UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES PROGRAM

UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

L A S P

LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES PROGRAM

September 2006 Issue No. 5

IN

THIS ISSUE. . . . . . .

Director’s letter . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Accepting Challenges, Moving Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 & 4

Brazil Week. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Focus on Faculty . . . . . . . . . .5 Alumni News . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

A Response to Violence . . . .7

Opportunities for Research and Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

For more information, contact: Prof. Ted Beatty LASP Director 203 Hesburgh Center (574) 631-7038 [email protected] or

Holly Rivers LASP Assistant Director 130 Hesburgh Center (574) 631-6023 [email protected] Bettye Bielejewski Graphic Designer

NUESTRO MUNDO

News for Notre Dame Latin Americanists http://kellogg.nd.edu/lasp

NOTRE DAME PRIZE RECIPIENT

Helen Mack Chang, the 2005 recipient of the Notre Dame Prize for Distinguished Public Service in Latin America, will give a public lecture on Tuesday, October 31, at 7:00pm in the Auditorium of the Hesburgh Center for International Studies. Students wishing to speak with Helen Mack on a more informal basis will have the opportunity at a Q&A session to be held on Monday, October 30.

Helen Mack is the founder of Guatemala’s Myrna Mack Foundation, which she formed in her quest for justice for the brutal murder of her sister Myrna Mack Helen Mack Chang and for the thousands of other citizens who lost their lives at the hands of Guatemalan the military. Since the Myrna Mack Foundation’s Human Rights establishment in 1993, Helen Mack has succeedActivist ed in making significant progress in the fight for human rights, reform of the judiciary system and fortification of the rule of law. In addition, she obtained the conviction of one of the soldiers accused of committing the crime–and several years later, the conviction of one of the three officers accused of masterminding Myrna Mack’s murder. For more information about Helen Mack, see kellogg.nd.edu/events/ndprize/2005.shtml

LASP RECEPTION

The annual LASP Reception will be held Tuesday, October 31 at 6pm in the Hesburgh Center for International Studies. Students and faculty who are interested in Latin America should attend. The reception will include information about travel and research opportunities as well as class information for the spring semester. Food will be provided. The reception will be held immediately prior to the Notre Dame Prize Lecture by Helen Mack. Required for LASP Minors

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

D

uring the first two weeks of this semester I have received several emails from students who have just completed–or are just beginning–a semester of study abroad in Latin America or a summer of research or an internship in places like Oaxaca, Mexico. As I sit here and plan out all the course work I want my students to do this fall, these emails remind me that our courses are just one piece of all that claims the time and energy and passions of Notre Dame students. While all the rest sometimes seems to threaten what I want to accomplish in class, these students remind me that one of our challenges is to connect scholarship with more experiential pursuits–something that LASP works hard to do through our various programs. One of our primary goals is to deepen the connections between what happens in the classroom and the ways that students can pursue their Latin American interests beyond their classes.

I would like to offer a special welcome to several new and visiting professors who teach and work on Latin America: Vania Smith-Oka, a new assistant professor from Mexico via the University of Illinois at Chicago in Anthropology, and Nicanor Domínguez, an historian from Peru via the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign visiting in the Kellogg Institute. I would also like to point out that Helen Mack Chang, the 2005 recipient of the Notre Dame Prize will be speaking at the University on Tuesday, October 31. We will hold our annual LASP reception just before that event and hope that you will take advantage of this great opportunity to meet others interested in Latin America and to hear Ms. Mack speak.

This summer we took the opportunity to redesign our website (kellogg.nd.edu/students/links.html) and now offer several new features. Lists of graduate programs in Latin American Studies across the United States as well as sites where students can find international internships are available for students looking to deepen their academic pursuit in this field. Best wishes for the fall semester, Ted Beatty Director

Accepting Challenges, Moving Forward

probably couldn’t believe that he had agreed to meet with a college student doing field research for a relatively small project. Consequently (and recalling his days as a sociology professor), he told me that he would respond to all my questions only if afterwards I accepted some advice. I wasn’t sure what he had in mind but I was happy to say yes.

