Anthony Pereira
Statement
I have been a member of the Latin American Studies Association for almost four decades. I value in LASA what I imagine many other members also value – its dedication to academic freedom and pluralism, its insistence on the inclusion of voices from throughout the region, its promotion of critical, independent research, and its ability to facilitate the creation of a community of scholars. My training is in comparative politics and international relations, but in LASA we are encouraged to wear our disciplinary leanings lightly and embrace the totality of thought that an interdisciplinary area studies association can promote. The opportunity to do this is one of the attractive aspects of LASA from my point of view.
We live in an era of attacks on universities by partisan actors intent on using educational bureaucracies to diminish academic freedom and to suppress criticism and dissent. State universities are especially vulnerable to this type of pressure and LASA can provide a forum in which adequate responses to these measures can be considered, calibrated, and promoted. As a faculty member at a large, public, minority-serving university (Florida International University), I am committed to preserving pluralism and maintaining a broad and inclusive dialogue in the area of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. I am also committed to broadening access to higher education and giving students of all backgrounds opportunities to excel.
The center that I currently direct, the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center, has a broad array of activities that are, in part, a response to the interests of numerous faculty and student groups on campus as well as the preferences of our local and regional partners. I would like to take a similar degree of responsiveness into my role in LASA. LASA should evolve in line with the interests and activities of its members, and LASA representatives should channel those interests and activities into the association’s programming, including the annual conference. I look forward to the opportunity to serve LASA and help to maintain it as a vital and relevant academic association.