FALL 2015 LES HAINES CLAS and Tennessee State Vanderbilt Portal Connects Students and Faculty University Collaborate on “Cuba: Histories of the Present” to Mexico City and Honduras Photography Exhibit n fall 2015, Vanderbilt students and the larger Nashville community have had the opportunity CLAS collaborated with Tennessee State University to bring “Cuba: to have face-to-face conversations with individuals in Mexico City and Honduras through the Histories of the Present” to Nashville Vanderbilt Portal. “Portals” is a public art initiative created by artist Amar C. Bakshi and his art in September. The exhibit featured Icollective, Shared_Studios. The project uses custom-designed gold shipping containers outfitted with photographs by of the daily routines, immersive audio and video technology. Bakshi explains that the goal of the project is to revitalize racial identity, and cultural practices of public spaces and break down barriers between people in distant locations. Both portals in Mexico City Cubans from 2006–2014. The photog- and Honduras are permanent installations: in Mexico City the portal is located near a public fountain rapher, David LaFevor, received his in the Colonia Roma Norte; in Honduras, the portal is located in El Progreso on the outskirts of San Ph.D. in history from Vanderbilt and Pedro Sula, and affiliated with OYE, the Organization for Youth Empowerment in La Perla. is now professor of digital humanities At Vanderbilt, the portal was located on The and Latin American history at the Commons South Lawn and open from September University of Texas at Arlington. His 18 to October 16. During its run, over 200 students, research traces the racial, national, and gendered contours of the intro- faculty, and others had the opportunity to have a duction and popularization of boxing conversation with a stranger in Mexico and Hon- in Cuba and Mexico from the 1890s duras. First-year student Stefano Scotti described to the 1930s. his conversation with a Honduran high school student as “fascinating.” Scotti continued, “He Housed at the Hiram van Gordon Gallery at TSU, the exhibit opened on talked about a music festival that was coming to September 11 with a reception and his community for the weekend, and I was struck gallery talk by LaFevor. CLAS Out- by how similar it sounded to the music scene in reach Coordinator Jamie Lee Marks Nashville. The coolest thing about the experience organized a professional development was the empathy building; he was just as similar to workshop on the exhibit attended me as he was different.” by 26 educators. Participants heard CLAS helped to organize volunteers to assist presentations from David LaFevor on with the portal and provide Spanish language (continued on page 3) (continued on page 3) DIRECTOR’S CORNER: EDWARD F. FISCHER

hese are turbulent times across Latin sees this as a watershed moment—it is hurting America, as corruption scandals are Brazilian markets in the short run, but will producing both newfound optimism and produce a more vibrant and transparent system stoking deep-seated fears. in the long run. He also notes that the Brazilian 230 Buttrick Hall T PMB 351806 Over the last few months, the Guatemalan judiciary has switched tactics from going after 2301 Vanderbilt Place president, vice-president, the entire board of the corrupt politicians first, to initially targeting (and Nashville, TN 37235-1806 Social Security Administration, a Supreme Court even jailing) their private sector co-conspirators. Tel: 615-322-2527 judge, and numerous others have been jailed These events take place in such complicated Fax: 615-322-2305 Web: vanderbilt.edu/clas on charges of corruption. Data from LAPOP’s circumstances, resulting from such convoluted AmericasBarometer reveal high levels of graft histories, that it takes the work of our political Director: Edward F. Fischer and widespread distrust of political organizations science, economics, and other social sciences Executive Director: Avery Dickins de Girón Outreach Coordinator: Jamie Lee Marks in the country, but many believe these colleagues to understand them. We are fortunate Administrative Assistant: unprecedented arrests may be a turning point. to have over 140 faculty at Vanderbilt focusing a Alma Paz-Sanmiguel At the other end of the continent, Brazil significant part of their work on Latin America, Associate Director, Certificate and FLAS has arrested the heads of the country’s largest and it is this concentration of expertise across Coordinator: Helena Simonett construction companies on corruption charges. schools and colleges that makes possible our Associate Director, Graduate and Under- graduate Advisor: Frank Robinson The scale of the kickbacks is staggering; more One Vanderbilt in Latin America initiative. I am LAS Bibliographer: Paula Covington than a $1 billion from Petrobras alone. CLAS constantly awed by the amazing work our faculty Visiting Resource Professor Luis Paulo Rosenberg and students produce. Steering Committee 2015–16 Jose Cardenas-Bunsen Celso Castilho Tom Dillehay/Bill Fowler Katharine Donato Ernesto Cardenal Visits Vanderbilt Brian Heuser/Ashley Carse LAS welcomed Nicaraguan poet and priest Ernesto Cardenal back to Vanderbilt in October. Doug Morgan Elizabeth Zechmeister To mark his 90th birthday this year, Cardenal recently released a new anthology of his poems, Noventa en los noventa. The highlight of Cardenal’s visit to Nashville was a public talk at the CLAS-Affiliated Faculty CFirst Amendment Center, “Poetry, Politics, and the First Latin American Pope.” During his visit to Rhonda Collier, Tuskegee University Vanderbilt, Cardenal gave a reading from the new book and met with faculty and students in divinity, (English) Spanish and Portuguese, and other departments. Theron Corse, Tennessee State University Cardenal was a key figure in the liberation theology movement in the 1970s and became a revo- (History) Gregory Hammond, Austin Peay State lutionary leader in Nicaragua. He was an important participant in the Sandinista revolution in 1979 University (History) that overthrew Somoza, and he later served as minister of culture after the Sandinistas took power. Larry Harrington, Chief Deputy, Attorney Recently, Cardenal has been an outspoken critic of the Chinese-backed interoceanic canal through General, State of Tennessee Lake Nicaragua, the largest freshwater lake in Central America. Cardenal has denounced the project, Michael LaRosa, Rhodes College (History) claiming that it would split the Jana Morgan, University of Tennessee (Political Science) lake in two and endanger the Stephen Morris, Middle Tennessee State Solentiname Islands, where he University (Political Science) founded a communal society Richard Pace, Middle Tennessee State for artists. University (Anthropology) Cardenal spoke at the Gerald Reed, Middle Tennessee State University (Political Science) Vanderbilt Divinity School in Christoph Rosenmuller, Tennessee State 2011 as part of our year-long University (History) celebration of liberation theol- Brent Savoie, Johns Hopkins University ogy’s 40th anniversary. Given (Medicine) his very fond memories of that trip, he chose Vanderbilt as Teacher Advisory Board the one university he wanted Laura Clemmons, Martin Luther King Academic Magnet School to revisit on what he describes Stephanie Knight, Hillsboro High School as his last trip to the US. Rob Nasatir, Father Ryan High School Holly Zahar, Hillsboro High School

2 THE CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES Vanderbilt Portal Cuba Exhibit cont. continued from page 1 Afro-Cuban culture, Frank Robinson on the history of U.S.-Cuban relations, translation. The project also offered a space for and Rob Nasatir on the Cuban New cross-cultural research and artistic collaboration. Song movement, and also explored The Curb Center coordinated exchanges between ideas for incorporating music into local Nashville artists, student groups such as the language and social studies the Kefi Project, and the Nashville Public Library classrooms. TSU faculty in the Depart- with artists and others in these Latin American ments of Art and English plan to locations. Liz Zechmeister (Political Science) had incorporate the exhibit into classroom the chance to visit the portal in Mexico City. assignments. The photographs were on display through October 9. Baskhi worked with a team of artists, design- The Vanderbilt Portal was sponsored by The ers, engineers, technologists, and digital explorers Martha Rivers Ingram Commons; CLAS; Curb at Shared_Studios to launch the portals project Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy; in December 2014. Previous linkages have Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery; Blair School of included New York, Tehran, Herat, Havana, and Music; International Legal Studies Program San Francisco. Vanderbilt is only the third higher at Vanderbilt Law School; Department of Art; education institution to have a Shared_Studios Department of History of Art; and the Depart- portal on its campus. ment of Political Science.