By Gustavo Rivera Political Science and Peace Studies Major

I was very anxious a few minutes before walking into José Woldenberg's office. Among many things, José presided over the Federal Electoral Institute in Mexico during the 2000 presidential elections, which means that he was the man in charge of organizing the most important elections in Mexico's history. However, I wasn’t meeting with José to talk about that historic moment. Instead, I wanted to talk with him about his days as a university professor and social activist at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. I wanted to talk with him about the Mexican left: its past, its present, and its future. After introducing myself and briefly explaining the purpose of my visit, José asked me if this interview was for my doctoral dissertation. After staring at him for a few seconds with a surprised look on my face, I told him that, in fact, I was doing research in Mexico for my senior thesis and that, by the way, I am only 21 years old. José

Rivera in Mexico

The conversation was extremely interesting and enriching. José told me about his experiences in the 60s

(Continued on page 6)

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LATIN AMERICAN September 3

September 7

September 9 October 4

A

Fall 2006 Cultural Events

Art Exhibit - Snite Museum of Art “Caras Vemos, Corazones No Sabemos. The Human Landscape of Mexican Migration to the United States” September 3 – November 12 See www.nd.edu/~sniteart for hours.

November 2

Fiesta del Sol Fieldhouse Mall, 8:00–11:00pm

December

November 9

Art Beat Downtown South Bend, 4:00–8:00pm For more information, see http://www.artbeatsouthbend.org

Concert - El Gran Combo Legendary band from Puerto Rico. DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, 7:30pm Tickets: $36 General Public; $30 Faculty/Staff/Seniors, $10 Students

BRAZILIAN (CARNAVAL) MUSIC

Brazil Week

Day of the Dead Celebration Snite Museum of Art, 7:00pm

Concert: Carlos Fuentes and the San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, 7:30pm In celebration of the 450th anniversary of Juan Diego’s vision of Our Lady of Guadalupe Tickets: $24 General Public, $20 Faculty/Staff/Seniors, $15 Students

Las Posadas Don't miss this popular Christmas celebration which occurs just before the end of fall semester. El Coro Primavera will lead us in song and a traditional Posadas procession around campus, with food, fun, and fellowship to follow.

Brazilian choral and percussion, particularly the music of Northeast Brazil. The choro band Arabiando evokes the great masters of choro, bossa, samba and frevo in their music. Made up of young musicians from the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, this guitar group has played together for five years and is well known for playing frevo (Brazilian carnival music). The two groups will also perform at a Bate Papo on Tuesday, October 3 at 5:30pm in the Hesburgh Center for International Studies and will perform at a local South Bend school. The concert is made possible through the Kellogg Institute’s partnership with the Brazilian Ministry of Culture.

s part of the Kellogg Institute’s annual Brazil week, the choral ensemble ContraCantos and the choro band Arabiando will perform on October 5 at 7:00pm in Notre Dame’s Washington Hall. The groups will perform at Notre Dame as part of a national tour, organized by The University of West Virginia.

October 2–5

Films, speakers and concerts will be held throughout the week.

October 2 – Film Screening, 7:30pm

October 3 – Bate Papo – Brazilian Social Hour (featuring ContraCantos/Arabiando) Hesburgh Center, 5:30pm

ContraCantos/Arabiando)

October 5 -Campus concert with ContraCantos/Arabiando Washington Hall, 7:00pm

Led by Flavio Medeiros, a professor of music, ContraCantos is made up of students and music faculty from the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco in Brazil. ContraCantos strives to blend old and new traditions in

The performances are free and open to the public

For more information about Kellogg Institute events see http://kellogg.nd.edu/events.

