Latin American Studies

This project was funded in part by a CSWS grant.
“Born and raised in Argentina and still maintaining significant ties to the area, Barbara Sutton examines the complex, and often hidden, bodily worlds of diverse women in that country during a period of profound social upheaval. Based primarily on women’s experiential narratives and set against the backdrop of a severe economic crisis and intensified social movement activism post-2001, Bodies in Crisis illuminates how multiple forms of injustice converge in and are contested through women’s bodies."

"In this queer bilingual children’s book, Chabelita’s hopes come true when Jimena, the new student whose eyes sparkle like stars, sits next to her. Through shared language and experience they easily connect. The more they learn about each other, the more time they spend together, and the more they like each other. When Chabelita shares her special bow tie with Jimena on picture day, everyone will know that they like one another. With the support of family and the reflection of important role models, Chabelita’s Heart shows two kids as they grow into themselves and understand that “girls can like girls” in this heartwarming tale of a first crush."

This project was funded in part by a CSWS grant.
"Since the late twentieth century, multicultural reforms to benefit minorities have swept through Latin America; however, in Colombia ethno-racial inequality remains rife. Becoming Heritage evaluates how heritage policies affected the Afro-Colombian community of San Basilio de Palenque after it was proclaimed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2005. Although the designation partially delivered on its promise of multicultural inclusion, it also created ethno-racial exclusion and conflict among groups within the Palenquero community."

This project was funded in part by a CSWS grant.
This documentary captures the unprecedented takeover in August 2006 of COR-TV, the state’s radio and television stations in Oaxaca, Mexico, when women marched to its installations to voice their political, social, economic, and cultural concerns and ended up taking over the airwaves. It all began when police responded to a teachers’ strike with brutal repression, turning the city of Oaxaca into a battle camp and leading to the formation of the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO).Issues of justice, women’s rights, and human rights violations are at the core of this social uprising, in which media became an important site of struggle.

This project was funded in part by a CSWS grant.
"The book focuses on representations of indigenous peoples in post-revolutionary literary and intellectual history by examining key cultural texts. Using these analyses as a foundation, Analisa Taylor links her critique to national Indian policy, rights, and recent social movements in Southern Mexico. In addition, she moves beyond her analysis of indigenous peoples in general to take a gendered look at indigenous women ranging from the villainized Malinche to the highly romanticized and sexualized Zapotec women of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec."

"The authors of the essays in this unique collection explore the lives and cultural contributions of gay Latino men in the United States, while also analyzing the political and theoretical stakes of gay Latino studies. In new essays and influential previously published pieces, Latino scholars based in American studies, ethnic studies, history, performance studies, and sociology consider gay Latino scholarly and cultural work in relation to mainstream gay, lesbian, and queer academic discourses and the broader field of Chicano and Latino studies."

“Latin American Studies as a fully recognized field of scholarly inquiry only exists for those accustomed to viewing the region from north of the U.S.-Mexican border. Although never completely stable or uncontested, Latin American Studies had its first heyday between the mid1960s and late 1980s, at the height of the Cold War, when the region became the focus of intense geopolitical contention. While two decades later it is clear that Latin American Studies has remained vibrant in the face of such challenges, its resilience is due to innovation, rather than to a merely reactive defense of deeply engrained premises and institutional practices."