LASA is pleased to announce the winners of the thirteenth cycle of the FORD-LASA Special Projects, a grant possible thanks to the contribution of the Ford Foundation to benefit the LASA Endowment Fund.
Selected Projects
Reconfiguraciones del gobierno de la seguridad en América Latina: Institucionalización nacional de políticas de seguridad, procesos y actores internacionales. Consolidación del Trabajo Internacional.
Responsible Group: Paul Hathazy (CONICET, UN de Córdoba, Argentina) y Arthur Costa (Universidad de Brasilia, Brasil)
The subject of this proposal, public safety in view of crime, is an urgent issue in the region, which is characterized by the highest homicide rates in the world. The project objectives are very clear: to propose a meeting in Latin America with colleagues from many countries of the region to continue working on a regional network, which already has prior collaboration, and to produce a database that can be used by other academics and for public policy.
The network has existed for several years, despite the lack of financing, which shows the intellectual commitment of its members and increases the possibility that it will be successfully completed given the pre-existing collaborative work in terms of the intellectual synergies provided by LASA.
It is, furthermore, an interdisciplinary and innovative project. It proposes in great detail how to implement the project, involve colleagues from many countries in the region, as well as the Global North, but emphasizing the relationships between countries in the region and with colleagues based in the region. The budget is clearly presented, as well as the curriculums vitae of the participants and their experience in the field.
Imagen, crítica, política: Desistencia y polémica en el Caribe. Un simposio.
Responsible: Juan Carlos Quintero-Herencia, Professor Latin American and Caribbean Literature, Department of Spanish and Portuguese (con participación de 13 universitarios (hombres y mujeres) oriundos de América Latina.
This proposal describes the design and organization of an experimental symposium focused on the critical reconsideration of periods, situations and texts that have been polemics in the modern and contemporaneous Spanish Caribbean. It is, in addition, an intriguing proposal for its promise to combine esthetics and policy, literary critique and analysis of the current political, economic and environmental uncertainties that confront the societies of the Caribbean.
In Latin America, the Caribbean occupies a secondary or inferior position, and is often overlooked. This project makes a significant effort to increase the academic visibility of this region, therefore it obtained a high score in the evaluation of the potential of its impact criteria.
The organizers and participants in the symposium, who come from different countries in the Hispanic Caribbean and other countries, show an excellent transnational and hemispheric commitment that includes the United States, Canada, Europe and Latin America, and seek to be involved in the proposed discussion and to supply texts to established and emerging academics, from a great variety of institutions. In summary, it is an original project, it is very well developed and is clear in its proposals, objectives and use of the budget.
Selection Committee
The project selection committee in this cycle was presided over by Mara Viveros-Vigoya, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Vice President of LASA and President-elect, and included the participation of María Victoria Murillo de Columbia University; Emiliana Cruz, from Ciesas, México DF, Vivian Andrea Martínez-Díaz, Universidad de los Andes and Jaime A. Alves of CSI/CUNY and Universidad ICESI/Colombia, former winner of the FORD-LASA grant in 2015.
About LASA
The Latin American Studies Association (LASA) is the largest professional association in the world for individuals and institutions engaged in the study of Latin America. With over 13,000 members, over 60% of whom reside outside the United States, LASA is the one association that brings together experts on Latin America from all disciplines and diverse occupational endeavors, across the globe. LASA's mission is to foster intellectual discussion, research, and teaching on Latin America, the Caribbean, and its people throughout the Americas, promote the interests of its diverse membership, and encourage civic engagement through network building and public debate.
If you wish to interview a LASA Executive Council member, you can contact the LASA communications office at (412) 648-7929 or send an email to lasa@lasaweb.org.