day. Of the seven presenters, four are students in the Latin American Studies program: Marina Todeschini, "Moral Restoration Through Transitional Justice: A Comparison Between Argentina, Chile, and Brazil"; Samuel Johnson, "Revolution and Religion: Liberation Theology and El Salvador's Civil War"; Amanda Hooker, "Enacting Citizenship Through Social Mobilization: The Nasa People's Struggle for Rights and Autonomy"; and Ailesha Ringer, "Inverting and Supporting Brazilian Racial Stereotypes in A casa de Alice." The remaining three students also address Latin Americanist research questions: Fiorella Vera Andrianzen (Department of Political Science), "Urban Mobilization in Solidarity with Amazonian Indigenous Peoples"; Viviane Faria (Department of Spanish and Portuguese), "O menino que se trancou na geladeira: A Panoramic Picture of a Nation"; and, Juliana Todescan (Department of Spanish and Portuguese), "Gender Relations in Brazil and Their Representation in A casa de Alice."
For more information, please see the event flyer or visit University Libraries' website.
The Latin American and Iberian Institute (LAII) is proud to support the Department of Spanish & Portuguese in this effort to expand awareness, knowledge, and understanding of Latin America. Other sponsors for the event include the Division of Student Affairs, El Centro de la Raza, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, and University Libraries' Inter-American Studies Program.
