Welcome to the Centre for Latin American Studies, Swansea University

Croeso i Ganolfan Astudiaethau America Ladin,
Prifysgol Abertawe

Seminars and Colloquia
MA in Latin American Studies
PhD provision
Outreach
CLASS Members, Roles & Responsibilites,
Useful Web Resources

The Latin Americanist research group was formed in early 2007 by members of the Hispanic Studies Section. It became the Centre for Latin American Studies at Swansea (CLASS) in November 2007. The Centre is based in the School of Arts at Swansea University, but is inter-disciplinary in focus and members of the Centre work in the Schools of Arts, Humanities, and Environment and Society.

The Centre aims to foster interdisciplinary research on discourses of Latin America including cultural production (literature, film, art, music), history, society, politics and the environment. Further details about the research interests and publications of CLASS members can be found by following the links below in the 'Members' section.

Seminars and Colloquia

 Research Seminars: Session 2008 ~ 2009

CLASS and Hispanic Studies, have jointly organised this series of Seminars for the current academic year. All welcome.

**Borders and Traffic: Comparative perspectives on teaching the Americas
Date: 17 October 2008
Location: Council Chamber, Singleton Abbey, Swansea University
Event type: Seminar
Programme: To view the provisional programme, please click here
Additional Information: A joint initiative between Swansea University's Department of American Studies, CLASS, and The Higher Education Academy, Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies.

Venue: James Callaghan B04

~Stephen Hart (UCL) - Thursday 13th November 2008 at 4.30pm on ‘Cesar Vallejo's 52 Autographs: A Garden of Forking Paths....’

~Tim Bowyer (Swansea University, School of Environment and Society)  - 11 December 2008 at 4.30pm on ‘Social Support amongst post-conflict communities in the Peruvian Andes.’

~Par Kumaraswami (University of Manchester) – 12 March 2009 at 4.30 p.m. on ‘Republic of letters: Competing literary spaces in 50 years of the Cuban Revolution’

~ Thursday 28^th May 4.30 pm. Professor Diogo Ramada Curto (Vasco da Gama Professor, European University Institute, Florence) gave a paper entitled ‘Slavers and Credit in the Atlantic’.

~ Tuesday 2^nd June 4.30pm JC 208. Dr Jon Beasley-Murray ( University of British Columbia, Canada ) gave a paper entitled ‘The Ruins of Magical Realism’.

To view previous Seminars and Colloquia organised by CLASS, please click here.

MA in Latin American Studies

CLASS offers an MA in Latin American Studies to begin in the academic year 2009-2010. Proposed modules include:

  ~Gender, Nation and the Canon in Latin American Literature and Film
  ~Representations of Conflict and Violence in Twentieth-Century
     Latin America
  ~Nineteenth and Twentieth-Century Nation Building in Latin America

We warmly welcome enquiries about the MA. For further details, please contact the Director, Dr. LH Davies: l.h.davies@swansea.ac.uk.

PhD provision

Members of the Centre are able to supervise students on a range of Latin American topics such as:

~The literary representation of Peronism and the New Historical Novel
~Patagonian culture and identity
~The construction of regional and national narratives in Latin America
~Social and economic history of Chile
~Twentieth-century Chilean literature and cultural theory;
   genders studies
~Twentieth-century Mexican literature and history; 
~Mexico-U.S. borderlands literature
~Afro-Latin American Studies
   (Afro-Latin American Poetry, in particular)
~The city and urban space
~Informal trade and urban conservation policy in the Latin American City
~(Other topics by arrangement)

Students interested in pursuing doctoral research in an area of Latin American Studies should contact CLASS Director Dr LH Davies, in the first instance, or check Hispanic Studies Academic Research Interests, for individual research interests.

Outreach

As part of its efforts to engage with the wider community, members of the Centre are once again involved with the Swansea Latin American Association (A.L.A.S. - Asociación Latinoamericana de Swansea)  Latin American Cultural Festival 2009 .

 In February 2008, CLASS members played an active role in the Association's annual Festival. For full programme see: Archive of Colloquia & Seminars. We have also participated in Trilingual (Spanish-English-Welsh) Poetry Recitals, talks, lectures and art exhibitions at the Dylan Thomas Centre, the Glynn Vivian Gallery and the Waterfront Museum in Swansea.

CLASS Members, Roles & Responsibilities

Director/Co-ordinator of CLASS; MA & PhD Coordination & CLASS Finance:
Dr Lloyd H Davies: l.h.davies@swansea.ac.uk

Associate Directors

Prof. R. Stone: r.a.stone@swansea.ac.uk 

Funding opportunities & Marketing:
Dr Mary Green: m.green@swansea.ac.uk 

Research Seminar Series; Liaison with UK Universities
and other Research Centres; Publications:
Dr Sarah Bowskill: s.e.l.bowskill@swansea.ac.uk

Links with foreign universities and Student/Staff Exchanges:
Dr Geraldine Lublin: g.lublin@swansea.ac.uk

Web Moderation & Outreach Liaison:
Mrs. Patricia Rodríguez-Martínez: p.e.h.rodriguez-martinez@swansea.ac.uk

Associate members

Prof. D Gareth Walters: d.g.walters@swansea.ac.uk To view Professor Walters' Inaugural Lecture, click here: Imagining Spain
Mr JB Hall: j.b.hall@swansea.ac.uk
Prof. Philip Melling: p.h.melling@swansea.ac.uk 
Dr Luis Valenzuela: l.valenzuela@swansea.ac.uk
Dr Rosemary Bromley: r.d.f.bromley@swansea.ac.uk
Dr Stefan Halikowski-Smith: s.halikowski-smith@swansea.ac.uk

Advisory members

Professor Catherine Davies (University of Nottingham)
Dr Matthew Brown (University of Bristol)
Dr Joanna Crow (University of Bristol)
Dr Par Kumaraswami (University of Manchester)
Dr Iona Macintyre (University of Edinburgh)
Dr Lucy Taylor (University of Wales, Aberystwyth)
Professor Edna Aizenberg (Marymount Manhattan College)
Dr Rubí Carreño Bolívar (Universidad Católica de Chile)
Dr Jon Beasley Murray (University of British Columbia)
Dr Eric Thau (University of Hawaii)

Useful Web Resources

Institute for the Study of the Americas ~ University of London JISLAC ~ Joint Initiative for the Study of Latin America & The Caribbean
LASA ~ Latin American Studies Association
SLAS ~ Society for Latin American Studies
SCS ~ Society for Caribbean Studies