Announcing The David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies 2024-2025 Visiting Scholars and Fellows
The David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) at Harvard University is renowned for fostering deep intellectual and cultural exchanges between Harvard and Latin America. This year, the Visiting Scholars and Fellows Program continues this tradition by hosting a distinguished group of academics from diverse disciplines and backgrounds.
These scholars contribute to a richer understanding of Latin American issues while working on specific research projects that highlight their unique perspectives and areas of expertise. Here's a closer look at the 2024-25 Visiting Scholars who are set to bring fresh insights into Latin American studies.
Carla Yumatle, Fall 2024 Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat Visiting Scholar, Spring 2025 Robert F. Kennedy Visiting Professor of Latin American Studies
Carla Yumatle, from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, has conducted postdoctoral research at Brown University and teaching at Harvard University. She has extensively published on liberalism, pluralism, and human rights. Carla is currently working on a book about the changing social bases of democracy, promising insights into global democratic shifts through a Latin American lens.
Carla will work on a project titled Populism: The Creation of a New Social Actor.
Dora María Téllez, Fall 2024 Cisneros Visiting Fellow, Spring 2025 Robert F. Kennedy Visiting Professor of Latin American Studies
As a prominent Nicaraguan historian, politician, and social rights activist, Dora María Téllez currently serves as the Richard E. Greenleaf Distinguished Chair in Latin American Studies at Tulane University. Her incarceration for opposing human rights violations in Nicaragua underscores her unwavering commitment to democracy. Téllez's work offers profound reflections on democracy's challenges and the resilience of marginalized communities in Latin America.
Dora María will work on a project titled Rebel. Memoirs of Dora María Téllez.
Janaina Lobo, 2024-25 Lemann Visiting Scholar
Janaina Campos Lobo, from the University of International Integration of Afro-Brazilian Lusophony (UNILAB), brings her expertise in Social Anthropology to DRCLAS. Her research primarily focuses on Afro-descendant communities' responses to climate change in Latin America, offering important perspectives on environmental justice and ancestral territorial rights.
Janaina will work on a project titled The challenges of the Anthropocene: climate change and ancestral black communities in Latin American.
Juan Alvarez Yepiz, 2024-25 Fundación México en Harvard-Antonio Madero Visiting Scholar
Juan Alvarez-Yepiz of the Sonora Institute of Technology leverages his background in Ecology to explore the interactions between climate, ecosystems, and rural societies. His work is crucial for understanding the ecological and social impacts of climate-related extreme events, particularly in vulnerable regions of northwestern Mexico.
Juan will work on a project titled Challenges and opportunities for addressing the contemporary climate crisis in Mexico.
Laurent Loinard, 2024-2025 Robert F. Kennedy Visiting Professor of Latin American Studies
Laurent Loinard from the National Autonomous University of Mexico is a distinguished astronomer focused on the formation of stellar systems and the interstellar medium. As a member of the Event Horizon Telescope consortium, his work has been pivotal in producing the first images of black holes, significantly advancing our understanding of the universe.
Laurent will work on a project titled The next-generation Event Horizon Telescope - Introducing technicolor black hole cinema.
Lilliam Arrieta Carsana, 2024-25 Central American Visiting Scholar
Lilliam Arrieta Carsana, a Salvadoran lawyer and professor, is recognized for her contributions to legal research and gender studies. Her academic journey and professional engagements reflect a deep commitment to enhancing legal frameworks and promoting gender equality in Latin America.
Liliam will work on a project titled The Effect of El Salvador’s State of Exception on Women’s Security.
Mariela Noles Cotito, 2024-25 Custer Visiting Scholar
Mariela Noles Cotito of Universidad del Pacífico in Lima specializes in Discrimination and Public Policy. Her research, focusing on gender equality and the rights of Afro descendants in Peru, provides critical insights into the challenges and advancements in social inclusion policies within Latin American contexts.
Mariela will work on a project titled From Black Invisibility to Afro-Peruvian Citizenship: The Building Process of Black Political Subjectivity in Peru.
Marigen Narea, 2024-25 Luksic Visiting Scholar
Marigen Narea, from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, leads a longitudinal study on child development in response to public policies. Her work is pivotal in shaping interventions that support family well-being and child development, particularly in contexts of climate change and socio-natural disasters.
Marigen will work on a project titled The consequences of climate change and socio-natural disasters on child development in Latin America: a particularly vulnerable and unpredictable territory.
Rebecca Hanson, 2024-25 Peggy Rockefeller Visiting Scholar
Rebecca Hanson of the University of Florida offers a critical analysis of policing, politics, and violence in Latin America. Her forthcoming book on Venezuela under Chavismo promises to provide groundbreaking insights into the transformation of security and violence in politically turbulent environments.
Rebecca will work on a project titled Conceptualizing Criminal Governance in Authoritarian Contexts.
The diverse expertise and groundbreaking research of these scholars underscore the DRCLAS Visiting Scholars and Fellows Program's commitment to enhancing our understanding of Latin America through academic and cultural exchange, we are excited to welcome them to DRCLAS.