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• Welcome new CLACS Director Deborah Jenson!
  Natalie J Hartman, 2012/07/09 16:53:09

  Please join us in welcoming our new CLACS director and UNC-Duke Consortium co-director Deborah Jenson. As many of you know, Deborah is Professor of French in the Department of Romance Studies. She also co-directs the Haiti Humanities Lab and the Neurohumanities Research Group. Her research interests include French and Haitian Studies; Creole/Kreyol language; Global Health; and Neurohumanities. Deborah may be contacted at deborah.jenson@duke.edu We look forward to working with her over the next couple of years.  

• Eduardo da Costa recipient of first Dennis A. Clements Outstanding Service Award
  Natalie J Hartman, 2012/07/09 16:51:31

  CLACS was proud to present the first Dennis A. Clements Outstanding Service Award in Latin American and Caribbean Studies to Eduardo da Costa (MA in International Development Policy and CLACS Graduate Certificate Recipient) For service and dedication to the people of the Amazon rainforest impacted by natural resource extraction, for innovation and dedication in helping to establish the new Duke in Brazil program in the Amazon region, and for donating over 600 books to Duke libraries related to environmental policy in the region. The award was presented during the CLACS Certificate Ceremony on May 11, 2012.  

• CLACS creates Dennis A. Clements Outstanding Service Award in Latin American & Caribbean Studies
  Natalie J Hartman, 2012/06/01 17:11:12

  In honor of the dedication, creativity, leadership, humor, and social entrepreneurship offered by our Director, Dennis Clements, to the Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies, to the entire Duke community of students, faculty, and administrators devoted to studying this region of the world, and to the people of the central highlands of Honduras who have benefited from his Exploring Medicine program for the last 11 years, CLACS has created an outstanding service award in his name, to be presented to one certificate student each year who exemplifies these qualities. Dr. Clements' ability to bring people together from different disciplines and centers, his dedication to providing health care to rural areas of Central America, his mentorship as a teacher in the Global Health program, his support for scientific and artistic research in Latin America and the Caribbean, and his support for the people of CLACS in their own professional endeavors has made our community a better place. This award is a small token of our appreciation for Dr. Clements' leadership and friendship over the past 4 years and a way to maintain his legacy in our Center. This award will be presented each year to an undergraduate or graduate certificate student who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to service, civic engagement, and social entrepreneurship in Latin America and/or the Caribbean and comes with an award of $500.  

• Fall 2012 course "Colonial/Decolonial Aesthetics" taught by Prof. Deborah Jenson (Romance Studies/Haiti Lab) and Edouard Duval-Carrie (Haitian Artist and Mellon Visiting Professor)
  Natalie J Hartman, 2012/05/14 17:23:56

  Fall 2012 course "Colonial/Decolonial Aesthetics" taught by Prof. Deborah Jenson (Romance Studies/Haiti Lab) and Edouard Duval-Carrie (Haitian Artist and Mellon Visiting Professor). ROMST 490S.02; ARTSVIS 490S.01; LATAMER 490S.02. Thursdays 4:40 - 7:10 pm. Perkins LINK 2-065, Classroom 2. Course description: An introduction to colonial aesthetics, fashions, poetics, as well as to the aesthetics of the resistance to colonialism and slavery. Team-taught by acclaimed Haitian artist Edouard Duval-Carrie and Haiti Lab co-director Deborah Jenson. This course will familiarize students with the cultural history of the Haitian Revolution. There is a studio art component involving, among other possible projects, collaborative illustrations of an 18th century Creole opera that dramatizes social relationships across racial, class, and religious groups. Course taught in English; no pre-requisites. FL preceptorials in French and Spanish for French and Spanish majors and minors. For more information contact deborah.jenson@duke.edu  

• Fall 2012 course "Visions of Haiti" taught by Prof Laurent Dubois (Romance Studies and History) and Edouard Duval-Carrie (Haitian Artist and Mellon Visiting Professor)
  Natalie J Hartman, 2012/05/14 17:17:23

  Fall 2012 course "Visions of Haiti" taught by Prof Laurent Dubois (Romance Studies and History) and Edouard Duval-Carrie (Haitian Artist and Mellon Visiting Professor). Open to undergraduate and graduate students. FRN 690S-2; AAS 690S; ARTSVIS 690S; HISTORY 590S; LATAMER 690S; VMS 590S. Tuesdays 1:25 - 3:30 pm. Course description: In this class we'll work with renowned Haitian artist Edouard Duval-Carrie as we explore the visual representations of Haiti. We'll examine how the country has viewed both by outsiders and by Haitians themselves, examining to understand how visual culture has intersected with political, cultural, and religious life in Haiti. To better understand the art of Haiti – including paintings, photography, and film – we'll study the political and economic history, study the impact of both Vodou and Christianity on the country’s culture, and read poetry and fiction. Students will do independent research projects and have the opportunity to participate in the conceptualization an exhibit on the history of Haitian photography (being curated by Duval-Carrie at the Fort Lauderdale Museum). For more information contact laurent.dubois@duke.edu. The class is open both undergraduate and graduate students and will meet in the Haiti Laboratory at the Smith Warehouse.  