CLAS Launches First Tuesday Year of Brazil Lunch Series This year, CLAS is hosting a new LAS began in 1947 as the lunch series featuring invited speak- world’s first Institute of ers or Vanderbilt faculty. Lunch is Brazilian Studies, and we provided, and the series is open to Chave maintained our prominence all faculty, students, and staff. Talks in both Brazilian Portuguese and begin at 12:15 p.m. and end promptly Brazilian studies more broadly. at 1:00 p.m. The fall 2015 schedule is: As part of our One Vanderbilt • September 1: CLAS Visiting in Latin America program, we Resource Professor Luis Paulo Rosenberg are focusing this academic year on Brazil. Marshall Eakin • October 6: Una Conversación con Ernesto Cardenal (History) has agreed to lead our Brazilian initiatives. Key parts of We will host a joint workshop at Universidade • November 3: Faculty Round- this effort involve our VRP Luis Paulo Rosenberg, de São Paulo in October. Workshop participants table with Dominque Behague, Alicia Monroe, and Candice a Brazil TIPS project, and Fulbright Foreign include Marshall Eakin (History), Fred Batista Amich Language Teaching Assistant Diogo Oliveira who Pereira (LAPOP), Malu Jorge (Biology and EES), is leading Portuguese instruction for students Tara McKay (MHS), Troy Moon (IGH), and Vice • December 1: Faculty Round- table on Deforestation in Latin at Fisk and for faculty in Vanderbilt University’s Provost Tim McNamara. Following the workshop, America with Malu Jorge, School of Medicine. participants will attend our fourth annual recep- tion for Brazilian alumni. Students in Vanderbilt’s Arthur Demarest, and Americas MBA program will be in São Paulo and John Carter will also attend the reception. Students and faculty have the chance to practice their Portuguese every Friday afternoon through the ever-popular bate-papo. Faculty involved in the Brazil TIPS project, “Building a Multidisciplinary Approach to Assess the Quality of Health Care in Brazil” will present three workshops during fall 2015: • “Cultural Contexts of Doing Research in Brazil” on September 21 CLAS Executive Director Avery • “Social Science Research in Brazil” featur- Dickins de Girón was appointed ing LAPOP on October 12 senior lecturer in Latin American • “Health Care Issues in Brazil with Solange Studies. She received her Ph.D. Cavalcante and Betina Durovni” on in anthropology in 2008. November 13

WWW.VANDERBILT.EDU/CLAS 3 CLAS External Evaluation Program n accordance with our designation as a National Resource Center, of teacher workshops demonstrated that they effectively enhanced CLAS maintains an extensive evaluation program that provides teachers’ self-confidence in teaching workshop-related content areas. ongoing feedback on the center’s impact and programming. Our In the 2014–15 academic year, Ke Wang, a master’s student in the Iexternal evaluation program has now been in place for five years and is international education policy and management program at Peabody led by Dr. Xiu Cravens, a higher education monitoring and evaluation College, designed the instruments, collected the data, and completed expert at Peabody College. Cravens works closely with CLAS staff and CLAS evaluation reports. As Ke reflected on her experience, she a graduate student intern to create, implement, and improve evaluation commented, “The external evaluation project with CLAS opened up protocols. These protocols consist of evaluations of CLAS events, pre- a lot of career-related opportunities for me. I was able to add ‘higher and post-surveys of our professional development workshops, focus education monitoring and evaluation’ to my skill set; I found my sum- groups with K-12 educators and with LAS faculty, and a library survey. mer internship in D.C. because I had accumulated experience in several The library survey is conducted in the spring semester of every areas through working with CLAS.” Amanda Ketner, a first-year IEPM other year; in spring 2015, 101 students and faculty completed the student, will be working on CLAS evaluation for 2015–16. This CLAS survey. Highlights of the survey results include: 79% of the respondents internship also satisfies the requirement for IEPM students to complete reported that the LAS collection serves their research needs well or a 135-hour practicum. very well, and 82% reported that they are satisfied or very satisfied with CLAS thanks you for your participation in our surveys and other the library service provided by LAS Librarian Paula Covington. Surveys evaluation protocols.

Library News Contributed by Paula Covington, Latin American and Iberian Bibliographer and Senior Lecturer in Latin American Studies

he word is out about our wonderful Colombian collections! Thanks to our recent Library Dean’s Fellows, the library’s enhanced web presence and growing digital collections have attracted a number of inquiries and visitors from Paris to Colorado. Over the summer four Ph.D. students Tand graduates came from Harvard, Alabama, Wisconsin, and Colorado, all writing about Manuel Zapata Olivella. Topics range from his connections with US black activists during the civil rights era to the relationship of his novels to the history of New World slavery. One could sense the energy emanat- ing from these young scholars as they used this collection over the summer; there was a constant buzz about potential collaborations, panels, and programs. One visitor, Viviana Quintero, says she actually feels Zapata Olivella’s spirit while working here. A graduate student from Wisconsin and a Colombian, Viviana donated countless hours of her time over the summer to help organize and preserve the collections; she is passionate about making his legacy more widely known and his papers available to Colombians. She has preserved many of his cassette recordings using free software called Audacity, and they are ready for the next step, which is creating DVDs and linking to the interviews online. This fall, the Voz de los Abuelos transcripts of the interviews should be fully linked. In the spring, Library Dean’s Fellows Gretchen Selcke and Fernanda Bretones-Lane completed the Manuel Zapata Olivella cor- respondence project and online exhibits, which is now available here: mzo.library.vanderbilt.edu/correspondence/. Over the summer, Dean’s Fellow Emma Banks completed a digital project and online exhibit with accompanying essays relating to the 19th-century Colombian broadsides: exhibits.library.vanderbilt. edu/colombiabroadsides/ Please take a look at the projects of our talented and ener- getic recent Dean’s Fellows. These primary sources may inspire you to work on 19th–20th century Colombia!

4 THE CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES JOE HOWELL CLAS Welcomes Visiting Resource Professor Luis Paulo Rosenberg for Fall 2015 LAS welcomed Brazilian economist Luis Paulo Rosenberg back featured speaker at a breakfast for local business leaders hosted by the to Vanderbilt as our Visiting Resource Professor from mid- Nashville Chamber of Commerce’s International Business Council, and August to mid-October. Rosenberg received his doctorate from spoke at dinner event for Owen students. This was Rosenberg’s second CVanderbilt’s Graduate Program in Economics, and then returned to recent visit to Vanderbilt; in 2014, CLAS invited him to participate in a Brazil to serve as the chief economic advisor to president José Sarney. discussion panel on “Brazil and the World Cup” hosted with Owen. He now runs a private consulting agency, Rosenberg and Associates, During spring 2015, we hosted two Visiting Resource Professors: in São Paulo. However, Rosenberg is best known to Paulistas as the Kees Koonings (University of Utrecht) and Puerto Rican author and poet vice-president of the Corinthians Soccer Club. Following the humiliat- David Caleb Acevedo. In March, Koonings gave talks on Colombia and ing demotion of the club to Brazil’s B league in 2007, Rosenberg began Brazil, and he worked closely with faculty and graduate students engaged a marketing campaign that reintroduced the team as the “People’s in projects in Colombia. Department Chair of Spanish and Portuguese Republic of Corinthians” and worked with the team’s president Andrés Benigno Trigo hosted Acevedo in April. During his visit, he energized Sanchez to bring Ronaldo back to Brazil to play for the Corinthians. a public audience with a reading from his book El Oneronauta, led a The club now has fans numbering over 30 million and is noted as the workshop on science fiction writing, and participated in classes. first ten-figure Brazilian team. Through the VRP program, CLAS funds residencies for distin- During his residency at Vanderbilt, Rosenberg led a graduate guished scholars, politicians, writers, or artists from Latin America. seminar with Professor Kamal Saggi, Special Topics in Development During their month-long stay, VRPs participate in a graduate research Policies, for GPED students. He also offered his insights on the future seminar, offer public talks, and interact with graduate students and the of the Brazilian economy in our First Tuesday Lunch Series, was the CLAS community at large.

WWW.VANDERBILT.EDU/CLAS 5 HEALTH SCIENCES

Nashville and to receive Spanish language instruction. During the spring Vanderbilt School of Nursing semester, the students will work within interprofessional teams through Project Pyramid to develop projects in collaboration with hospitals, clin- Expands Its Global Health ics, and community organizations in Latin America. The student teams will travel to project sites during spring break to implement the projects. Initiative in Latin America VUSN clinical instructor Natasha McClure is leading these initia- tives through the community health course she co-teaches. McClure he Vanderbilt School of Nursing is work- has experience volunteering with vulnerable Latino refugees and looks ing with CLAS and Owen to focus on forward to collaborating with CLAS and Owen to provide an opportu- key global health initiatives related to nity for nursing students to engage with Latin American populations. TLatin America and provide nursing students with CLAS Executive Director Avery Dickins de Girón worked with VUSN valuable leadership skills. In a pilot program this and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese to coordinate Spanish year, six VUSN students were selected to complete language instruction for these nursing students to strengthen their a portion of their community health clinical hours field experience and enhance the students’ skill set. Maria Paz Pintane working with refugee and immigrant populations in (Spanish) will lead the Spanish language courses for VUSN.

