The Latin American Studies (LAS) program is delighted to announce its first Fellows for 2021-22.
Our first Undergraduate Fellow will be Anna Carneiro, a student currently completing programs in International Relations and Political Science. Her research interests include political economy of resource extraction in Latin America, Brazilian politics, political ecology, and Latin America’s position in climate change mitigation efforts. Her public engagement project aims to discuss creative expressions that present the tensions between so called (sustainable) development and socio-ecological livelihoods. Upon hearing the news of her selection as the first LAS Undergraduate Fellow, Carneiro said: “I’m very grateful for this opportunity and excited to work with the LAS community on a project I’m passionate about.”
After careful deliberation, the LAS Selection Committee decided to award two Fellowships to graduate students for 2021-22. One of our Graduate Fellows will be Mónica Espaillat Lizardo, a Vanier Scholar currently completing a PhD in History and the Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies. Her research interests and current focus lies in the Spanish Caribbean. Her dissertation examines the rendering of legal citizenship and social articulations of belonging in the Dominican Republic from 1930 onward. It also includes analysis of the efforts of Dominicans of Haitian descent, Black Dominicans, and Queer Dominicans to counter a national state project that deemed them “impossible citizens”.
Our second LAS Graduate Fellow will be Ross Swanson, former holder of a Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship who is completing a PhD in Spanish. His research interests include the examination of boundaries and continuities between nature and humanity. His dissertation addresses how, since the 1980s, Latin American literature and film have positioned Amazonian shaman characters as possible solutions to Western problems, including climate change and persistent coloniality.
Our most heartfelt congratulations to our new LAS Fellows! We welcome you our community in this special capacity and look forward to learning more about your research projects.
About the LAS Fellowships
The Department of Spanish & Portuguese offers Major and Minor undergraduate programs in Latin American Studies. The LAS Fellowships are being offered for the first time in 2021-22. Each award is valued at $1,000 CAD and runs for one full academic year (September 1 – May 30). LAS Fellows are expected to engage with undergraduate students and the larger intellectual community at Latin American Studies through public communication projects and/or workshops.