Latin American and Latino Studies Faculty Research Symposium

Latin American and Latino Studies, an interdisciplinary program that combines both an emphasis on Latin American regional studies and U.S. Latinx ethnic studies, will hold a one-day Faculty Research Symposium on Wednesday, March 14.

The symposium offers an opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to learn more about the research mission of the Latin American and Latino Studies program, including the breadth of scholarship and areas of study of the program's faculty, which include, but are not limited to: border studies, colonial/postcolonial studies, cultural studies, ethnic studies, gender and sexuality studies, (im)migration, Latin/o American politics, literary studies, pre-Colombian Mesoamerican art, religious studies, and violence studies. This event is free and open to the public.

The opening reception for the symposium will begin at 9 a.m., followed by three panels featuring Latin American and Latino Studies faculty from Departments of Anthropology, Art, History, Sociology and World Languages, Literatures, and Culture. The first panel, "Violence, Materiality, and Memory in Latin America," begins at 10 a.m. and features Erika Almenara, Kirstin Erickson and Ram Natarajan. Presenters for the second panel, "Latinx Studies: (Im)migration, Identity, and Politics" at 1 p.m., include Juan José Bustamente, Violeta Lorenzo-Feliciano, and Steven Rosales. The last panel planned is a roundtable discussion on "The Field of Latin American Studies" with panelists Shawn Austin, Edvan P. Brito, Ana Pulido-Rull, and Luis Restrepo.

The symposium will conclude with a keynote talk, "Epistemology of the LOCA: The Cultural Politics of Puerto Rican Drag," by Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes at 5 p.m. in Gearhart Hall Auditorium. La Fountain-Stokes is associate professor of American Culture, Romance Languages and Literatures, and Women's Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and the former director of the Latina/o Studies Program (2011-2016). He received his A.B. from Harvard (1991) and M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia (1999). He is author of Queer Ricans: Cultures and Sexualities in the Diaspora (2009), Uñas pintadas de azul/Blue Fingernails (2009), Abolición del pato (2013), A Brief and Transformative Account of Queer History (2016), and Escenas transcaribeñas: ensayos sobre teatro, performance y cultura (2018). He co-edited an issue of CENTRO Journal on Puerto Rican Queer Sexualities (Spring 2007) as well as Keywords for Latina/o Studies (NYU Press, 2017). He performs as Lola von Miramar since 2010.

In his talk, which draws on his current work on Puerto Rican transgender and drag performance and activism, La Fountain-Stokes contemplates the following questions: What are the complexities of drag and of gender non-conforming experience in Puerto Rico and in its diaspora? What are the tensions between the joyful celebration of life in the performances of drag superstar Nina Flowers, the murder of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, and the out-of-control representation in Angel Lozada's novel No quiero quedarme sola y vacía? I use the Spanish-language term "loca" (madwoman or effeminate homosexual) to discuss Puerto Rican (and more broadly Latinx and Latin American) gender and sexuality.

About the Latin American and Latino Studies Program: Latin American and Latino Studies is an interdisciplinary area and ethnic studies undergraduate program in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. We provide in-depth exposure to the key geographic regions, historical trajectories, social modes, languages, and political, economic, and cultural systems of Latin America and the Latino United States. We sponsor a study abroad program, a high-profile lecture series, and cultural events throughout the year. Our curriculum draws from history, political science, anthropology, art history, sociology, English, economics, music, and language, literature and culture. Students may combine the LAST co-major (21 credit hours) or minor (15 credit hours) with a major in another field, enhancing their preparedness for employment with government or service agencies, corporations and enterprises dealing with Latin America and the Hispanic U.S., for teaching or international careers, or in preparation for other advanced degrees. More information about the LAST program may be found at http://last.uark.edu, or follow us on Facebook.