• February 06, 2012 - Summer and AY FLAS Fellowships
  Antonio M. Arce, 2012/01/19 11:16:21

  Deadline Feb.6, 2012February 6, 2012 application deadline for 2012 Summer and 2012-2013 Academic Year Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship competitions. For links to complete application guidelines and forms, go to http://clacs.aas.duke.edu/funding/graduate.php  

• January 18, 2012 - January 18, 2012 FLAS Fellowships Information Session, 4:00 pm, Room 240 Franklin Center
  Natalie J Hartman, 2012/01/04 18:06:08

  January 18, 2012 FLAS Fellowships Information Session, 4:00 pm, Room 240 Franklin Center  

• April 15, 2010 - FUERZA CHILE! Benefit Concert
  , 2010/04/08 16:24:06

  April 15th, 10:00 pm - 12:00 am, Devil's Den.

  Mi Gente will be having a Chile Benefit Concert for victims of the Chilean earthquake at the Devil's Den (309 Oregon St).

  Tickets will be $5 pre-sale and $7 at the door.

  The performers of the concert will be as follows:

  El Salo (Reggaeton artist) with Planett Music

  Matt Macis as Michael Jackson in the Thriller Tribute Show

  Cristopolis, a Latino Hip Hop and Reggaeton artist (www.cristopolis.com)

  For more information, please contact christine.contreras@duke.edu  

• April 24, 2008 - "Tertulias" Series Continues
  , 2008/04/15 11:00:13

  Thurs., April 24, 4:30 - 6:00 pm Room 028 Franklin Center, with Dr. Dennis Clements. The "tertulias" provide a forum for Duke faculty and students to discuss their work related to Latin America and the Caribbean in an informal setting. This week's speakers are Dr. Dennis Clements (Duke Children's Primary Care and Duke Global Health Institute) and students in the "Exploring Medicine in Foreign Cultures" class. Refreshments will be served. After 4:00 pm parking is available free of charge behind the Marshall Pickens Health Clinic at the corner of Erwin Road and Trent Drive, across the street from the Franklin Center. Please Contact: Natalie Hartman njh@duke.edu for more information.

   

• April 21, 2008 - Paul Farmer to Give Global Health Lecture
  , 2008/04/15 11:06:08

  Monday, April 21, 6:30-8:00pm Page Auditorium Farmer is the founding director of Partners in Health (PIH), a Boston-based charitable organization dedicated to providing direct health care services and undertakes research and advocacy activities on behalf of those who are sick and living in poverty. PIH, whose work began in Haiti, has expanded its reach to include Lesotho, Malawi, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, and the USA, with support to projects in Mexico and Guatemala. Please Contact: Rosa Solorzano (919) 684-9334 rosa.solorzano@duke.edu for more information.

   

• April 18, 2008 - Workshop on Agenda Setting in Latin America: Executive-Legislative Relations in Comparative Perspective
  , 2008/04/03 09:52:09

  April 18th,9:00am-1:00pm Room 130-132 John Hope Franklin Center. Organized by Mellon Visiting Professor Patricio Valdivieso. This workshop for scholars and graduate students is intended to develop a collective research agenda about executive-legislative politics in Latin America. It will include guest speakers:Eduardo Aleman (Dept. of Political Science, University of Houston), Scott Morgenstern (Dept. of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh), and Peter Siavelis (Dept. of Political Science, Wake Forest University). Contact Patricio Valdivieso pv15@duke.edu for more information.

   

• April 17, 2008 - "Tertulias" Series Continues
  , 2008/04/03 09:42:42

  April 17th 4:30-6:00pm Room 028 John Hope Franklin Center with speaker Enver Casimir. "Tertulias" provide a forum for Duke faculty and students to discuss their work related to Latin America and the Caribbean in an informal setting. The topic for this meeting is "Kid chocolate, the Golden Age of Boxing and the Origins of the close link between Sports and Cuban Nationalism."