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LATIN AMERICAN

Fall 2006 Academic Events Lectures

September 26 “The Institutional Design of Minority Group Rights in Nicaragua: Effects on Afro-descendant/indigenous Political Attitudes” Juliet Hooker, The University of Texas at Austin and KI Visiting Fellow C–103, Hesburgh Center, 12:30pm

September 12 “These Priests are the Worst Sinners: Curas Mestizos and Curas Sueltos in 17thcentury Colonial Peru” Nicanor Domínguez, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and KI Visiting Fellow C–103, Hesburgh Center, 12:30pm September 14 “Safeguarding America: National Security in the 21st Century” Congressman Timothy J. Roemer, Center for National Policy DeBartolo Auditorium, 7:00pm

October 3

September 19 “Participação Cidadã: Perceptions and Experiences of Citizenship Among Children and Youth in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.” Irene Rizzini, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and KI Visiting Chair in the Study of Brazilian Culture, C–103, Hesburgh Center, 12:30pm

October 30 October 31

September 21 Roundtable Discussion – “Economic Prospects and Challenges for Latin America.” Chair, Scott Mainwaring, KI Director and Dept. of Political Science; Jaime Ros, Dept. of Economics and KI Faculty Fellow; Luis Cosenza, InterAmerican Development Bank (IADB) and KI Visiting Fellow; Tara Kenney, Deutsche Investment Management; Alvaro MartinezFonts, JP Morgan Chase Bank Hesburgh Center Auditorium, 4:15pm

MEET

THE

Helen Mack Chang Q&A with undergraduate students Hesburgh Center, 6:30pm

Helen Mack Chang, Notre Dame Prize Recipient – 2005 Hesburgh Center Auditorium, 7:00pm For more information, see http://kellogg.nd.edu/events/ndprize/2005.shtml

November 16

Diego Abente, Former Senator of Paraguay and KI Visiting Fellow C–103, Hesburgh Center, 4:15pm

HISPANIC CARIBBEAN LECTURE SERIES

FACULTY EVENTS. . . .

LASP minors should not miss the opportunity to attend local Latin American events and meet a faculty member. The program will be sponsoring several events throughout the semester in which students may sign up to attend a Latin American event and have dinner with a faculty member. Four or five students may attend each event and reservations will be taken on a first-come, firstserved basis. Scheduled events for this semester as well as the faculty member hosting the event are below.

This series brings together scholars and writers from all three of the major countries of the Hispanic Caribbean (Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico). Lectures of the series include: September 11 “The End of Gay Culture and the Dawn of Latino Power” Rubén Ríos Avila October 9

November 6

September 28 Art Exhibit Caras Vemos: Corazones no Sabemos Host: Brookes Ebetsch, Executive MBA program 3:45pm (Dinner to follow event) Snite Museum

November 2

“The Law, Politics and Impact of Rights-Based Approaches to Social and Economic Policy in Developing Countries” Daniel Brinks, The University of Texas at Austin and KI Visiting Fellow C–103, Hesburgh Center, 12:30pm

“Nombres para animales” (Public Reading from a work-in-progress) Rita Indiana “Realismo delirante, teorías deseantes” Juan Duchesne Winter

November 13 “Kingdom Kong: Chapters from a Lethal Book of Caribbean Mysticism” (Public Reading from a work-in-progress) Pedro Cabiya

Day of the Dead Celebration Host: Ted Beatty, LASP Director and Associate Professor of History 7:00pm (Dinner to precede event) Annenberg Auditorium, Snite Museum Food and Live Music

December 4

“El estante vacío: literatura y política en Cuba” Rafael Rojas

All lectures will be held at the Hesburgh Library, Dept. of Special Collections at 4:30pm. Receptions will precede the lectures at 4:00pm.