Master of Public Health conducted a baseline nutrition assessment of 175 households using the Food and Agricul- The M.P.H. practicum provides students ture Organization’s Women’s Dietary Diversity the opportunity to engage in global health Score guidelines and USAID’s Household work in an international low-resource setting Food Insecurity and Access Scale. She also while building upon the skills and knowledge created a Promotoras de Salud (Promoting learned in their coursework. Students arrange Health) Training Guide for a health promotion their practicums in tandem with their global program that will start in the coming year. In health interests and career goals, and this Guatemala, Jessica worked with Primeros past summer four students completed their Pasos clinic where she assisted in grant writ- practicums in Latin America: ing and on a monitoring and evaluation project Mary Bayham spent her summer working for their Healthy Schools Program. Erin Hamilton worked at the Institute for at Primeros Pasos clinic in Quetzaltenango, Food Technology & Nutrition at Universidad Guatemala during which she created surveys de Chile in Santiago, Chile. In addition to Family Nurse Practitioner to help monitor and evaluate their Healthy developing and implementing a nutrition Yvonne Carter Chosen 2015 Schools Program. curriculum at local schools, Erin collected data Frist Global Health Leader Grace Fletcher is pursuing dual degrees in that she will use for her M.P.H. thesis. M.P.H. and an M.A. in Latin American Stud- As part of her fellowship, Yvonne will work Jessica Hinshaw completed her practicum in ies. Her practicum combined global health in San Eduardo, Ecuador, with local clinics Nicaragua and Guatemala. In Nicaragua, she with Latin American Studies, and she had and continue a longitudinal community- was stationed in Cedro Galán, a rural com- the opportunity based study, focusing on non-communicable munity just outside of Managua, where she to study K’iche’ diseases in San Eduardo and surrounding worked with Manna Project International. She while she worked communities. Over the past two years, she with pregnant visited San Eduardo annually, spending the women and majority of her time in a preventative health children at Wuqu’ clinic geared towards community health and Kawoq in Tecpán, education efforts. Guatemala. Grace helped promote Vanderbilt Medical Student Shaun and implement a Mansour Studies Outcomes of variety of nutrition Short-Term Medical Missions in initiatives aimed at Guatemala reducing malnutri- tion in children. She published an article about Vanderbilt medical student Shaun Mansour her experience in the Global Health Hub: traveled to Guatemala in March 2015 to globalhealthhub.org/2015/09/21/luck-and- conduct research on the outcome of short- public-health-programming-in-guatemala/ and term medical brigades at the Moore Pediatric was interviewed by NPR this Fall. Surgical Center in Guatemala.

6 THE CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES HEALTH SCIENCES Faculty News Carwil Bjork-James (Anthropology) was awarded an Engaged Anthropol- Global Health Integrated Science Courses ogy Grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research for his work with indig- Offer Medical Students Clinical Rotations enous people in Bolivia. The grant will allow him to share his research in Latin America with community members by hosting two seminars in Cochabamba and producing a small-format publication in Spanish highlighting segments of his oral history interviews. Tom Dillehay (Anthropology) received an honorary doctorate in September from the Universidad Católica de Chile. Katharine Donato (Sociology) received the IPUMS Research Award from the Minnesota Population Cen- ter for outstanding work using IPUMS data in the following referred publica- tion: Katharine M. Donato, Bhumika Piya and Anna Jacobs. 2014. “The Double Disadvantage Reconsidered: Gender, Immigration, Marital Status, and Global Labor Force Participation in the 21st Century.” International Migration Review 48: 335-376. n the last year, ten Vanderbilt medical • Argentina (INFANT), October 2014: Ashley Earl Fitz (Spanish and Portuguese) students have received clinical training in Morgan, Emily Zern, Richard Latuska was a Hoover Institution Visiting Latin America through the Global Health • Honduras (Hospital de Occidente), October Fellow at Stanford University, where IIntegrated Science Courses (ISCs) immersion 2014: Nkiruka Arinze, Lu Wang he conducted research on Latin program. The Institute for Global Health and the American and inter-American studies. • Guatemala (Primeros Pasos), February 2015: School of Medicine developed ISCs in response to He delivered a distinguished lecture Gretchen Edwards, Irene Mathieu a growing need in U.S. academia for health care at Temple University on the topic of new frontiers in Brazilian studies. At professionals equipped with global expertise in • Nicaragua (UNAN-Managua), October the Third International Translation local and international settings. CLAS collabo- 2015: Kristina Jacomino, Maria de Lourdes Ladino, Trumbo (Pierce) Silas Conference, he spoke on “Gregory rated with IGH to create ISC immersion courses Rabassa and Translation as Creative at several partner sites in Central America to pro- As a result of the ISC partnership with Writing”; and at the University of vide third and fourth-year medical students the Hospital de Occidente in Santa Rosa de Copán, Chicago, he lectured on the Brazilian opportunity to gain medical training abroad, and Honduran medical student Eleazar Montalvan author Clarice Lispector. particularly in low resource settings. The courses was invited for a clinical rotation at Vanderbilt Jane Landers (History) guest-edited this fall. We hope this exchange is the beginning integrate clinical rotations with an introduction to a special issue of Slavery and Aboli- key topics and concepts in global health, high- of many more mutual exchanges. tion of essays on Cuba, Colombia, lighting health and developmental issues across and Brazil with members of her nations and cultures that require partnership- ESSSS teams, Renee Soulodre- Dagoberto Estevez Ordonez, a second- based action. While in Latin America, students LaFrance , Mariza Soares, Kara year medical student at Vanderbilt, was Schultz, and Courtney Campbell: receive on-the-ground training from local staff, named a VECD Fogarty Global Health Slavery and Abolition, 36: 3, 2015. which is complemented by regular meetings Scholar for 2015–2016. As part of this pres- Landers was invited to speak in the with Vanderbilt faculty through Skype. Four ISC tigious award, he will spend his fellowship Nathan I. Huggins Lecture Series at locations are at Vanderbilt partner sites in Latin year at Western Honduras Gastric Cancer Harvard University in March 2015, on America, including Buenos Aires, Argentina; Initiative, Universidad del Valle in Copán “A View from the Other Side: Spanish Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras; León, Nicara- under the mentorship of Vanderbilt faculty Sources on the Slave Revolt in Saint Doug Morgan. His research will focus on gua; and Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Domingue.” Landers also received technology-based interventions to improve The following students participated in ISC a Discovery Grant to do a workshop medication adherence in rural Honduras in courses in Latin America in the last year: in fall 2015 on the Digital Humani- the context of a cancer chemo prevention ties and the History of Slavery: A trial.

WWW.VANDERBILT.EDU/CLAS 7 Faculty News cont. FACULTY PROFILE Workshop to Enhance Research, Collaboration, and Graduate Training.” This December, Professor Landers organized an invited panel “Slavery, Emancipation, and Freedom” Candice Amich Amich will be traveling to Cuba as part of an eco-humanities for the Comité International des andice Amich is assis- delegation. She is in the pre- Sciences Historiques Conference, in tant professor in the Jinan, China, and gave several invited liminary stages of a second Department of English. talks on her research at Virginia book-length project that Her research focuses on the Commonwealth University, University C examines the rise of a feminist intersection of politics, poetics, of Pittsburgh, and Florida Southern and queer performance culture and performance in Latino/a and College. in Cuba since the 1980s that Latin American cultural produc- has posed planetary—that is, Doug Morgan (Medicine) received tion. Before joining the English NIH grant awards to study gastric simultaneously site-specific faculty at Vanderbilt, Amich was cancer epidemiology and prevention and global—alternatives to an A.W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fel- in Hispanic-Latino populations in Latin the island nation’s neoliberal low in the Humanities at Carnegie America. The burden of disease in transformation. Mellon University, where she this region is significant, particularly Amich is the co-editor, with taught courses in transnational along the Pacific coast in Central theatre scholars Elin Diamond America, where cancer mortality American studies. and Denise Varney, of an international anthology rates are some of the highest in Amich’s current book project, Precarious on Performance, Feminism and Affect in Neolib- the world. Dr. Morgan and his team, Poetics: Performing Politics in the Neoliberal eral Times (forthcoming from Palgrave). She also which includes Vanderbilt and Latin Americas, uncovers a genealogy of experimental serves as a contributing editor for the literary American colleagues, will explore Latin American and Latino poetry and perfor- journal Waxwing. how H.pylori bacteria infections in mance that anticipates, by decades, more recent the stomach, along with the dynamic Candice Amich was born in Chicago, where theorizations of precarious movements and art in interaction between the stomach her parents, from Cuba and Puerto Rico, migrated the Euro-American academy. Precarious Poetics microbiome and host DNA, modulate as children. She received her B.A. in English and tracks the emergence of a transnational feminist gastric cancer risk. creative writing from Carnegie Mellon University, aesthetic which counters the erasure of cultural holds an M.F.A. in poetry from New York Uni- Cynthia Paschal (Biomedical memory, disruption of local environments, and Engineering) won the Ellen Gregg versity, and earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in English the omnipresent spectacle of commodity fetish- Ingalls Award for Excellence in from Rutgers University. ism that characterize the neoliberal sensorium. Classroom Teaching, which is funded CLAS has collaborated with Amich and Individual chapters examine the poetic and by the Ingalls Foundation. She Latino and Latina Studies to bring cutting edge performative works of Cecilia Vicuña (Chilean), received an engraved pewter cup and Latin American performance artists to Vander- Ana Mendieta (Cuban American), Coco Fusco $2,500. Chancellor Nick Zeppos said, bilt. Cuban performance artist Coco Fusco spoke “When asked to create a distinctive, (Cuban American), Ricardo Dominguez (Mexican on campus in September. engaging experience that could be an American), Raúl Zurita (Chilean), and Regina José exemplar for undergraduate educa- Galindo (Guatemalan), among others. tion at Vanderbilt, Cynthia responded by developing a service learning course and corresponding trip to Guatemala with students devoting their spring break to work alongside CLAS Welcomes New Humphrey Fellow faculty to improve medical instru- mentation. Students commented Gabriela Zazpe to Vanderbilt that they learned more about circuits and devices in Guatemala than they LAS welcomes Gabriela Zazpe from Uruguay to Vanderbilt ever would in a classroom, and they for the 2015–2016 year. Ms. Zazpe is an ESL supervisor for praised the experience for giving Uruguay’s Secondary Education Board and manages the them a sense of gratitude and an Csupervision of teacher performance nationwide. During her Hum- increased philanthropic vision.” phrey year, she looks forward to gaining both theoretical knowledge Frank Robinson (History) gave a about assessment practices and practical insight through work in public talk, “Restoration of Relations high schools. She hopes to develop a system of ongoing mentoring between Cuba and the United States: and professional development in Uruguay, and her ultimate goal is to A Historical Perspective” at the implement creative and fair ways of evaluating and certifying teachers, Williamson County Public Library on in order to empower them to become researchers of their own praxis Sept. 25. and better educators. Helena Simonett (Blair) was fea- tured in the “Spotlight on Vanderbilt Research” at the Music & Mind

