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| Jan (1) | Feb (3) | Mar (1) | Apr (4) | May (1) | Jun (1) | Jul (2) | Aug (3) | Sep (9) | Oct (7) | Nov (4) | Dec (6) |
January
Tinker Field Research Grant Application Date Reset for Friday, Jan. 22, 2016
The Tinker Foundation Field Research Grants Program is designed to provide graduate students with funds for travel to and within any Spanish and Portuguese-speaking country in Latin America to conduct research and develop contacts with scholars and institutions in their fields of study. Information and application under "Research" tab on LACC website.
February
LACC & IAPA Co-host Webinar Series featuring Millennial Journalists
The Inter American Press Association and LACC joined forces this month to host "Journalism 2016-Style: Millennials Leading the Way," a four-part series developed for students and practicing professionals. Three webinars reached over 200 attendees who interacted with Mariana Santos, Chicas Poderosas; Carlos Salinas Maldonado, Confidencial Nicaragua; and Carlos Eduardo Huertas of ICFJ's CONNECTAS. Social Media expert Marjuli Matheus is scheduled to host on March 1. Inf: 305 348-2894.
LACC Research Director Co-authors New Findings on Uruguay's Ongoing Travails at Marijuana Regulation
Together with co-authors Rosario Queirolo and Maria Fernanda Boidi from Universidad Catolica de Uruguai, LACC research director Jose Miguel Cruz dissects the issues Cannabis Clubs face in Uruguay as state regulation haltingly moves forward. LAMRI, The Latin American Marijuana Research Initiative has been on the forefront with scholarly analysis of Uruguay's groundbreaking program since it was established in 2013.
March
LACC Experts Headline News Coverage of Obama Cuba Visit
A number of major US news outlets relied on LACC faculty members to analyze President Obama's landmark visit to Cuba early this week. As the visit unfolded, Director Frank Mora and affiliated faculty members Jorge Duany (CRI), Eduardo Gamarra (PIR), Guillermo Grenier (GSS) and Sebastian Arcos (CRI) were called on to provide contextual commentary on the events taking place on the island as well as reactions among members of the Cuban diaspora in South Florida.
April
LACC's MALACS Present at 14th Annual SFL Latin American and Caribbean Studies Graduate Conference
MALACS Omawu Diane Enobabor and Christine Bianco partnered with FIU's Tanisha Ingram, James McCrink, Zanolee Grant and Tamanisha J. John to represent FIU at the 14th Annual South Florida Latin American and Caribbean Studies Graduate Conference held at UM on April 22. Students from FIU, UM and FAU alternate hosting the event that provides a space to share research on complex local, national, regional and international processes and connect with LAC-focused colleagues in a variety of disciplines.
New Online Course on Governance and Disaster Risk Starting May 2, 2016!
The Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center in collaboration with the Disaster Risk Reduction Program at the Extreme Events Institute (with support from USAID/OFDA) will be launching the online course on Governance and Disaster Risk Reduction on May 2, 2016.
FIU & University of New Mexico Launch Cuba Summer Program for Educators!
Join Florida International University and the University of New Mexico for a 9-day trip to Cuba in which we'll focus on educational practice and philosophy on the island. The program kicks off on July 8, 2016 in Miami, FL, with a one-day educational training session led by FIU Cuban Studies experts. Participants will then travel to Havana, Cuba from July 9-17, 2016. Deadline to submit deposit: April 29, 2016 For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/1qVd1x1
LACC Co-Sponsors Amazon Uitoto Conference on Reinstating and Upholding Traditions
Three activists from Colombia's Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon (OPIAC) presented their mission for the first time in the US at FIU's Global Indigenous Forum on April 7. Bernardita Remuy Capojo, president of the Association of Women and Families, Claudino Pérez Torres, spiritual advisor and elder, and Carol Aguilar, activist, shared the Muruy peoples' fight to preserve their traditional culture, adapt to climate change, and heal from violence post-conflict.
May
LACC37 @ LASA50
FIU and LACC scholars are out in force at the Latin American Studies Association's (LASA) 50th Anniversary Conference and Gala at the Hilton Midtown, NYC, from May 26-May 30. FIU and LACC have been stalwart supporters of LASA for 37 years. This year we're proud that over 25 LACC faculty, students and alumni will be presenting research projects from multiple disciplines. To see their panels and schedules click through for more.
June
LACC Hemisphere Magazine: “The United States and Cuba after D17”
Hemisphere’s Volume 25 Summer 2016 issue “The United States and Cuba after D17” is available and focused on the timely and controversial restoration of diplomatic ties between the US and Cuba. LACC wishes to express its gratitude to guest-editor FIU’s Cuban Research Institute Director Jorge Duany and the panel of top experts on Cuba and US relations who contributed their articles and commentaries. Free copies are available at LACC, MMC- DM 353 or online. Click on tab Hemisphere.