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More information can be found at http://www.nd.edu/~romlang/New%20Web/HispanicCaribbeanLecture Series.html

Focus on Faculty

Over the past few years, the University has gained several faculty who specialize on the Andean Region, particularly in the Departments of History and Romance Language and Literatures. Two of those faculty, Patricio Boyer of the Department of Romance Language and Literatures and Nicanor Domínguez, a Visiting Fellow at the Kellogg Institute and guest lecturer in the Department of History, are highlighted below. 2006–07 marks the beginning of PATRICIO BOYER’S second year at Notre Dame as Assistant Professor of Spanish in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. A graduate of Yale University, Dr. Boyer teaches popular courses on topics such as “Survey of Spanish American Literature I” and “Imperialism, Colonialism and Humanism.”

Dr. Boyer has a background in comparative literature and his thematic interests include ethics and the literary imagination, law and literature, literature and psychoanalysis, postcolonial literature and utopias/dystopias. His interests in several of these areas developed while he was an undergraduate. Like many ND students, Dr. Boyer was interested in social justice, human rights, and legal work. Dr. Boyer says that after “stumbling upon” the work of Bartolomé de las Casas, whose writing exhibits the modern notion of human rights, he became more deeply interested in those topics and in the colonial period. His research led to Patricio Boyer his dissertation, “Imperial Visions: American Writers and the Humane,” which explores how colonial discourses are translated into postcolonial ideologies. While many scholars define their work by region, Dr. Boyer seeks to break out of regional studies. In his current work, he does not focus his research on just the Andean region but seeks to connect the development of the colonial world more broadly throughout Latin America and the United States. As a faculty member fairly new to the Notre Dame campus, Dr. Boyer remarks that he is impressed with the dedication of the student body to service work. He believes that dedication to service is what makes the University so successful in “connecting the classroom to the positive impact individual students can have in the world.”

NICANOR DOMÍNGUEZ is an historian who, like Patricio Boyer, studies the colonial period. Dr. Domínguez is a native Peruvian whose interest in the colonial period developed while pursuing his BA at the Pontificia Universidad Católica in Peru and was influenced by his professors in the history department there: the late ethnohistorian Franklin Pease, the late socialist intellectual and social historian Alberto Flores Galindo, and colonial Andean historian Scarlett O’Phelan. Dr. Domínguez completed his dissertation, “Rebels of Laicacota: Spaniards, Indians, and Andean Mestizos in Southern Peru during the Mid–Colonial Crisis of 1650–1680,” last year at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign.

While at the Kellogg Institute, Dr. Domínguez will be reworking a topic that comes out of his dissertation, aiming to develop it into a book manuscript. At a Catholic university, we tend to think of priests as instigators of peace, but Dr. Domínguez is studying the priests of the colonial period and their involvement in conflict and violent movements along the three centuries of Spanish colonial domination in the Andes, particularly between 1660 and 1670. The priests of this time period were criticized as “promoters of discontent and violence.” Domínguez’s research asks two questions: “Were the priests of mestizo origin during that period ‘organic intellectuals,’ the voice of the mestizos who were upset about being marginalized?” and “Is this situation of priests acting as catalysts to violence unique to that time period?” Through his research, Dr. Domínguez hopes to connect this phenomenon through the three centuries of the colonial period.

Nicanor Domínguez

While Dr. Domínguez is an historian, he is also quite successful as a cartographer. He has published over 104 maps in scholarly works and hopes one day to combine his many maps into an historical atlas. Another of his visual–oriented interests is film, and he organized five film series on diverse topics (ranging from Latin American History, to U.S. Political Satire, and to International Women’s Issues) while teaching at Prescott College in Arizona. 5

ALUMNI NEWS

Wondering what you can do with a Latin American Studies minor?

Alumni of our program have found many uses for their language skills and knowledge of Latin America. Below are just a few alums and what they are doing now.

