Thirty-seven Ohio University graduate students will present their theses at the ninth annual Ohio Latin Americanist Conference this weekend.
For first-year graduate student Katie Cosby, this will be her first time presenting at the conference.
I'm excited about the feedback ... and to see what the other Brazilians think about what I'm saying
because Brazil is supposed to be a country of racial harmony and I'm basically stating in my project that it isn't true said Cosby, who will present to an audience of college students, professors and other experts from across Ohio, including international students from Brazil.
All OU Latin American Studies students working on a thesis project are required to give a presentation at the conference.
Second-year OU graduate student Matthew Perez will discuss his thesis, From Agency to Activism: Puerto Ricans' Responses to Intersectional Forms of Oppression
for which he gave an introductory presentation at last year's conference.
Puerto Rico and the Caribbean are often left out of the curriculum within Latin American Studies courses
said Perez. I'm giving greater focus for Puerto Rico and demonstrating ... the activism of Puerto Ricans that otherwise may never have been included in a scholarly project.
These students will also serve as panelists and are grouped with some of the other 60 participants in one of 24 panels, with themes ranging from politics and history to creative writing.
That's the beauty of this conference ... undergraduates
graduates and professors get together and share ideas and get to know each other through their academic work
said Jose Delgado, director of Latin American Studies.
Delgado also notes that the conference is interdisciplinary and will include projects presented by panelists whose focus is geography, literature, art and even economics.
In addition to the panels, conference organizers invited Sarah Stephens, the director of the Center for Democracy in the Americas.
Stevens works with U.S. policymakers, journalists and other professionals to change U.S. foreign policy as it applies to Cuba and other Latin American countries, according to the center's Web site.
The conference will also include receptions, photography exhibits and luncheons throughout the weekend, as well as a Latin dance night Saturday featuring Ohio-based salsa band Son del Caribe.
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Culture
Emma Morehart