   

• April 12 talk by Maritza Stanchich on student strikes in Puerto Rico, 4:00 pm, Room 115 Friedl Bldg, Duke East Campus
  Natalie J Hartman, 2012/04/03 17:51:02

  Thursday April 12, 4:00 pm, Room 115 Friedl Bldg, Duke East Campus, A University Besieged: The Stakes in Puerto Rico" a presentation by Maritza Stanchich. Sponsored by the Program in Latino/a Studies in the Global South, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and the Department of Romance Studies at Duke. For more info contact jennysw@duke.edu  

• April 11 talk by Ambassador Patrick Duddy on Energy Policy in the Americas, 4:30 pm Rhodes Conference Room, Sanford School
  Natalie J Hartman, 2012/04/03 17:55:34

  The Duke Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies and Center for International Studies present "An Evening with the Ambassador: Energy Policy in the Americas." April 11, 2012, 4:30 - 6:00 pm, Rhodes Conference Room, Sanford School of Public Policy. Co-sponsored by Working Group on the Environment in Latin America (WGELA), American Grand Strategy (AGS), The Economics Center of Teaching (EcoTeach), Triangle Institute for Security Studies (TISS), and Mi Gente.  

• Trade in the Americas
  Antonio M. Arce, 2012/02/21 09:57:17

  With former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, Patrick Duddy. Thursday, Feb. 23,2012. Faculty Hall Fuqua School of Business. 4:30-6:00pm. more info

   

• 2010 CLACS Faculty Research Travel Grants
  , 2010/04/26 11:59:11

  competition application deadline is April 19Complete application instructions and application form can be found at http://clacs.aas.duke.edu/funding/faculty.php  

• CLACS 2010 Graduate Student Research Travel Grants
  , 2010/04/26 11:59:00

  funded by Tinker Field Research Grant funds and Mellon endowment funds, application deadline is April 19, 2010. Complete application instructions and application form can be found at http://clacs.aas.duke.edu/funding/graduate.php (scroll down).  

• Dr. Jose Maria Figueres, former President of Costa Rica to speak at UCC on April 22nd
  , 2010/04/19 11:53:29

  Mi Gente presents the first annual United College Conference (UCC) with the focus of "Democracy in Latin America. Opportunities and Challenges of Today." The UCC will be divided into three parts:

  1) March 18th - the featured speaker Dr. Emilio Garcia Mendez, an Argentine lawyer and a representative of UNICEF for Latin America, will be presenting on Democracy and the Rights of Children. Dr Garcia Mendez's recent book “Protecting the World's Children: Impact of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Diverse Legal Systems” explores this issue in more detail.

  2) April 2nd - screening of the documentary "Treading on Sand" Transforming Peruvian Democracy Through Participatory Budgeting

  3) April 22nd - featured speaker Jose Maria Figueres, former *President of Costa Rica* will focus on "Democracy and Environmental Sustainability".

  *Food will be provided at all of these events*

  For more information, please contact luciano.romero@duke.edu  

• "Mexico Matters" presentation by Luis Rubio
  , 2010/04/19 11:51:05

  Wed. April 21, 12 - 1 pm. Rare Book Room, Perkins Library. Mexico is frequently in the news these days, and frequently for the wrong reasons. Renowned Mexican journalist and commentator Luis Rubio will talk about our 2nd largest oil supplier, our 2nd largest export market, and yes, our largest supplier of drugs and undocumented immigrants at noon, April 21, in the Rare Book Room of Perkins Library. The event is free and open to the public. Parking is available at the Bryan Center parking deck.

  Sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Duke University Info: stephen.kelly@duke.edu  

• Roberto's Dreams premiere on March 28th, 2 PM at the Carolina Theatre
  , 2010/03/22 13:17:29

  As part of the educational program, the Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU) will premiere Roberto’s Dreams, a feature-length educational movie that depicts the journey of owning one’s own business, featuring the same immigrant couple from LCCU’s first award-winning, educational film, Angelica’s Dreams. The premiere will take place in the Carolina Theater of Durham on March 28, 2010 at 2pm with a reception to follow at LCCU’s new building, 100 West Morgan Street in Durham. Tickets are free, but limited. Call (919) 688-9270 or email alejandro@latinoccu.org to reserve tickets. The film has subtitles in English and Spanish.  

• Duke in the Andes Fall 2010!
  , 2010/03/22 12:57:26

  Learn about diverse Andean culture, indigenous movements, environmental issues facing the region, and excursions to Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands. more info

   

• Spring 2010 Course Highlights
  , 2010/03/22 12:57:09

  more info

   

• Congratulations Susan Ashley Wilson
  , 2010/03/22 12:57:01

  The Duke Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies congratulates Susan Ashley Wilson on her retirement from Duke at the end of January 2010 after 33 years of continuous service. During her years at Duke, Susan worked as Coordinator of Public Relations and Performing Organizations in the Department of Music, as Administrative Assistant in the Department of Germanic Languages & Literature, and most recently as the Financial and Program Coordinator in the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Susan also managed her own business in the late 1980s and 1990s, as an Artist Representative, working with several classical musicians including violinist Nicholas Kitchen. Congratulations, Susan, and we wish you much happiness and success as you embark on your new (ad)ventures!  