8 THE CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES Faculty News cont.

Rhonda Collier Appointed as Affiliated Faculty Kickoff, organized by the Society rofessor Rhonda Collier literature, Brazilian literature, for Music Perception and Cognition, (Tuskegee University) global hip-hop, and public where she also presented the results was appointed as CLAS theology. Collier has studied at of a neuroscientific study, in collabo- ration with Sohee Park (Psychology) affiliated faculty in 2015. Collier the Universidade de São Paulo P and team. Simonett also published is associate professor of English as a U.S. Fulbright scholar and several papers recently, among at Tuskegee University, and she has also served as director of the them “Al compás de la banda: la was recently appointed as the Abilene Christian University’s tecnobanda y el pasito durangüense interim director of the Tuskegee Latin American Study Abroad en el mundo globalizado,” in Las University Global Office. After Program in Montevideo. Collier bandas de viento en México (INAH studying industrial and health collaborates closely with CLAS Mexico); “Música vernácula del siglo care engineering as an under- on our outreach programming XIX hasta los setenta del siglo XX,” in graduate and master’s student, with Tuskegee. Historia temática de Sinaloa (Andraval she pursued a career in the health The CLAS Regional Affili- Ediciones, Culiacán); “Of Human care industry. Collier returned ated Faculty program creates and Non-human Birds: Indigenous Music Making and Sentient Ecol- to school to study comparative substantive ties to faculty at ogy in Northwestern Mexico,” in literature at Vanderbilt, receiving her doctorate in surrounding institutions. We currently have 10 Current Directions in Ecomusicology Spanish and Portuguese in 2002. affiliated faculty representing TSU, MTSU, UT- (Routledge). Her research interests include Cuban Knoxville, and Rhodes. Steve Wernke (Anthropology) received an NEH grant for the prototyping of two new electronic Area Studies Groups resources for collecting and analyz- In collaboration with the Robert Penn Warren • Marshall Eakin (History, Vanderbilt); Monday, ing geospatial data related to the Center, CLAS supports several interdisciplinary November 16 at noon in the Warren Center colonization of Peru. regional working groups. The co-coordinators for 2015–16 are Fernanda Now in its third year, the Brazilian Studies Bretones, Laura Sellers, and Steve Wenz. Faculty Publications Reading Group will focus on two inter-related The Circum-Atlantic Studies Seminar reads topics for 2015–16: “Diversity and Develop- Robert F. Barsky: Undocumented and treats scholarship that is interdisciplinary in ment.” The group’s bi-weekly or monthly meet- Immigrants in an Era of Arbitrary Law: nature, focuses on at least two of the following ings consist of discussions among attendees The Flight and the Plight of People regions—Africa, Europe, Latin America, the and invited speakers based upon pre-circulated Deemed ‘Illegal.’ Routledge, 2016. Caribbean, and North America—and treats some papers that reflect current research related aspect of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonial- Katharine M. Donato and Donna to the topic. Guests come from a variety of ism, and/or postcolonialism. Guest speakers for Gabbacia: Gender and International disciplines, including—but not limited to—history, the fall include Selena Sanderfer (History, West- Migration: From the Slavery Era to anthropology, political science, literature, Latin ern Kentucky University) on Tuesday, September the Global Age. Russel Sage Founda- American studies, international education policy 22 at 4:10 p.m. in Buttrick 123, and Kristin Mann tion, 2015. and management, and African Diaspora studies. (History, Emory University) on October 15 at Invited speakers for fall 2015 include: Maria Helena P.T. Machado and Celso noon at the Warren Center. Seminar coordinators Thomas Castilho, eds., Tornando- • Paula Pastore (Universidade do Estado de São are Celso Castilho and Jane Landers. se Livre: agentes históricos e lutas Paulo); Monday, September 21 at noon in the The Mexican Studies Group brings together sociais no processo de abolição. São Warren Center faculty and graduate students from history, politi- Paulo: EDUSP, 2015. • Fred Batista (Ph.D. candidate, Department cal science, literature, sociology, art, anthropology, Earl Fitz: Machado de Assis and of Political Science, Vanderbilt), Thursday, music, pedagogy, and Latin American studies and Female Characterization: The Novels. October 8 at 3 p.m. in the Warren Center organizes interdisciplinary seminars and colloquia Bucknell University Press, 2015. He on matters related to Mexico and the border with • Courtney Campbell (Tougaloo College), Mon- also published a translation with the U.S. MSG is co-organized by Helena Simonett day, October 19 at noon in the Warren Center Gregory Rabassa: Saint Christopher: (Latin American Studies) and Edward Wright-Rios A Novella. Dartmouth: Tagus Press at • Rafael Marquese (History, Universidade de (History). This fall, MSG will host Eric Van Young UMass, 2015. São Paulo); Wednesday, November 4 with a (History, UC San Diego) at noon on November 5 in seminar at noon and public talk at 4 p.m.; both the Warren Center. Jane Landers: “Researching the events in Buttrick 123 History of Slavery in Colombia and Brazil through Ecclesiastical and Notarial Archives,” (with co-authors Pablo Gómez, José Polo Acuña, and Courtney J. Campbell), In: Dust to Digital: Ten Years of the Endangered Archives Programme, London: Open Book Publishers, 2015.

WWW.VANDERBILT.EDU/CLAS 9 Faculty Publications cont.