July
K-12 Educators Acclaim LACC & UNM Nine-days in Cuba for Education & Philosophy Exchange
Focused on identifying opportunities offered by Cuba's educational practice and philosophy, eighteen K-12 educators from across the US joined the LACC/UNM trip to Havana in a groundbreaking meeting with Cuban counterparts. For nine days they exchanged experiences with professors and community members about the role of society and culture in education. The exchanges on alternative learning models were led by FIU's Eric Dwyer and UNM’s Katrina Dillon and Keira Philipp-Schnurer.
19th Haitian Summer Institute Lecture Series Stars Louines Louinis, Guy-Gérard Mènard & Gina Ulysse
LACC's 19th Annual Haitian Summer Institute continues its traditional series of lectures by Haitian experts that celebrates four weeks of intense Haitian Creole training for students from across the US.This year the Louines Louinis Haitian Dance Theater team leads a Haitian Dance & Folklore Master Class, Guy-Gérard Mènard lectures on Creole Identity and Solidarity on 7/18.The series wraps up the following day with a talk and performance by Gina Athena Ulysse, renowned lecturer and performer.
August
LACC Welcomes Renowned Haitian Language Specialist Fedo Boyer for Ground-breaking Translation Class
The partnership of LACC and FIU's Department of Modern Languages is proud to launch "Introduction to Haitian Creole Translation" —a state-of-the-art addition to its extensive portfolio of Haitian Creole language and culture course offerings. The Fall 2016 course is taught by Visitng Professor Faidherbe (Fedo) Boyer, founder of CREOLETRANS and a nationally- and internationally-recognized leader in the field of Haitian Creole translation and interpretation.
FIU Law Professor Jorge Esquirol publishes Ficções do Direito Latino-Americano
Following a year as Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Law at the University of Trento in Italy, LACC Affiliated Faculty member Jorge Esquirol publishes Ficções do Direito Latino-Americano. Two main traditions of comparative legal writing on Latin America are explored —the European-legal-family and the economic-development-reforms traditions— to conclude that each reflects a paradigm while also indirectly undermining the legitimacy of law and threatening the reform projects they generated.
New LAMRI Reports on Uruguay's Growing Resistance to Cannabis Regulation
On Tuesday, August 9, LACC’s LAMRI team presented to Uruguayan officials and members of civil society the current phase of their Open Society-funded research on the country’s groundbreaking 2012 regulation of marijuana production and distribution. By early 2016, according to findings, a majority of citizens still oppose the law and remain unclear on its repercussions and how the distribution of recreational cannabis through pharmacies will work. Reports: http://lamri.fiu.edu/research/
September
The Reunion: Espacio 8's Cuban Artists Reunite and Launch Exhibit at Green School
The group Espacio 8 was formed in Havana at the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) as a collaboration between academics and artists. Years later, two live in Miami, two in Havana: Rusián Torres Leyva (ISA Dir), Abel Barreto Olivera (ISA Prof), and Miami artists Jorge Wellesley and Douglas Argüelles Cruz. Tonight's reception launches their "reunion" exhibit and a week-long workshop with students and faculty. Organized by LACC Affiliate Faculty member Carol Damian and co-sponsored by LACC.
Dr. Victor Uribe Awarded Prestigious Southern Historical Association Murdo J. Macleod Book Prize
The LAC Studies Section of the SHA has awarded the 2016 Murdo J. MacLeod Book prize to Dr. Victor Uribe-Uran's "Fatal Love: Spousal Killers, Law, and Punishment in the Late Colonial Spanish Atlantic." The annual prize is awarded to the best book in Latin American and Caribbean, American Borderlands and Frontiers History, or Atlantic World history published in 2015. "Fatal Love" shows what spousal murders in the 1740-1820 reveal about today's gender relations, conflicts, crime and punishment.
Preparing for Colombia's Peace Accord Referendum: Four Events
With nine days remaining for Colombian voters to decide on the controversial Peace Accord, LACC shares four opportunities to learn what is at stake: 9/24 Colombian Consulate Panel at Miami Fair and Expo Center, 10:30 AM; 9/25 LACC experts speak to Enrique Córdoba on Cita con Caracol, 11:00 AM; 9/28 five LACC scholars join the UM Panel on the Peace Process, Storer Auditorium, UM, 11:45 AM; and on 10/2, Enrique Córdoba will feature LACC on Colombia al Día at 4PM on WLRN TV.