• Welcome Visitng Professor Jean Casimir
  , 2010/03/22 12:56:44

  Sociologist and former Haitian Ambassador to the U.S., Jean Casimir, will be teaching two courses during the Spring term. more info

   

• 2009 NC Latin American Film Festival
  , 2009/10/19 15:59:53

  feature length movies, documentaries, animation, short movies, and video art from the Americas. November 1-22.

  From November 1 to 22, Durham, Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Greensboro will enjoy feature length movies, documentaries, animation, short movies, and video art from the Americas. This year the festival presents films from twelve countries (for the first time films from North America, Central and South America and Caribbean) and will enjoy the presence of eleven film makers who will introduce their films and talk about their experiences of working in the region.

  The 23rd NC Latin American Film Festival (which started in 1986) is organized by the Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University, a multidisciplinary and open institution that brings attention to the Cultures of these regions. Under the artistic direction of Miguel Rojas-Sotelo (for a second year), the Festival is gaining ground on community exchange and participation throughout the Americas.

  All Festival activities are FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

  Save the dates and be ready to experience a visual and cultural immersion in the stories of the Americas.

  For more info: http://latinfilmfestivalnc.com/

  Festival trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De_h4_dt9gU  

• Thursday, October 15, 5:00 - 6:30 pm, Reading by Chilean ambassador to the UN, Heraldo Muñoz
  , 2009/10/12 16:13:37

  Reading from The dictator's Shadow: Life Under Pinochet by Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz, winner of the 2009 WOLA/Duke book Award. Rare Books Room, Perkins Library. http://library.duke.edu/news/main/2009/article90.html  

• Wednesday, October 14, 12:00 - 1:00 pm DukeEngage Chile: Lessons from Urban Volunteers and Micro-Entrepreneurs
  , 2009/10/12 16:21:01

  featuring students who participated in the program in Santiago, Chile. Room 240 Franklin Center.

   

• The Sea is History: Moun Kante, Yoleros, Balseros, Boteros
  Antonio M. Arce, 2009/05/15 11:09:39

  Caribbean artists represent the struggles of boat people trying to reach the United States. Franklin Center 1st Floor Gallery. more info

   

• Escultura Social: A New Generation of Art from Mexico City
  Antonio M. Arce, 2009/05/15 11:14:18

  Recent work by artists living and working in Mexico City embracing non-traditional forms such as video, photography, intallation art and performance. Nasher Museum Jan.15-July 7,2009. more info

   

• Saturday April 25 7:00 pm Celebration of the music of Brazilian composer and Mellon Visiting Artist in Residence Sergio Roberto de Oliveira
  Antonio M. Arce, 2009/05/15 10:39:18

  Featuring performances by: Ciompi Quartet, Jane Hawkins, Susan Fancher, Tom Moore including pieces commissioned by these musicians and composed by Sergio Roberto de Oliveira while in residence at Duke. The concert will be held in the Nelson Music Room in the East Duke Building on Duke's East Campus. Free and open to the public.  

• Thursday April 16, 2:00-5:30 pm The Sea is History: Moun Kante, Yoleros, Balseros, Boteros
  Antonio M. Arce, 2009/05/15 10:39:01

  A Symposium on Human Dispersion and the Caribbean Sea featuring presentations by Haitian artist Edouard Duval-Carrie and Duke faculty Srinivas Aravamudan, Laurent Dubois, Michaeline Crichlow, Deborah Jenson, and Holly Ackerman. The event will be held in Room 240 Franklin Center on the Duke campus. See the Web site http://www.jhfc.duke.edu/gallery/upcoming.php for more information about the symposium.  

• Wednesday April 15, 12:00 pm Miguel Rojas-Sotelo speaking on The Havana Biennale
  Antonio M. Arce, 2009/05/15 10:38:51

  as part of the Wednesdays at the Center Series at the Franklin Center. Dr. Rojas-Sotelo will present "The Other Network: The Havana Biennale & the Global South (1984-2009) in Room 240 Franklin Center on the Duke campus. Lunch will be provided. Since 1984, the Havana Biennale has been known as "the Tri-continental art event," presenting artists from America (Latin, Latino/a, and Caribbean), Africa, and Asia. The presentation proposes that at the heart of the Biennale has been an alternative cosmopolitan modernism (that we might call "contemporary" or "post-colonial") that was envisaged by a group of local cultural agents, critics, philosophers, art historians, and also supported by a network of peers around the world. Using the Havana Biennale as a case study, this work goes to disentangle and reveal the socio-political and intellectual debates taking place in the conformation of what is called today global art.  