Paul Miller: “‘Tous les hommes sont l’homme’: Anténor Firmin, Tous- saint Louverture, la igualdad racial y el hecho de la negrez.” Toussaint Louverture: repensar un icono.Eds. Mariana Past and Natalie M. Léger. Santiago, Cuba: Casa del Caribe, 2015. 52-79. “‘Il acceptait son nouvel état avec philosophie’: Depestre, Cuba, and Popular Expression.” Con- temporary French and Francophone Studies. 19:3 (2015). Special Issue: Haiti in a Globalized Frame. 249-260. Carlin, Ryan E., Matthew M. Singer, and Elizabeth J. Zechmeister, Eds. The Latin American Voter: Pursuing Representation and Accountability in Challenging Contexts. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2015. Mayan Language Institute Alumni News Contributed by Tara Kingsley CLAS will host its annual LAS Reunion Weekend Reception on anderbilt partners with explained their craft in K’iche’ Friday, October 23, at 4:30 p.m. in our Tulane, the University and a milpa owner described the office suite. All LAS alumni are cor- of New Mexico, and the farming process from planting to dially invited to attend and enjoy wine VUniversity of Texas to offer the harvest of the milpa, or crop patch, and light refreshments. CLAS will Mayan Language Institute each an essential part of life in Nahualá. also host its annual Alumni Reception summer in Guatemala. The The K’iche’ program offered in São Paulo on October 22. six-week program immerses numerous exceptional opportuni- Elizabeth Eiland (M.A., LAS 2012) students in Kaqchikel and ties. From July 9–11, students in returned to Vanderbilt to talk to K’iche’ Mayan language and the Mayan Language Institute current students about her career culture through beginner and attended the Guatemalan Scholars path. She described her M.A. as one intermediate level instruction. Network conference in Antigua, of her “most valuable possesions” In 2015, CLAS awarded FLAS where scholars presented their and explained how it has served her fellowships to four students to work on topics ranging from the well in her current job in the federal attend the institute and study K’iche’: Stephanie cultural and linguistic diversity of Guatemala government. Brandão-Carvalho (LAS), Tara Kingsley (LAS), City, to emerging health programs in indigenous Marvin (Warner) Figueroa (B.A. Elizabeth López (LAS), and Alida Perrine communities, and the Renuncia Ya/Justicia Ya 2007) embarked in a career in (U. Texas). In total, there were seven students movement. Another singular experience was a public policy informed by his time at enrolled in the K’iche’ program. They spent the visit from Telma Can, who joined the program Vanderbilt. He is now health care and first week studying at Casa Herrera in Antigua in Nahualá for the last two weeks of classes. Can education senior policy advisor in the United States Senate. with the Kaqchikel students to receive an orienta- imparted her knowledge of ceremonial K’iche’, tion on the shared history and culture of the two not only broadening students’ linguistic under- Jennifer Vogt (Ph.D., Anthropology ethnic groups. For the rest of the program, K’iche’ standing of K’iche’ but introducing another role 2013) was selected as an American students lived and attended classes in Nahualá. of the language in daily life. Council of Learned Societies Public The K’iche’ program combined lessons on lan- However, most remarkable was the experi- Fellow for 2015. Her fellowship place- guage and culture. In the morning, the beginner ence of living with a host family in Nahualá. ment is innovation manager at Ashoka. and intermediate classes covered grammar and Beyond practicing K’iche’ and explaining aspects vocabulary topics with local teachers and with of life in Nahualá—some enduring, like the Mareike Sattler, Vanderbilt’s K’iche’ instructor temascal, and some fleeting, like the political and director of the K’iche’ program in Nahualá. rallying in anticipation of September elections— Afternoon lessons and excursions integrated lan- families shared their work, their stories, and their guage and culture. Guest speakers demonstrated town. Through our host families, we experienced backstrap- and foot-loom weaving, described the a bit of life in Nahualá and found encouragement aldeas within the expansive territory of Nahualá, for our language study. This experience will and they shared the foundation story of the town. certainly sustain us in our future study of the During afternoon excursions, basketweavers K’iche’ language and Maya culture.

10 THE CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES Portuguese Language And Brazilian Culture Summer Program ach summer Tulane and CLAS col- laborate to offer the Portuguese Language and Brazilian Culture Program in São EPaulo. This six-week program gives students an intensive immersion in the Portuguese language through homestays, cultural excursions, and language instruction provided by the Pontificia Universidade Católica de São Paulo. In 2015, CLAS awarded FLAS fellowships to four students Costa Rica to attend the program: Haleema Cheek (LAS), Charles Geyer (Spanish and Portuguese), Gabriella Summer Newell (undergraduate), Alexandra Rodríguez (Spanish and Portuguese). This year’s program was attended by a total of 20 students from across the Program country, and led by Tulane assistant professor of or the second year, Vanderbilt

Portuguese, Becky Atencio. ASCHAEFFER and Tulane offered a six-week Gabriela Newell described her experience: Spanish-language immersion “The program not only allowed me to achieve my goal of improving my Portuguese, but also gave me Fsummer program in San José. The the opportunity to build great relationships and to learn more about Brazilian culture. My living sit- program is co-directed by Jimmy uation was great because I had a host mother. Therefore, when I returned home after class I was still Huck (Political Science, Tulane) practicing Portuguese. I really enjoyed language classes because everyone was at a different speaking and Chalene Helmuth (Spanish and level, so we were able to encourage and help each other to learn. The PUC professors are also very Portuguese, Vanderbilt). Six Vander- stringent about pronunciations of words and are not shy to correct you when you speak. Although it bilt students attended the program may have been intimidating at first, their help allowed me to perfect my accent and made me more this summer; in total the program confident in speaking with Brazilians in everyday situations. The most unique part of the program enrolled 14 students. Students choose was spending time with students pursuing different degrees (from bachelor’s to doctorates), because from service-learning courses in Latin it led to stimulating discussions in and out of the classroom about topics in Brazilian culture. The American culture, Spanish language, culture class gave us the opportunity to explore sights and museums we may not have thought to visit social-justice, and literature and have on our own. This program was by no means conventional, but that was what I enjoyed most about the opportunity to participate in a it. The way it was structured allowed me to become completely comfortable in a different culture and LAS internship course in San José. put me in situations in which I could achieve the ultimate goal of perfecting my Portuguese.” The program also includes excursions to various areas of Costa Rica in which students explore course themes through travel and service. Look for news regarding the summer 2016 program soon.

WWW.VANDERBILT.EDU/CLAS 11 New Digital Learning Initiative for Least Commonly Taught Languages sing a new specially outfitted class- has students from Vanderbilt (7), UVa (7), K’iche’ courses and has worked to adapt her room (Calhoun 335), we have entered Duke (2), and UNC (1) who simultaneously teaching to encourage seamless interaction into a partnership with Duke, the take the course in virtual classrooms on their with both Vanderbilt and distance students. UUniversity of North Carolina, and University campuses. We hope the initiative will serve as a model of Virginia to pool resources in teaching least This is Vanderbilt’s first year in the for other institutions struggling to maintain commonly taught languages. We offer K’iche’ partnership, and we are very pleased with enrollments in Latin American LCTLs. Mayan, and the introductory course now the enrollments. Marieke Sattler teaches the

New Latin American Studies titles from Vanderbilt UP CLAS Book Series Alva Ixtlilxochitl’s Native Archive Engaging the Emotions in and the Circulation of Spanish Culture and History A collaboration between Knowledge in Colonial Mexico Edited by Luisa Elena Delgado, Vanderbilt University Press and Amber E. Brian Pura Fernández, and Jo Labanyi hardcover $55.00 paperback $34.95 • the Vanderbilt Center for Latin hardcover $79.95 American Studies, the CLAS Book Series examines all aspects of Now available in paperback from Vanderbilt UP Latin American life and culture. All inquiries about the CLAS Book The Legacy of Christopher Sustaining the Borderlands Series should be directed to Ted Columbus in the Americas: in the Age of NAFTA: New Nations and a Transatlantic Development, Politics, and Fischer, CLAS Director (edward.f. Discourse of Empire Participation on the US- Mexico [email protected]) or Eli Elise Bartosik- Vélez Border paperback $24.95 • cloth $59.95 Suzanne Simon Bortz, VUP Acquisitions Editor paperback $34.95 • cloth $69.95 ([email protected]).

Forthcoming VUP Latin American Studies titles Inaugural volume in the CLAS Book Series: Creating Carmen Miranda: Sex, Camp, and Transnational Stardom Kathryn Bishop-Sanchez • cloth $35.00 Anti-Drug Policies in Colombia: Successes, Failures, and Wrong Turns The Merchant of Havana: The Jew in the Cuban Abolitionist Archive Edited by Alejandro Gaviria Stephen Silverstein • hardcover $55.00 & Daniel Mejía hardcover $65.00 • Forthcoming Black Bride of Christ: Chicaba, an African Nun in Eighteenth-Century Spain Edited by Sue E. Houchins and Baltasar Fra-Molinero • hardcover $65.00

Beyond Cuban Waters: África, La Yuma, and the Island’s Global Imagination Paul Ryer • paperback $27.95 • hardcover $59.95 , 1939. Courtesy of Courtesy www.doctormacro.com. 1939. , of Streets in The Paris Miranda Carmen still, Publicity Order from any bookseller or call our toll-free number at 800-627-7377. For ebook pricing and other information, visit us at www.vanderbiltuniversitypress.com.