UM, FIU LACC and Business Experts Partner for Discussion on Colombia's Peace Vote
October 2, 2016 may mark the end of Colombia's fifty-year conflict if voters approve President Juan Manuel Santos' peace plan negotiated with FARC leaders. The highly controversial plan, some claim, opens the door to a FARC-led socialist government. Supporters of the plan believe by giving FARC political legitimacy voters will rebuff their ideology and bring an era of peace and growth. Challenges and obstacles, either way, are inevitable. On 10/28 Experts analyze the country's future post-10/2.
FIU Law Professor Juan Gomez Sets Record Straight on Immigration
LACC Affiliated Faculty member Juan Gomez appeared on "This Week in South Florida" following GOP Candidate Trump's same-day immigration policy speech and visit to Mexico's President Pena Neto. Key immigration facts were debated by Gomez, Director of FIU's Immigration and Human Rights Center, Cheryl Little, Director, Americans for Immigrant Justice, and Co-founder of Latinas for Trump, Denise Galvez.
Peace in Colombia? LACC Leaders Join Colombian Scholars and Experts for Tough Evaluation
LACC Dir Frank Mora and former Dir Eduardo Gamarra are joined by the Gordon Institute's Jonathan Rosen as the FIU team taking part in the Universidad de los Andes Forum "Seguridad Y Posconflicto en Colombia" tomorrow in Bogota. High-ranking experts and peace-negotiation participants discuss the Oct. 2 vote and its implications. Live stream www.uniandes.edu.co/envivo
LACC Affiliated Faculty Members to Discuss 2016-2017 Plans
LACC's over 200 affiliated faculty members and LACC staff meet Monday, 9/12, to review ongoing and suggestions for future collaborations in research and outreach initiatives. FIU professors who dedicate
LACC's Andean Studies Program of Excellence to host US State Department Office of Andean Affairs Dir
Andean Affairs Director Annie Pforzheimer joins LACC Director Frank Mora and Andean Studies Program Director Leo Ferreira this Thursday for an in-depth conversation on challenges to US diplomacy and policy-decisions in dealing with the region's divided nations. Director Pforzheimer will talk about front page stories such as Venezuela's economic and political crisis, Colombia's Peace Agreement Referendum, Ecuador and Bolivia's anti-US propaganda, and Peru's recent return to a conservative leader.
Cannabis Clubs in Uruguay: LAMRI's Latest Findings Featured in International Journal of Drug Policy
Rosario Queirolo and Maria Fernanda Boidi joined LACC Research Dir. Jose Miguel Cruz to co-author their recent findings on issues affecting the future of Cannabis Clubs. The Clubs are facing fierce competition from pharmaceutical distributors as Uruguay's groundbreaking state regulation of marijuana faces difficulties to fully implement its program. LAMRI's research team is supported by Open Society Foundation. The article is featured in the prestigious International Journal of Drug Policy.
October
Major LAC Media Lawyers and Catalina Botero Discuss Challenges to Freedom of Expression
Catalina Botero, former OAS Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, and legal experts from major Latin American media reveal challenges presented by new technology/new journalism to print, online, streaming and internet communications. Defenders from La Nación, Argentina; O Globo, Brazil; El Mercurio, Chile; La Nación, Costa Rica; La Prensa Gráfica, El Salvador; El Comercio, Peru;& El Nuevo Día, Puerto Rico join a round table moderated by FIU Journalism Professor and lawyer, Leo Ferreira.
LACC Awarded FIU Provost's Award for Excellence in Research, Education and Service
On Oct. 23 LACC Director Frank Mora accepted on behalf of LACC the Provost's Award for excellence in research, education and service. The Award recognizes that academic excellence is driven by dedicated faculty who instruct, research, create, mentor and serve and is showcased by Provost Ken Furton as FIU's Chief Academic Officer.
Kreyòl Celebration Week Making its Mark in FIU, MDC and Little Haiti
Spearheaded by Consul General Guy Francois, Kreyòl Week brings a combination of Haitian games, trivia and language appreciation to celebrate Haitian culture and its Kreyòl with students, members of the Haitian community and aficionados of Haitian culture. FIU's Haitian Student Organization, LACC faculty members Nick Andres and Fedo Boyer, local leaders Jean Mapou, Vye Ewol, Rowan Moore Gerety and Dimitri Hilton joined to present a full week of activities as part of International Creole Month.
Apply for the Hispanic Serving Institutions' Pathways to the Professoriate program
The HSI/Pathways program prepares undergraduates in the humanities and related fields to pursue a career in the professoriate through engaged mentorship, opportunities to participate in research, a summer program focused on methodology in the humanities and social sciences, and a collaborative cross institutional conference focused on students’ research. Undergraduate students in their third year are eligible to apply. See the application for more details.
FIU and UM Join Forces to Dissect Energy Security, Sustainability
Presidents Mark B. Rosenberg, FIU, and Julio Frenk, UM, welcome experts to the 4th annual analysis of the energy industry on October 27-29th. This year they examine the impacts of the 2014-2015 decline in the price of oil and its economic, environmental, social and political consequences on states and regions, along with their responses.