• Djembe and Afro-Cuban Ensembles
  Danielle W. Johns, 2008/11/19 16:17:54

  Director: Bradley Simmons, with Monti Ellison. Free Admission. Friday, November 21, 8pm. Baldwin Auditorium.

  Bradley Simmons, a native of New York City, began playing Afro-Cuban and African percussion when he was 9 years old. Throughout his teenage years he worked to enhance his knowledge of Haitian, Cuban and African percussion, becoming a sought after Conguero and shekere player for community and religious events. He has done several on and off Broadway plays and performed at nightclubs with artists including Eartha Kitt, and Gregory and Maurice Hines. Simmons has also appeared on Television including the Mike Douglas Show and the Cerebral Palsy Telethon. He directed his own show "Cultural Journey: The Elements of Percussion" in 1990 at the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta and again in 1996, in Durham, NC. Simmons has taught throughout the United States and is currently a Musical Director at Duke University, teaching West African Music and History, focusing on djembe, songba, djun-djun and kenkeni. Off campus he teaches classes on Afro-Cuban percussion and is the leader of the percussion ensemble, Elements of Percussion that tours both locally and nationally.

  As a teenager, Monti Ellison trained as a dancer and then an actor through HARYOU-ACT (also known as Harlem Youth Opportunities Limited). He credits Bradley Simmons as serving as being an encouraging influence as he was first emerging as a young performer. During a fifteen year tenure with The Alvin Ailey School , Ellison served as head musician. His reputation at the Ailey School won the attention of musical greats such as Harry Belafonte, for whom Ellison performed as a featured soloist, and Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul (headed by Steven Van Zandt, guitarist with Bruce Springsteen), with whom Ellison toured internationally for several years. Currently, Ellison teaches several dance and drumming classes for Loyola Marymount University, CSU-Long Beach, Orange County College and St Josephs Ballet. He continues performing professionally with groups like Rhapsody in Taps , an organization founded by his wife to honor the tradition of tap dance.

  more info

   

• Entre los Muertos/Among Death
  Danielle W. Johns, 2008/11/19 15:07:03

  Final film of the 22nd annual Latin American Film Festival. Friday, November 21, 7pm. UNC-Chapel Hill - Nelson Mandela Audiorium, Fedex Global Education Center.

  Cuba/El Salvador, 2004. Director: Jorge Dalton.
  Introduced by the director.

  This film chronicles the cultural approaches to the familiar presence of death in El Salvador, presenting it not merely as a celebration, but also as an aspect of Salvadoran life that even advances the country's economy.

  57 min. Spanish with English subtitles.
  Reception to follow.

  more info

   

• Video Art from Latin America
  Danielle W. Johns, 2008/11/19 15:06:50

  Viewing of select documentaries. Thursday, November 20, 7pm. Richard White Auditorium. Part of the 22nd annual Latin American Film Festival.

  "Bocas de Ceniza" - Columbia. Director: Juan M Echavarria.

  "Street is a Mutha" - Canada & Street is a Mutha 2 - Colombia. Coordinators/Producers: Jorge Lozano and Guillermina Buzio.

  "Cuando Yo Sonaba un Mundo al Reves/When I Dreamed a World Up Side Down" - Cuba/El Salvador. Director: Jorge Dalton.

  "Terminal" - Chile/USA. Director: Andres Tapia-Urzua.

  "Water/Sea of Words/February" - Palestine, Colombia, Canada. Director: Julieta Maria.

  more info

   

• Legal Risks & Business Opportunities in Latin America
  Antonio M. Arce, 2008/04/08 13:33:35

  April 4th, 2008 symposium organized by the Latin American Business and Law Association! more info

   

• Festival on the Hill: Latin American and Latino Music in NC and the U.S.
  Antonio M. Arce, 2008/03/27 16:11:06

  March 27-30: UNC-CH Music Department hosts a festival celebrating the contributions of Latin American music and culture to the United States. more info

   

• "The Stench of Success: Anchovies, protein politics, and the making of a fishmeal empire in Peru and Chile, 1950-2000"
  Antonio M. Arce, 2008/03/28 10:08:00

  Tertulia Thurs. March 27, 4:30-6:00pm Room 028 Franklin Center. Kristin Wintersteen (PhD candidate, Duke History) more info