Since 2008, faculty from Wisconsin colleges and universities have held an annual workshop to share best practices in the pedagogy, research, service learning, and international education programs in Latin American Studies. In April 2009, the first meeting was held at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to reflect on how revolutions have played a steady role in the history of the region, and also to share ideas, and teaching resources to better understand contemporary Latin America.
The organizing theme for the spring 2010 workshop is Latin American Modernities. In commemoration of the 1810-2010 centennials of independence, we will highlight presentations on Spanish American transformations in politics, society, and culture. Specific topics we would like to encourage include:
- Contemporary issues of equity, inclusivity and diversity in scholarship of Latin America
- Immigration, Exile, Transnationalism and Diasporas
- Race and Ethnicity in the processes of Independence and Nation building
- Gender and Sexualities in the processes of Independence and Nation building
- Social Movements, Human Rights Campaigns, and Issues
- Indigenous Rights since Independence
- The role of the Arts in social changes
- Representations of Latin America in various literary and mass communication media
In addition to facilitating conversations about teaching, service learning, and international education through the individual presentations, roundtables, and panels, we invite formal conference papers on related scholarly research.
Keynote Speaker will be Diana Sorensen, James F. Rothenberg Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, Professor of Comparative Literature, and Dean for the Humanities at Harvard University, author of A Turbulent Decade Remembered. Scenes from the Latin American Sixties. Stanford University Press, 2007.
Her Lecture will be titled: Latin America and the Geographic Imaginaries of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. April 23, RC 127, 7:30 pm
This workshop intends to:
- Strengthen ties within the Latin American Studies community in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota, but also with colleagues across the country and the continent.
- Share teaching ideas, course content, and learning modules about topics relating to modernities and transformations since the age of the independence. Allow those with a specific research interest in a particular Latin American topic to present and receive feedback on a working paper or research project.
- Share experiences of service learning and international education programs in Latin America and the U.S.
The workshop is open to all CLACS Regional Faculty Associates and to any post-secondary educators in Wisconsin and adjacent states interested in Latin American, and Latina/o Studies. We welcome scholars from various disciplines such as history, literature, art, social sciences, social work, education, political science, as well as professionals who do work with an emphasis on Latin America. Proposals on U.S. Latino populations are equally welcome. Selected papers focusing on teaching innovations and methodologies will be included in a special issue of Analytic Teaching and Philosophical Praxis, an on-line, peer-reviewed, academic journal published out of Viterbo University (La Crosse, WI) dedicated to exploring the deeper philosophical, political, social and ethical implications of education.
Deadline for individual paper, presentation, panel or roundtable (3 papers and 1 commentator, 150 word summary of presentation): March 1, 2010.
The $25 registration cost will cover conference costs, refreshments, and lunch. Small travel grants available to defer cost of attendance of presenters.
Sponsors
Viterbo University / Latin American Studies Program (LASP)
UW-La Crosse Institute for Latino/a, Latin American, and Iberian Studies (ILLAIS)
UW-Milwaukee Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS)
Any inquires please contact Jesus E. Jambrina, Ph.D., jejambrina@viterbo.edu
Additional Resources