Education

Some of our grads are now pursuing or have recently completed a masters degree. Ryan Abrams, (2005) MA Latin American Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin Rachel Kutzley, (2005) MA International Peace Studies, University of Peace, Costa Rica, completed in 2006 Monica Zigman, (2006) MA Public Health, Boston University

Jobs

Caitlin Early, (2005) Holy Cross Associate, Chile Claire Ribando, (1998) Analyst in Latin American Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service

Christina Velasquez, (2005) Volunteer, Puerto Rico,Center for Social Concerns Kathleen Monticello, (2006) Fulbright Teaching Assistant, Chile Megan Sheehan, (2006) Intern, Center for International Policy and Brazilian Embassy

If you are looking for international internships or jobs or considering a Masters in Latin American Studies, be certain to check out new resources on the Kellogg website. A list of universities as well as a list of organizations offering paid or unpaid internships is available at http://kellogg.nd.edu/students/links.shtml.

Quechua Program

Did you know that Notre Dame offers the possibility of studying three languages of Latin America? Not only can you take Spanish and Portuguese from the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, but you can also take Quechua. Be one of an elite group of students in the country and take the opportunity to learn a language that will give you insight into the study of the Andes and the Inca. Beginner level classes are offered both fall and spring semesters by native speakers. Students who pursue the study of Quechua can also receive fellowships from the Kellogg Institute to study the language in Cuzco, Peru during the summer. See http://kellogg.nd.edu/students/lasp/fellowships/quechua.shtml for details.

Accepting Challenges...(Continued from page 2)

and 70s and how he envisioned Mexico’s future. He even told me his personal opinion on some political figures, like the leftist presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador. However, after almost an hour of intense dialogue, the time came for me to listen to his advice. Using a blank sheet of paper and completely immersed in his words, I listened for another half hour as José lectured to me about the different ways in which I could approach my research question. His endless advice reflected his true concern with my learning. A formal interview had turned into an intense session of office hours. In brief, the Kellogg/Kroc Undergraduate Research Grants Program gave me the opportunity to pursue research beyond what is expected of most undergraduates. Through this program I was able to organize a

proper project for a doctoral dissertation. For me, this project wasn’t about visiting new countries or discovering unknown cultures. I decided to go back to my home country (Mexico) and visit another familiar country (Argentina) to prepare my senior thesis and acquire experience for my future work in graduate school. In my eleven interviews with academics, politicians, union leaders, and intellectuals I was constantly bombarded with all kinds of questions about the purpose of my research. It seems like a serious political conversation with a 21–year old college student was very unusual for some of these individuals. And it was. This has been by far the best part of my project and one of the great opportunities that the Research Grants Program gave me. 6

A R ESPONSE

TO V IOLENCE

—

CROSSING BORDERS AND ACHIEVING JUSTICE IN LATIN AMERICA

By Kristina Leszczak Political Science and Spanish Major

How effective is punitive justice in relation to youth violence? As a recipient of a Kellogg/Kroc 2006 Summer Research Grant, I was given the opportunity to travel to Buenos Aires to ask this question while also studying how the legal system, together with nongovernmental organizations, addresses youth violence in comparison to other Latin American nations, namely El Salvador. With 50.2 deaths per 100,000 people, the end of civil war in El Salvador in 1992 opened the door to the high levels of violence now threatening the country’s development.1 To combat this violence, the present-day legislative response has been repressive in nature. Nonetheless, with a 24 percent homicide rate increase reported between 2004 and 2005, policies such as super mano dura–the harsh penal reforms approved by the ARENA government in 2003 to combat youth gangs–have not led to greater social peace and stability.2 Argentina, unlike El Salvador, does not have problems with gang violence. With a developed industrial sector, highly literate population, and relatively large middle class, Argentina’s present social and economic situations are distinct from that of El Salvador. Nonetheless, Argentina has endured hardship, including repressive civilian and military administrations in the 1970s–democracy was restored in 1983–and an economic collapse in 2001. Moreover, in the second half of

the 1990s, significant increases in crime and homicide rates were reported in official crime statistics.3 With increasing rates of crime and violence a growing concern for residents, my fieldwork in Buenos Aires involved an assessment of what has, and is, being done to address youth violence. Using Article 37 (b) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as a guiding principle throughout my study, I hoped to learn more about the meaning of rehabilitation in Argentina and, in doing so, challenge the tactics of repression utilized by countries like El Salvador.