LACC Tinker Grant Recipient Compares Populism in Turkey, Venezuela and Ecuador
FIU PhD candidate and LACC Tinker Scholar Orçun Selçuk published his analysis of the populist leaders in Turkey, Venezuela and Ecuador from a cross-regional perspective. These case studies show that in each country a strong leader positions himself against the traditional establishment, cultivates direct linkages between himself and his followers, and polarizes the political environment into two opposing camps.
Colombian Journalist Claudia Palacios Talks Peace Accord
Following last week's defeat of the Peace Accord signed by President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC, Colombians appear to favor a return to the negotiating table in an attempt to reset terms seen as offering impunity to FARC members after 50 years of brutal conflict. Claudia Palacios is a highly respected TV and Radio journalist and author of "Perdonar lo Imperdonable, Crónicas de Una Paz Posible." She will present her book and discuss the next steps in the peace process on Wedns 10/12, at 4PM.
November
Argentine Legislator Elisa Carrió at LACC on Dec. 7
Dr. Elisa Carrió, the Buenos Aires representative in Argentina's National Chamber of Deputies and former presidential candidate, shares her political positions and opinions to FIU students and the Argentine community on Wednesday, Dec. 7. Carrió played a leading role as part of the coalition that carried Macri to the presidency and continues her work as an outspoken defendant of a transparent democracy and social justice in her country.
LACC and JGI host Dr. Hal Brands for Open US Global Influence Conversation
Former Washington insiders Frank Mora and Hal Brands, Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, join Jack D. Gordon Director and security expert Brian Fonseca for an analysis of US influence in the 21st Century. At MMC on Tuesday, Nov 22, the open conversation is free and open to the public.
Three LACC Teams Meet with MDCPS Social Studies Teachers to Define Areas of Collaboration
LACC representatives meet with Miami Dade County Public Schools' K-12 Social Studies teachers on Nov. 8 to introduce and offer three tools developed to aid in curricula development. On the docket: "Lens Project and Photovoice Methodology," "Climate Change in the Western Hemisphere," and “Using Miami Ethnographies to Globalize the Social Studies Classroom."
Big Night in Little Haiti Bal Gede Host Meets with FIU Haitian Kreyol Students
On Saturday 11/5 LACC and the Rhythm Foundation co-sponsor a Roots Festival featuring renowned band RAM as part of the annual celebration of Haitian music and culture. Bal Gede, a tribute to ancestral spirits, is led by DJ Gardy Girault. On Firday, FIU's Haitian Creole classes welcome Girault as part of the LACC-Rhythm Foundation partnership dedicated to providing cultural knowledge as the foundation for language and cultural understand
December
Cuba Policy Under Trump? LACC Director Frank Mora
Frank Mora analyzes the signals from the Donald J. Trump campaign and transition team to tease out the expectation that a reversal of Obama's US/Cuba 2014 rapproachement will soon be replaced with the hardline policies of the previous 50-plus years. The article was published today in Latin America Goes Global.
LACC Team and Partners Rediscover "The Brothers of La Salle and Caribbean Botany"
LACC Affiliated Faculty members Javier Francisco-Ortega and Nicolas André are part of a team uncovering details of Botanist Brother Marie-Victorin's documentation of Caribbean flora in 1937-38, 1942. The historical botanical research is part of several projects focusing on Marie-Victorin's University of Montreal archives. Initial findings were recently revealed in an article published by "The Tropical Garden" and distributed to the 15k members of FIU-partner Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden.
Apply Now! Summer 2017 and Academic Year 2017-2018 FLAS Fellowships
The Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship supports language training in Less-Commonly-Taught Languages (LCTLs), including Portuguese and Haitian Creole. LACC is now accepting applications for Summer 2017 and the 2017-2018 Academic Year. The deadline for both cycles is February 10, 2017.
LACC Welcomes Haitian Language Specialist Fedo Boyer Once Again for Haitian Creole Translation Class
The new Spring 2017 course “Haitian Creole Translation” is taught by Visiting Professor Faidherbe (Fedo) Boyer, founder of CREOLETRANS and a nationally- and internationally-recognized leader in the field of Haitian Creole translation and interpretation. It is open to FIU students, non-FIU students, and community members! A high level of intermediate proficiency in the language is the minimum requirement.
Policy-shaping Gang Research in Central America
In a ground-breaking study LACC Research Director Jose Miguel Cruz and Jonathan Rosen from the Jack Gordon Institute led a team that interviewed more than 1200 gang members in Central America. The research is part of LACC's activities that provide policy-relevant research to the State Department in its development of security policy in the region. The ten-month project will conclude in January, 2017.
