Gálvez visits UW-Madison for lecture, guest spot on WPR's 'Here on Earth'

Alyshia Gálvez, Assistant Professor of Latin American and Puerto Rican Studies at Lehman College, City University of New York, visited Madison in late April for a lecture.

Gálvez spoke at UW-Madison Latin American, Caribbean & Iberian Studies Lunchtime Lecture Series as part of the NAVE Visiting Scholars and Artists Program. Her lecture was "Guadalupe in New York: Devotion and the Struggle for Citizenship Rights Among Mexican Immigrants".

Gálvez has a connection to UW-Madison: she was the graduate thesis advisor of Catherine Reiland while at NYU . Reiland, who is the Assistant Director of the African Studies Program, organized Gálvez's recent visit to Madison.

During her visit to Madison, Gálvez was also a featured guest on WPR’s Here on Earth as part of 'The Virgin of Guadalupe in New York'.

You can listen to the segment here:

http://www.wpr.org/hereonearth/archive_100426k.cfm 

Category: Area Studies
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11 LACIS undergraduates receive internship, research grants

The Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies Program (LACIS) is proud to announce that eleven undergraduate students have received internship and research grants.

Students majoring in LACIS can receive one-time funds for internships in Latin America, the Caribbean, the Iberian Peninsula or domestic internships related to the LACIS field of study.

This year's winners are: 

• Maria Blohoweak (Multiple Spots): The World Race
• Miriam Clayton (Spain): Universidad de Alcala's Instituto Franklin 
• Steven Eisenhauer (Dominican Republic): Dominican National Commission for UNESCO 
• Joshua Hamborg (Minneapolis/St. Paul & Mexico): AmeriCorps' Admission Possible Program & The Mexico Field Study Program offered by UW's Dairy Science Program 
• Emily Hosek (Brazil): Saint Jude Medical Brasil 
• Jacob Kushner (Dominican Republic): Conduct research through the University of Iowa 
• Nicholas Nugent (Peru): Centro Sachamama 
• Alison O'Brien (Guatemala): Conduct research on how non-governmental organizations affect development 
• Molly Reddy (Brazil): Alianca Empreendedora 
• Rebecca Sweeney (Brazil): Orpas 
• Teresa Welsh (Colombia): Colombia Reports
  

For more information about this program:

http://lacis.wisc.edu/index.php?q=node/44

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LACIS student presents at Undergraduate Symposium

Earlier this month, LACIS undergraduate student Rebecca Sweeney presented at the Undergraduate Symposium 2010, a daylong event featuring 530 students who presented and displayed their research.

Sweeney presented her research with LACIS Director and mentor Ksenija Bilbija, a comparative study of Bolivia's Cartoneras.

Cartonera publishers have worked to revitalize and reinvent literature throughout Latin America.

Sweeney, who was supported by a Hilldale Undergraduate Fellowship, studied the Yerba Mala Cartonera and its partner projects: the mARTadero Cultural Center in Cochabamba, the Nicotina Cartonera in Santa Cruz, and the Canita Cartonera in Iquique.

The cartonera publishing phenomenon began in Buenos Aires in 2003 and was spearheaded by writers and artists who were interested in reconfiguring the conditions in which literary art is produced and consumed.

Very little is written on the subject and the majority of Sweeney's research was conducted through interviews with Cartonera members, writers, and other book publishers; through observations mainly at the Feria del Libro where their books were sold; and through participation in Cartonera book-making.

Category: Area Studies
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Post-event: 'Brazil Night' a big success

In March, the Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies Program and the Division of International Studies' Brazil Initiative co-sponsored a special event, "Brazil Night".

"Brazil Night" kicked-off the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies/International Education Conference (WCSS/IEC) regional conference attended by 500+ social studies teachers from all over the Midwest. 

The event included a live Brazilian martial arts, dance and musical performance by "Roots of Brazil" Madison, the Handphibians musical group, and student performers from Milwaukee. 

In addition, LACIS convened a panel session which included natives of Brazil to discuss contemporary issues facing Brazil today.

Over 120 individuals attended the event and asked to turn into a day-long workshop for next year's conference.

Category: Area Studies
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LACIS wraps up the month

The Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies Program would like to announce a few stories from the month:

• LACIS' Outreach Coordinator/Undergraduate Advisor Sarah Ripp was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the Dane County Chapter of the United Nations Association.
• LACIS Undergraduate Teresa Welsh featured in the Capital Times. Please see: http://lacis.wisc.edu/index.php?q=node/148
• LACIS' annual Festival de Cine took place in March 2010 and featured "Brazilian Films of the 1950s"

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La Follette School to host discussion about modern-day slavery

A prize-winning author known for his global research on modern-day slavery will deliver a free public lecture this month at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as part of a daylong symposium on human trafficking.

Madison native E. Benjamin Skinner, author of "A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery," will speak at 4:30pm on Friday, April 30, in Ebling Auditorium in the Microbial Sciences Building, 1550 Linden Drive.

Skinner, a fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy of Harvard Kennedy School and a senior fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University, went undercover, when necessary, to infiltrate trafficking networks, slave quarries, urban child markets and illegal brothels.

His work received the 2009 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for nonfiction, as well as a citation from the Overseas Press Club in its book category for 2008.

"We are excited to host Ben to bring awareness to the global issue of modern-day slavery," says professor Carolyn Heinrich, director of UW-Madison's La Follette School of Public Affairs, which is organizing the lecture and symposium.

"Modern-day slavery touches on many public policy issues, including international trade, legal, human rights, social welfare, labor, public health, economic and education," she says. "Yet, due to legal, territorial and institutional barriers-not to mention culturally ingrained practices -- it is a very difficult problem to address and resolve."

Skinner will also be part of the symposium, which will be held from 8:45 a.m.-4 p.m. in 8417 Sewell Social Sciences, 1180 Observatory Drive. Both events are free and open to the public. No registration is required.  

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Category: Social Sciences
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+700 Wisconsin high school students, teachers participate in World Languages Day

On November 18, 2009 the Language Institute hosted over 700 Wisconsin high school students and teachers at the ninth World Languages Day held on the UW-Madison campus. 

The popular outreach program introduces Wisconsin students to languages and cultures around the globe through workshops, presentations and performances led by UW-Madison faculty, staff and students. 

Workshops at World Languages Day span the globe and this year's event included:

• "Icons and Idols: A Journey into Argentine Popular Culture"
  
• "Write Your Name and Say Hello in Russian!"
  
• "Journey to the West, and through Chinese Characters"
• "Bollywood and Beyond: Hindi Songs in North India"
  

World Languages Day continues to be a popular field trip opportunity for high schools, attracting new schools each year.  This year, eights schools of 27 attended for the first time. 

Through World Languages Day, high school students discover and take home new interests that they might pursue in their future studies. 

One teacher said of the experience, "World Languages Day gave my students a taste of a college campus and opened their eyes to what was available for them to learn."

World Languages Day was made possible by the generous support of the College of Letters & Science Anonymous Fund; African Studies Program; Center for East Asian Studies; Center for European Studies; Center for Russia, East Europe and Central Asia; Center for South Asia; Global Studies and Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies. 

Category: Area Studies
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