12 THE CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES CLAS Welcomes New M.A. Students Heather Ewing grew Diogo Oliveira Do the development of the Serbian Orthodox up in New England. Espirito Santo is a Church in Northeast Brazil. This year, Dora will She graduated from the Brazilian student from continue to study migration processes in the University of Toronto the master’s program in Western hemisphere through the lenses of with a degree in Latin language and culture at anthropology and Latin American literature, American Studies and the Federal University as well as the development of Orthodox Spanish. During univer- of Bahia. He is also Christianity in the Americas. sity summers, Heather an alumnus of the worked with a nonprofit Federal University of in Peru on community Bahia, having gradu- Lynsey Sharp, a native health projects. After graduation she received ated in 2014 with a major in foreign language Hoosier, graduated from a grant to study maternal and infant health in teaching. As an undergraduate he received Butler University with a remote communities in the Peruvian Andes. a CAPES fellowship to develop intercultural double major in history Heather’s research allowed her to explore the teaching materials for teachers-in-training. He and anthropology, along relationship between inadequate shelter and is part of one of the national Brazilian teams with a minor in Spanish. health issues, which inspired her to take a of the PPPLE, an online platform that offers During her undergradu- job with Habitat for Humanity in Guatemala. Portuguese as a foreign language teachers ate career, she traveled After several years in Guatemala, Heather worldwide free teaching materials. As a to Cuba, Guatemala, transferred to Habitat’s international head- graduate student, he has been studying the Mexico, Nicaragua, and quarters in Georgia. At Vanderbilt, Heather impact of intercultural teaching materials on Panama on various study abroad programs. will complete an M.A. in Latin American the development of learners of critical foreign Lynsey wrote her undergraduate honors Studies and a master of public health. She is languages. Diogo is at Vanderbilt’s CLAS on thesis on the Cuban Revolution of 1953–1959, looking forward to growing her health-specific a nine-month Fulbright Foreign Language centering on discourses of violence sur- knowledge and broadening her understanding Teaching Assistant fellowship. The Fulbright rounding the Sierra Maestra Campaign. Since of how to serve Latin American communities FLTA program offers teachers the opportunity graduation, she has worked at HistoryIt—a experiencing poverty. to develop not only their professional skills company that digitizes historical archives—as by practicing another language, but also their well as at the Carmel Clay Public Library in knowledge of U.S. culture. Diogo will work Indiana. Lynsey will be learning K’iche’ as she Caleb Hayes is from with CLAS and Marcio Bahia to offer Brazilian works towards her M.A. in Latin American Hendersonville, Ten- Portuguese to students at regional institutions Studies at Vanderbilt, and she hopes to focus nessee, and a graduate and to engage students in learning more her academic explorations on revolutions that of Middle Tennessee about Brazilian culture. have occurred throughout Latin American State University where history. he studied anthropology and Spanish. Caleb Theodora (Dora) recently graduated from Saclarides is a native Cory Weaver is a the global health track of Illinois and a second- native of Birmingham. of Vanderbilt’s master of generation Greek He graduated from the public health program. His academic pursuits immigrant. She is a 4+1 University of Alabama have led him to study abroad in Cusco, student who graduated in 2013 with a major in research the folk health practices of Latinos with high honors from Spanish and a minor in in Murfreesboro, and conduct an analysis of Vanderbilt in 2015 with international studies. data management and quality at the Primeros majors in Spanish, Portu- He spent five months Pasos clinic in Guatemala. His thesis for the guese, and Latin Ameri- studying at Universidad M.P.H. degree focused on the barriers to can Studies. Dora’s honors thesis focused de La Habana, research- self-management of type 2 diabetes which on the definition of Argentine citizenship in ing how the U.S. embargo against Cuba Latinos face in middle Tennessee. Caleb looks Argentina’s gaucho genre. As an undergradu- affects international diplomacy on the island. forward to the opportunities provided by ate she spent a month working in a diabetes During his undergraduate career, he also the M.A. program, and he hopes to achieve clinic in Quito and five months at Universidad worked as an ESL tutor and translator for the proficiency in the K’iche’ language, develop de Buenos Aires. In Argentina, she interned public school system in Tuscaloosa, AL. After ethnographic research skills, and apply with the National Institute Against Discrimina- graduation Cory moved to Buenos Aires. Dur- knowledge from his public health degree. tion, Xenophobia, and Racism conducting ing his two years in Argentina, he collaborated research about the history of discrimination with various NGOs, focusing on sustainable and political marginality of Argentina’s gypsy development projects in Buenos Aires’ most population. Dora has served as the president impoverished neighborhoods. He also worked of AMIGOS, a student organization that with an Argentine corporate mobility company, connects Vanderbilt students to volunteer helping clients in a number of major South opportunities with Nashville’s Latino popula- American cities. At Vanderbilt, Cory is studying tion, and as an organizer of Brazil Week. K’iche’ and hopes to improve his Portuguese. Most recently, Dora received a FIPSE/CAPES His research will focus on Latin American fellowship to study at Universidade Federal history and politics, with an emphasis on the de Pernambuco and conducted research on Caribbean and Southern Cone regions.

WWW.VANDERBILT.EDU/CLAS 13 2015 Summer Awards For Research And Language Study

Tinker Field Research Grants tierras de la población K’iche’ y de otros gru- Rosemary Lieske, a third-year Ph.D. stu- pos étnicos vecinos. En el Archivo Arquidi- dent in anthropology, traveled to El Salvador Funding from the Tinker Foundation and ocesano se recolectó varios documentos to conduct a series of field tests at Ciudad the College of Arts and Science supports eclesiásticos escritos a finales del siglo Vieja, a sixteenth-century Spanish villa. graduate summer research projects. Awards XVI por la orden religiosa de los Dominicos Her research focuses on the production, are for up to $2,000 each and support travel que tratan sobre la administración de la exchange, and consumption practices of the expenses related to field research for gradu- población K’iche’ inmediatamente después villa inhabitants. The acquired preliminary ate students conducting pre-dissertation de la venida de los españoles a Guatemala. data and the identified household areas research in Latin America. This award is Se aprovechó el viaje al departamento El will help her design a fundable, long-term NOT intended for advanced dissertation Quiche para realizar un reconocimiento research project and construct future research, but rather to support initial hands- arqueológico de un sitio llamado Chuwila proposals. on field research and the development que se menciona repetidas veces en los of independent research projects. CLAS Gabriela Oré Menéndez, a third-year Ph.D. textos indígenas y que valdría la pena awarded 10 Tinker Field Research Grants to student in anthropology, conducted pre- investigarlo arqueológicamente. the following students for summer 2015: liminary field research in Peru on the local Grace Fletcher, a first-year master’s student effects of the mass resettlement project Emma Banks, a second-year Ph.D. student pursuing a joint degree in public health undertaken during the colonial period. Based in anthropology, spent her summer in La and Latin American Studies, worked with on the findings through this field experience, Guajira, Colombia, conducting field research a local non-governmental organization, her research will investigate relationships on how indigenous and afro-descendent Wuqu’ Kawoq, to develop and implement between reducciones and local systems of communities contest their displacement and a monitoring and evaluation system for the agricultural and pastoral production, their resettlement at the hands of the Cerrejón nutrition education program it runs in rural encompassing agro-pastoral landscapes, open pit coal mine. This summer research is indigenous communities. This field experi- and the legacy effects of the reducción on part of her dissertation project that explores ence integrated her academic engagement those landscapes. She is also planning to how communities claim rights to land and with medical anthropology in indigenous use satellite imagery for analyzing the reduc- resources against a myriad of state, corpo- Guatemala with her interest in further ciones productive landscape on a regional rate, guerilla, and paramilitary actors who developing skills in public health research, scale. make up local, regional, and national author- monitoring and evaluation, and program ity structures. Based on this initial research, Gloria Clemencia Pérez-Rivera, a third- improvement. she will conduct a comparative study with year Ph.D. student in anthropology, traveled communities who have different experi- Lydia Harmon, a second-year master’s to Cartagena, Colombia, to do preliminary ences of displacement and resettlement. student in earth and environmental sci- research working with internally displaced ences, conducted field research in southern people (IDPs) who have relocated to this Oscar Castorena, a fourth-year Ph.D. Brazil on the supereruption-sized volcanic city, as well as the institutions (state and student in political science, spent his sum- deposits associated with the South Atlantic NGO organizations) that offer services to mer conducting preliminary field research rifting 128 to 135 million years ago. She col- them. She focused on exploring the pos- on independent candidates in Mexico. lected rock samples that were later brought sibility of using the lenses of mental health Seeking to understand why citizens support back to Vanderbilt to determine pre-eruptive to understand how the services (health, these candidates, what motivates politicians magma body conditions and to explore housing, food subsidies, job programs, and to pursue this path to elected office, and local topographic features to determine the education) and material compensation (mon- ultimately what are the implications for orientation and configuration of magma etary compensation for property lost, death representation, he engaged in an effort to domes and volcanic deposits. She and the of family members, and sexual violence) collect a diverse range of data in Mexico other three geologists that she collaborated play roles in improving or restoring certain City in the period surrounding the June 7 with are planning to return to Brazil to teach states of “psychosocial stability” that IDPs federal and local elections. For his project, a Maymester in 2016. loosely perceive as an acceptable state of he also collaborated with some of the lead- mental health. ing scholars of Mexican political elites. Kyle L. Harper, a second-year master’s student in Latin American Studies, con- Terren Proctor, a second-year Ph.D. student Iyaxel Cojti Ren, una estudiante en ducted preliminary archaeological field in anthropology, engaged in archaeological antropología, visitó Archivo General de research at two sites in Gurupá, Brazil. The fieldwork in Peru. In the Lurín valley, he Centroamérica y el Archivo Arquidiocesano focus of his research was to understand the surveyed seven archaeological sites, con la finalidad ubicar y consultar títulos ways in which Fort Santo Antonio played a identifying tombs, or chullpas, containing indígenas y documentos eclesiásticos role in the formation of ribeirinho culture. By human remains that will allow him to identify escritos durante el período colonial (siglos undertaking an archaeological investigation changes in health and general lifeways. In XVI y XVII). Los temas de interés en los into the root of ribeirinho cultural formation, Huancavelíca, he analyzed a collection of documentos son con respecto a la cultura he hopes to better understand the ways in skeletal remains from the mining encamp- e historia de la población K’iche’ y de su which large processes, such as colonialism, ment of Santa-Bárbara, which yielded new administración temprana bajo la autoridad capitalism, and racialization, came to shape data on the lifeways of indentured indig- española. En la investigación del Archivo not only the cultural identity of modern day enous laborers in the Spanish colonies and General de Centroamérica se recolectó un ribeirinhos, but also the inequalities faced by the effects of high-level mercury exposure. total de 13 títulos indígenas de carácter these communities both past and present. In Ayacucho, he collected new data for a histórico y varios folios relativos a litigios de

