Molly Hamm-Rodríguez
Ph.D. candidate in the Equity, Bilingualism, and Biliteracy program
My name is Molly Hamm-Rodríguez, and I am a fifth year Ph.D. candidate in the Equity, Bilingualism, and Biliteracy program in the School of Education. I am currently completing my dissertation research in the Dominican Republic thanks to funding from a Fulbright-Hays DDRA Fellowship and a Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant. My research in the context of a tourism economy uses a linguistic anthropological approach to focus on the relationships of imperialism and capitalism to language ideologies and youth futures in employment and education. I am an active member of the Caribbean Studies Association, where I co-coordinate the Transnational Hispaniola Working Group. I have participated as a member of the LASC Graduate Research Cluster through most of my time as a student at CU. I am grateful for the interdisciplinary nature of LASC, and especially enjoyed helping organize a session with guest speaker Dr. April Mayes on Haitian migration from Brazil to Mexico (Fall 2020) and a panel discussion on language, education, and indigeneity with Dr. Virginia Zavala, Dr. Yuliana Kenfield, Dr. Laura Valdiviezo, and Dr. Rebecca Linares (Spring 2021). LASC is receptive to new ideas from students and the Graduate Research Cluster is a space where you can be more involved in bringing events and activities to the campus community.
Marcos Steuernagel
Assistant Professor in Theatre & Dance
My name is Marcos Davi Silva Steuernagel, I’m an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre & Dance and Codirector of Graduate Studies for Theatre & Performance Studies. I’m originally from Brazil, obtained my MA and PhD in Performance Studies from New York University, and before coming to CU Boulder, was a postdoc at NYU Abu Dhabi. My research examines the intersection of performance and politics in the Américas, and I am currently working on a monograph that traces the relationship between politics, performance, and cultural funding throughout the Workers’ Party era in Brazil (2002-2016). I coedited with Diana Taylor two multilingual digital books, What is Performance Studies? (Duke University Press; HemiPress, 2015) and Resistant Strategies (HemiPress, 2021), and have published essays in TDR: The Drama Review, Latin American Theatre Review, and the Journal of Global South Studies.
As a transdisciplinary, transnational, and multilingual scholar, the Latin American and Latinx Studies Center is where I feel most at home. Most of my fieldwork has been in Brazil and in Southern Mexico, and I have organized transnational and multilingual panels in English, Portuguese, and Spanish with scholars from across the Américas. I have been a member of the LALC Steering Committee since my first year here at CU Boulder, and hope to continue to be part of the efforts to continue to grow Latin American and Latinx Studies at our University.
Carew Boulding
Assistant Professor in Political Science
Carew Boulding has been a member of the political science department at CU Boulder for almost 15 years. She has written two books about Latin American politics, including one that came out last summer, Voice and Inequality: Poverty and Political Participation in Latin American Democracies, which shows that poor citizens in Latin America participate in politics much more than most people expect – even more than wealthier citizens! She has long-standing interests in Bolivian politics, Indigenous politics, and democracy.
The pandemic arrived as Professor Boulding was teaching her large (300+) person Introduction to Comparative Politics class in Spring 2020. Within a week of moving online students were zooming in from almost every time zone on the planet. Since then, she has mostly worked from home, along with three daughters who did a full year of online school, and a big chocolate lab who has loved having everyone home.
Luz Ruiz Martinez
PhD candidate in Media Studies
LASC Graduate Researcher
My name is Luz Ruiz Martinez and I’m a Media Studies PhD candidate. I obtained a BA in Communication from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Tijuana, and an MA in Women Studies from San Francisco State University as a Fulbright scholarship recipient. My journey as bicultural and bilingual scholar from the US-Mexico borderlands has been influenced by my experience growing up on the US-Mexico border, my trajectory as a radio journalist and my involvement in community media projects for nearly two decades. My research examines community media as a tool for creating greater autonomy, cultural recognition, resurgence, and social justice through media ownership and empowerment, and my dissertation explores the anti-colonial and anti-patriarchal interventions made by Indigenous women mobilizing through community radio initiatives in Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras.
The Latin American and Latinx Studies Center has been an important space for me. From the film series to the larger events like the Celebrating the Indigenous Americas Week, students and faculty from throughout the university share their research, projects, and initiatives, providing valuable opportunities to learn and discuss Latin American and Latinx issues. The commitment, generosity, and brilliance of all involved make the LALC a vibrant scholarly community that I am proud to be part of!
Lydia Wagenknecht
PhD student in Ethnomusciology
LASC Graduate Researcher
My name is Lydia Wagenknecht, and I’m a third-year PhD student in ethnomusicology. I’m originally from Wisconsin, where I worked as a choir and general music teacher before moving to Colorado. Here at CU, I’m an Engaged Arts and Humanities Fellow, a Research Assistant at the American Music Research Center (AMRC), and the president of the Graduate Musicology Society. Through my job at the AMRC, I work on a large-scale ethnographic research project where we collaborate with community musicians and arts stakeholders to collect oral histories in Pueblo, CO. My personal research interests include activism, ecotourism, and music economies in southern Patagonia, and I hope to move there next year as I begin work on my dissertation.
I’ve really enjoyed getting involved with the Latin American Research Center! My fellow Graduate Cluster members are always working on amazing projects and have been really welcoming. In addition, working with the organizing committee for Celebrating the Indigenous Americas week has given me experience in community engagement and collaborative planning. I hope to see you at one of our upcoming events!