Weekly protest groups in Plaza de Mayo

What I discovered through my conversations with representatives from the Center for Legal and Social Studies, Buenos Aires Law School, and organizations studying institutional and police repression is quite disheartening. A Human Rights Watch has reported, 3 prisoners were killed every week in Buenos Aires province through March 2005, triple the level of violence in 2004.4 Furthermore, the living conditions and rehabilitative

programs in youth correctionall institutions remain wanting.The word most commonly used by my interviewees to describe these institutions was “deplorable.” As security evolves into a critical concern for Argentinean society, however, experts foresee repression as the preferred response of the government. Not one to allow unexpected results to discourage me, I still believe there is much to be learned from Argentina’s experience. Greater educational and employment opportunities help deter the propagation of violent youth organizations. As the weekly marches of the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo demonstrate, individuals also have greater confidence in their ability to question both the policies and rationale of their government-most especially its stance towards violence. In conclusion, youth violence, which can be associated with unemployment, organized crime, and limited educational opportunities, cannot be addressed exclusively through repression. The reintegration process of young individuals is key in preventing violence and crime. Adapting the words of Mirna Antonieta Perla, a Supreme Court Justice in El Salvador, to all of Latin America: “[We] must take seriously the creation of a system of support for children and adolescents based on principles of nondiscrimination, indivisibility of rights and freedom of expression.”5

1 US World Health Organization. World Report on Violence and Health. 3 Oct. 2002. 28 August 2006 . 2 US Bureau of Consular Affairs. Department of State. El Salvador. 21 Aug. 2006. 28 August 2006 . 3 “Crime and Violence: Regional Case Studies: Argentina.” The World Bank Group (2001). 18 Aug. 2006 . 4 “Human Rights Overview: Argentina.” Human Rights Watch (2004). 18 August 2006 . 5 Mirna Antonieta Perla, Salvanet January-March 2003 "More than Tomorrow's Leaders: Defending the Rights of Youth in the Present.”

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Summer Internship Program Deadline – November 10, 2006

U NDERGRADUATE

Are you looking for an opportunity to go to Latin America next summer? Would you like the chance to experience first-hand many of the issues you are discussing in your classes? The Kellogg Institute offers undergraduates the opportunity to intern at policy institutes, non-governmental organizations, and government offices throughout Latin America. Selected applicants receive funding to cover expenses related to the internship. Details about the program can be found at http://kellogg.nd.edu/students/internship.

O PPORTUNITIES

Have you begun thinking about your senior thesis? Think you might be interested in doing research abroad next summer to prepare? The Kellogg Institute offers students completing their junior year the opportunity to receive funding to conduct research abroad. To be eligible for these grants, students must have a faculty adviser and submit a well-developed proposal. See kellogg.nd.edu/students/grants for the details.

S TUDENTS

FOR

R ESEARCH

AND

T RAVEL

Kellogg/Kroc Undergraduate Research Grants Deadline – March 2, 2007

Information Meetings

To learn more about Kellogg's various awards and grants, please attend the information meetings listed below. Previous recipients will talk about their summer experiences and offer advice about how to apply and where to go.

USAID/TIES Internship Presentation – Students who participated in internships in Mexico through this program will present their findings. C–103 Hesburgh Center September 26, 3:30–5:00pm Kellogg Internships and Awards C–103, Hesburgh Center for International Studies October 2, 6:30pm

L A SP

Kellogg/Kroc Undergraduate Research Grants C–103, Hesburgh Center for International Studies, November 8, 6:30pm

LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES PROGRAM

UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES PROGRAM