14 THE CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES Summer Awards cont. Simon Collier Travel Awards when individuals are more likely to prioritize environmental protection over other issues, project on cranial vault modification A historian of Chile with an expertise in Argen- like economic growth. techniques in Andean populations in tine tango, Simon Collier served as a former the Late Intermediate Period. director of Vanderbilt CLAS and was chair of Erin Hamilton, a second year global health a third-year Ph.D. the Department of History. Simon Collier Travel M.P.H. student, completed a research intern- Laura Sellers, student in political science, con- Awards fund student research in Chile and ship at the Institute of Nutrition and Food Tech- ducted preliminary field research Argentina, as well as other projects on cultural nology in Santiago, Chile. She worked with in Argentina for her doctoral thesis arts elsewhere in Latin America. Ranging from the project, Colación BKN (“Cool Snack”), a on the use of the external vote $500 to $2,000, these awards are available school-based intervention designed to improve by other Latin Americans living in to both undergraduate and graduate students the nutritional health of students attending 12 Buenos Aires. She conducted five enrolled at Vanderbilt. CLAS awarded three public schools in low-income communes in the focus groups with a variety of Latin Simon Collier Awards for summer 2015. metropolitan region of Santiago. She created, translated, and distributed materials to assist in American expatriates living in Buenos Claire Evans, a second-year Ph.D. student in the evaluation of year three of the program. Aires, did several interviews with political science, traveled throughout Bolivia consular officials, networked with Ngaire Honey, a Ph.D. student in education, to conduct in-depth interviews on environ- organizations of different expatriate also received a Simon Collier award for sum- mental attitudes. Specifically, she focused on communities, and made connec- mer 2015. determining how to better measure attitudes tions with other scholars for future towards the environment and understanding research. Through these engage- ments, she learned more about the political life of expatriates and about what influences their vote when they vote in their home country elections from abroad.

Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships CLAS receives funding from the Department of Education to support FLAS fellowships for intensive stud- ies of Portuguese or Latin American indigenous languages abroad. Both graduate and undergraduate students are eligible to receive FLAS fellow- ships and must be US citizens or permanent US residents. In 2015, eight Vanderbilt students were awarded fellowships to study K’iche’ Mayan, Portuguese, or Quechua. In Latin American and Caribbean addition, CLAS supported students at regional institutions: a fellowship Vanderbilt Student Association was awarded to a MTSU student Samuel Hulsey to study Quechua, ow in its second year, LACS is a • Music and Dancing Night with live music and University of Texas student Alida university-wide organization that by Revolfusion (September 11) Perrine received a FLAS to study aims to bring together people from • Fall Social Gathering (November) K’iche’ Mayan. the geographical and historical areas of Latin N • New student conference on Latin America America and the Caribbean, and those interested and the Caribbean (February) or passionate about it. The goal of LACS is to serve as a gathering point for our members, to • Annual Spring LACS BBQ (April) support international students from the region, New this year is the LACS exciting cooking and to make ourselves present on the Vanderbilt class series! These are five small classes where one campus and in Nashville. We welcome all stu- or two of our members, either originally from dents, postdocs and visiting scholars who identify the region or knowledgeable about it, will teach as Latin American and Caribbean, regardless of how to make one or two dishes. We have classes citizenship, and those who are interested or pas- featuring food from Mexico and Central America sionate about the region. CLAS works with LACS (September 17), the Andes (October 15), Brazil to support its events; activities for the 2015–2016 (November 12), the Caribbean Islands (February year include: 18), and Southern Cone (March 17). All classes will be held at the Student Recreation Center.

WWW.VANDERBILT.EDU/CLAS 15 LAPOP

APOP’s AmericasBarometer reveals that government efforts can be just as, if not more, important than government outcomes when predicting levels of satisfaction with democracy. This find- Ling is among several important contributions made by a set of reports developed by Vanderbilt undergraduate students for LAPOP’s Insights series this past year. LAPOP Undergraduate Research Fellows and students taking Professor Liz Zechmeister’s HONS 186 course learn and apply the skills required to write data-driven, policy-relevant briefs, which are distributed to thousands of scholars and policymakers across the Americas. In one report, written by Kristina Bergmann, Kelly Perry, and Kevin Zhang, the authors show that those respondents living in urban areas and those with higher levels of education are less satisfied with democracy. The students further find that evaluations “of govern- ment efforts to deliver good economic output are significant and very strong predictors of satisfaction with democracy.” The authors break down satisfaction with democracy by country as well; the figure below, which appears in the report, looks at mean degrees of satisfaction with democracy on a scale from 0–100. Uruguayans have the highest levels of satisfaction with democracy, while Venezuelans have the lowest. The conclusions drawn in this report have important implications for the democracies in the LAC region; in addition to delivering positive results, to keep citizens satisfied with democracy, governments need to be seen by their citizens as attempting to produce effective policy.

16 THE CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES CLAS OUTREACH Inaugural Collaborative Brazil Summer Institute Focused on Afro-Brazilian History, Language, and Culture rom June 14–18, Tulane University hosted the first in a four-year series of collaborative, summer K–12 institutes about Brazil organized by Vanderbilt, Tulane, and the University of Georgia. FThis year’s institute, entitled “Somos Nos: Teaching Afro-Brazilian Identity,” connected educators from across the southern United States with resources and information about, as well as hands-on training in, Brazilian Portuguese, Afro-Brazilian identity, Brazilian food, music, dance, popular culture, and history. The institute featured scholars from Vanderbilt, Tulane, and the University of Georgia and included daily curriculum building sessions led by Tolosa-Casadont, clinical associate professor of language and literacy education at the UGA. Vanderbilt’s Alicia Monroe discussed Afro-Brazilian food and religious traditions, specifically candomblé. Participants learned how to integrate interactions with Portuguese speakers, community members, and others outside the school com- munity into the classroom. Other activities included a visit to the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University where they reviewed archival resources related to the African diaspora in the Americas and a trip to the Algiers Regional Library branch of the New Orleans Public Library for a capoeira demonstration by Capoeira NOLA. The institute concluded with participants leading presentations about how they will implement workshop resources in the classroom. Amber M. Morgan, a Spanish teacher at Madison Academic High School in Jackson, TN, immediately implemented ideas from the institute into her classroom. Her September lesson plans introduced Brazilian culture into the Spanish classroom through basic phrases in Portuguese, samba instruments songs, and discussions of the similarities and differences between racism as experienced in Brazil and the US. The unit had a special focus on orishas within Candomblé religious practices and culminated in an interactive orisha museum that showcased students’ artistic representations of orishas. All Spanish II students at the school participated in the museum and voted for their favorites. Next year’s Brazil Summer Institute will be hosted at Workshop participants at the Amistad Research Center Vanderbilt University.

WWW.VANDERBILT.EDU/CLAS 17 CLAS OUTREACH Américas Award he 2015 Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Lit- erature went to Silver People by Margarita Engle (HMH Books for Young Readers) and Separate is Never Equal by Duncan TTonatiuh (Abrams Books for Young Readers). Two books were selected as honorable mention titles: Migrant by José Manuel Mateo and illustrated by Javier Martínez Pedro (Abrams Books for Young Readers) and Strike! by Larry Dane Brimner (Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills). The awards were presented to the authors at a ceremony on September 18 at the Library of Congress. This year’s ceremony featured dramatization of award-winning titles by students from the District of Columbia and Prince William County (Virginia) public schools. The previous day, CLAS and Tulane hosted a professional development workshop for educators featuring the Américas Award authors at Busboys and Poets.

