Thelatinamericanist
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The LATINAMERICANIST University of Florida Center for Latin American Studies | Volume 46, Number 2 | Fall 2015 Inside this Issue 2 Director’s Corner 8 Faculty News & Publications 12 Student News 15 Thanks to Our Donors 1 DIRECTOR’S Corner The LATINAMERICANIST Volume 46, Number 2 Fall 2015 Center for Latin American Studies resident the door for research collaboration 319 Grinter Hall PObama’s between UF and UH. Although additional PO Box 115530 December 2014 restrictions were placed on academic Gainesville, FL 32611-5530 announcement travel to Cuba by the Florida legislature (352) 273-4705 of a new policy in 2006, the Center formally launched www.latam.ufl.edu of normalization the UF Cuba Program in 2009. Since its with Cuba has launch, the Center’s Cuba program and presented UF affiliated faculty have been successful in with an historic deepening UF’s engagement with Cuba, 2015-16 Faculty opportunity including new cooperative agreements to expand with Cuban partner institutions and the its role as a launch of a Center-based project on Advisory Council national leader in academic engagement Cuban agriculture. Philip Williams, Ieva Jusionyte and scientific collaboration with Cuba. Chair LAS/Anthropology UF’s connections with Cuba date back With the removal of Cuba from the list LAS/Political Science [Catherine Tucker as far as 1930. During commencement of state sponsors of terrorism and the (LAS/Anthropology) ceremonies that year, UF President reestablishment of diplomatic relations, the Ida Altman filling in for fall 15] Tigert announced the establishment of Center’s Cuba program is leading the way History the Institute for Inter-American Affairs in expanding UF’s academic engagement Robert Lucero Richmond Brown Nursing (the forerunner to UF’s Center for Latin with Cuba. This past semester the Center LAS American Studies). To demonstrate joined with the International Center and Paul Losch the seriousness of the initiative, Tigert IFAS to organize a workshop on academic Silvio dos Santos UF Libraries awarded an honorary degree for the first engagement with Cuba. The Center has Music time to a Latin American citizen, Cuban been working with the College of Law in Jocelyn Peskin Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Orestes developing a new partnership with the law Richard Freeman LAS Ferrara. During Tigert’s tenure, the school at UH, including the visit of two law UF Libraries Cynthia Simmons Institute made scholarship opportunities faculty from UH and a UF law delegation to Glenn Galloway Geography available for students from Latin America UH that I accompanied in November. The LAS/MDP (including Cuba), and UF signed one of Center also co-sponsored Jorge Macle’s Robin Wright its first collaborative agreements with the (Archivo Nacional de Cuba) visit to deepen Religion University of Havana (UH). Prior to and the collaboration between UF Libraries after the Cuban Revolution, a number and Cuban institutions in the preservation of UF Latin American Studies faculty and sharing of research materials. For the Editor Graphic Designer conducted research related to Cuba and spring 2016 semester, we look forward Jocelyn Peskin, LAS Liquid Creative Studio maintained collaborative relationships with to hosting the Director of International Cuban academics. Despite the difficulties Relations from UH to discuss new for Florida-based universities to engage opportunities for scientific collaboration. with Cuba during the 1990’s, with funding from the MacArthur Foundation, an important UF research program on Cuban agriculture got underway in IFAS in 1994, and this program opened 3 65th Annual Conference 8 Faculty News & Publications 4 Día de Ecuador 12 Student News 4 LAS Undergraduate Welcome Reception 13 Alumni News & Notes 5 Carmen Diana Deere Retires 14 Alumni Profile 7 UF International Educator of the Year 15 Staying Connected The contents of this newsletter were developed under the National Resource Center grant from the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily 2 represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. 65TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES MARCH 24-26, 2016 UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA KEYNOTE ADDRESSES BY Francisco Goldman Author of “The Art of Political Murder” and “The Interior Circuit” Diane Davis Professor of Regional Planning and UUrbanism at Harvard University 8 Faculty News & Publications Finn Stepputat 12 Student News Senior Researcher in Peace, Risk and Violence at the 13 Alumni News & Notes Danish Institute for International Studies 14 Alumni Profile 15 Staying Connected Featuring a screening of "Dreams from the Concrete Mountain” by Alex Fattal 3 EVENTS ver one hundred students, Center for Oacademics, and community Latin American members gathered at Emerson Studies Director Alumni Hall on Wednesday, October Philip J. Williams 14, 2015, to celebrate Día de Ecuador opened the UFIC Dean Leo Vilallón, UF President Kent Fuchs, Ambassador of Ecuador for (Ecuador Day). The Center for event. Eminent the United States Francisco Borja, and Center Director Philip Wiliams Latin American Studies partnered scholars with the U.S. Embassy of Ecuador from multiple sustainable development initiatives to organize the one-day academic disciplines attended to exchange undertaken in Ecuador. event that contributed to stronger ideas and discuss issues related educational cooperation, fruitful to agriculture, development, The academic panels were followed intellectual discussions, and deeper and the environment. The three by traditional Ecuadorian dishes and understanding of Ecuadorian culture. panels focused on challenges of a cultural event featuring the NYC- Amazonian development, sustainable based Afro-Ecuadorian band Chota The Ambassador of Ecuador for development initiatives, and issues Madre. the United States Francisco Borja, related to food sovereignty and small UF President Kent Fuchs, and the scale agriculture in the context of Contributed by Maja Jeranko, MALAS student LAS Undergraduate Welcome Reception On October 1, 2015, the Center for Latin American Studies hosted a welcome reception for undergraduate students pursuing a minor or certificate in Latin American Studies. The reception featured information, resources, and inspirational speakers from the field of Latin American Studies at UF. Approximately 30 people attended the event, which took place at the Hispanic-Latino Affairs Institute, popularly known as La Casita. The UF Student Body President, Joselin Padrón- Rasines, was our special guest speaker, and she shared her experience as a Latin American Studies Minor student. We want to thank all of the speakers 4 and students who made this a successful event! CENTER NEWS Carmen Diana Deere Retires After Distinguished Career in Latin American Studies president of the Latin American Studies program; the Crime, Law & Governance Association and of the New England program; the Latino Studies Program; Council of Latin American Studies. the Cuba Program; and the Masters in Deere is the author of eight prize- Sustainable Development Practice, not ormer Center director (2004-2009) winning books and journal articles and all of which came to fruition during my FCarmen Diana Deere is retiring many other contributions in the fields of time as director. We formally launched from UF after a distinguished career. gender and development and agrarian the UF Cuba program in 2009, and I Dr. Carmen Diana Deere has been studies in Latin America. coordinated this program for the next appointed Distinguished Professor few years, forming an alumni board, Emerita of Latin American Studies and She is an associate editor of the journal facilitating faculty research exchanges Food & Resource Economics. She holds Feminist Economics, and serves or has with the University of Havana, and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from served on numerous editorial boards. successfully obtaining external research the University of California, Berkeley, As of 2015, she is an honorary professor funding. We also implemented a new and a M.A. in development studies emerita of the Latin American Faculty governance structure to facilitate the from The Fletcher School of Law and of Social Science (FLACSO) in Quito participation of our affiliate faculty Diplomacy. She was Director of the where she is still teaching periodically. and developed links to alumni such UF Center for Latin American Studies as by establishing the LAS Alumni from 2004 to 2009. Before coming to What do you consider your biggest Advisory Board. I hired the Center’s UF, she was Professor of Economics accomplishment during the time you first development officer and designed at the University of Massachusetts, served as Director? our first-ever LAS Capital Campaign in Amherst, where she was Director of the I nurtured the development of a collaboration with deans from a number number of new programs, such as of colleges. Center for Latin American, Caribbean Continued on page 6 and Latino Studies. She is a past- the Law & Policy in the Americas Welcome New Center Staff, Affiliates, and Visitors! AFFILIATE FACULTY VISITORS Kaira Cabañas Carlos Suarez Carrasquillo Mehmet Emin Cagiran Art History Political Science Turkish Military Academy, Turkey Visiting Scholar Karen Garett Laurie Taylor Plant Pathology UF Libraries Delia Macias Universidad Oviedo, Spain David Kaplan STAFF Visiting Ph.D. student Engineering School of Sustainable Dayanara Hudson Infrastructure & Environment Communications Coordinator