Thirteen commended titles were selected this year by the • Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes, written by Juan Felipe Her- committee: rera, illustrated by Raúl Colón, and published by Penguin Group • A de Activista written by Martha González, illustrated by Inno- • The Secret Side of Empty, by Maria E. Andreu, published by Run- santo Nagara, and published by Triangle Square ning Press • Abuelo by Arthur Dorros, illustrated by Raúl Colón, and pub- • Twas Nochebuena, written by Roseanne Greenfield Thong, lished by HarperCollins Publishers illustrated by Sara Palacios, and published by Penguin Group • Caminar by Skily Brown, published by Candlewick Press Complete annotations of the Américas Award 2015 are posted on • Dalia’s Wondrous Hair/El Cabello Maravilloso de Dalia by Laura the CLASP website. Lacámara, published by Piñata Books The Americas Award was founded in 1993 by the Consortium • Frida & Diego: Art, Love, Life by Catherine Reef, published by of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP) to encourage and Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt commend authors, illustrators, and publishers who produce quality children’s and young adult books that portray Latin America, the Carib- • Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero, published by Cinco bean, or Latinos in the United States, and to provide teachers with Puntos Press resources for classroom use. • Green is a Chile Pepper: A Book of Colors, by Roseannae Greenfield CLAS Outreach Coordinator Jamie Lee Marks co-coordinates the Thong, illustrated by John Parra, and published by Chronicle Books award with Denise Woltering at Tulane’s Stone Center for Latin Ameri- • Letters from Heaven by Lydia Gil, published by Piñata Books can Studies. Members of the 2015 Américas Award selection committee • Low Riders in Space written by Cathy Camper, illustrated by Raúl were: Chair, Keira Philipp-Schnurer, University of New Mexico, NM; Bar- the Third, and published by Chronicle Books bara D’Ambruoso, Orange, CT; Denise Croker, Harpeth Hall, Nashville, TN; Laura Kleinmann, Oyster Adams Bilingual School, Washington, D.C.; Maria Sheldon, Ortiz Middle School, Santa Fe, NM.

18 THE CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES CLAS OUTREACH FALL OUTREACH WORKSHOPS AND History) guided participants through the film E VENTS American Experience: Fidel Castro (2004) that In Focus: Teaching SEPTEMBER 10 offers an in-depth look at crucial turning points in Cuba: Histories of the Present US-Cuban relations. CLAS Outreach Coordina- Latin America K–16 Educator Workshop tor Jamie Lee Marks demonstrated the historical Elliott Hall Space for New Media, through Film 2015 and political challenges facing urban planners Tennessee State University in Latin America and highlighted innovative n June, CLAS offered a professional develop- participatory housing and transportation projects SEPTEMBER 9–OCTOBER 9 ment institute for educators, “In Focus: Teach- that have inspired other urbanists and designers ing Latin America through Film.” Geared transnationally with the film Urbanized (2011). Cuba: Histories of the Present Exhibit Itowards grades 4–12, the workshop introduced Following the screenings, seminars, and teachers to films that explore various aspects Hiram Van Gordon Memorial Gallery, discussions, the educators developed and shared Elliott Hall, Tennessee State University of Latin American histories and cultures and curriculum plans with the support of Kaela provide the basis for standards-driven classroom Thomasson-Pavao, a graduate student in educa- curricula related to Latin American themes. tion. These resources include lesson plans for SEPTEMBER 7 This year’s film institute engaged diverse Spanish, social studies, and English classrooms; Américas Award Ceremony topics of interest to educators teaching about a guide for “Corridos and Al Otro Lado”; and Library of Congress, Washington D.C. Latin America, including corrido music, politics, activity guides for Cuba-US relations and urban and identity in Mexico and the Mexican diaspora, planning in Latin America. All of these resources, SEPTEMBER 18 Fidel Castro and US-Mexican relations, and copies of the films for check-out, and faculty and Teaching Civil Rights through urban planning in Latin American cities. Helena staff presentations can be found in the Cur- the Américas Award Teacher Simonett (LAS and Blair) led a discussion of the riculum Resources section of the CLAS website. Workshop film Al Otro Lado (2006), providing a historical Overall, the institute was a great success and will Busboys and Poets, Washington D.C. and cultural overview of corrido music in Mexico impact participants’ students and beyond. and the United States. Frank Robinson (LAS and

Spring Collaboration with Tuskegee University Highlights Zora Neale Hurston’s Engagements in Latin America SEPTEMBER 27 A Musical Taste of Coffee ost recognize Zora Neale Hurston for a greater understanding of Hurston’s work on Frist Center Auditorium, 2–3 p.m. her famous novel, Their Eyes Were gender and health in Haiti and the US, provided Gallery admission required. Watching God; less know that Hurston them with curricular resources on Their Eyes Members free. Mwrote the novel while doing anthropological field- Were Watching God and strategies to incorporate work on spirituality, health, and healing practices oral history research by Hurston and by Ifeoma in Haiti. Hurston’s work was truly transnational, Nwankwo’s Voices from Our America project OCTOBER 12 following questions about the human experience in the classroom. The previous day, a screening International Lens and CLAS and the African diaspora through New York, the of Poto Mitan: Haitian Women, Pillars of the present: 108 Cuchillo de Palo in US South, as well as to Jamaica, Haiti, and Hon- Global Economy (2009) was open to workshop honor of National Coming Out Day duras. This April, CLAS and Tuskegee University participants, Tuskegee students and faculty, and 7:30 p.m. at the Sarratt Cinema. Free and open to the public. coordinated a two-day film and workshop series the general public. Participants engaged in a entitled “Zora Neale Hurston: Health and Spiritu- post-screening discussion led by the workshop ality in the Caribbean and U.S. South.” presenters about Haitian history and gendered NOVEMBER 6 The workshop featured Rhonda Collier, asso- access to social, economic, and political resources Beyond the Body: Exploring the ciate professor of English and interim director of in contemporary Haiti. Human Spirit through Art and the International Office at Tuskegee University; Classroom curricula on these topics and Forensics Educator Professional Zanice Bond, assistant professor of English at resources, as well as volumes of Hurston’s col- Development Workshop Frist Center for the Visual Arts and Tuskegee University; Ifeoma Nwankwo, associate lected works, a PowerPoint presentation detailing Cheekwood Botanical Gardens professor of English and director of American her fieldwork, and a copy of the film Poto Mitan Studies at Vanderbilt University; and Tatiana are available on the Curriculum Resources section McInnis, a Ph.D. candidate in English at Vander- of the CLAS website. bilt University. Presentations offered participants

WWW.VANDERBILT.EDU/CLAS 19 CLAS EVENTS FALL 2015

August 20–October 16 September 22 CLAS Visiting Resource Professor Afro-Cuban Multimedia Artist Luis Paulo Rosenberg in residence Coco Fusco presents: Dangerous September 1 Moves: Performance and Body CLAS First Tuesday Lunch Series: Politics in Cuba; 4:10 p.m. in the Luis Paulo Rosenberg Black Cultural Center September 11–October 9 September 23 Cuba: Histories of the Present International Business Council/ photo exhibit opens through Nashville Chamber of Commerce October 9; Hiram Van Gorden Panel Presentation featuring Luis Gallery at TSU Paulo Rosenberg September 17 September 29 Lecture by Tomás Fernández Talk by John Janusek, “Brewing and Environment and Annual November 3 Robaina (University of Havana): Empire: Politics, and Landscape São Paulo Alumni Reception CLAS First Tuesday Lunch Transformation in the Ancient “Cuba and the Crucible of Race” October 23 Series: Faculty Roundtable with Andes” at 4:30 p.m. in Buttrick October 3 LAS Alumni Reception Dominque Behague, Alicia 123; reception following Celebrate Nashville Festival Monroe, Candice Amich; October 24 September 18–October 16 12:15–1:00 p.m. in Sarratt 331 October 6 Cheekwood Día de los Vanderbilt Portal to Mexico City CLAS First Tuesday Lunch Series: Muertos Festival November 6 and Honduras “Una Conversación con Ernesto Teacher Workshop, Beyond the October 30 September 17–18 Cardenal” Body: Exploring the Human Spirit Día de los Muertos Celebration at Américas Award Teacher Public Lecture by Ernesto Cardenal: through Art and Forensics (with Vanderbilt with Sarratt Studios Workshop and Ceremony “Politics, Poetry, and the First Latin Tiffiny Tung), collaboration with at the Library of Congress American Pope” October 30–February 14 CLAS, Cheekwood, and the Frist “Phantom Bodies” at the Frist September 21–25 October 22 Saturday, November 7 Brazil Week Workshop with USP and Sam Quinones Reading and Book Vanderbilt: Health, Inequality, Signing, Parnassus Books at 2 p.m.

The Center for Latin American Studies PMB 351806 2301 Vanderbilt Place Nashville, TN 37235-1806

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