On Friday, April 22, 2022, Latina/o Studies research grant recipients John Kennedy, PhD student, and Alan Ramos '22 presented their research as part of the LSSO Latinx Thrive! Series. The event took place on the 4th floor of Rockefeller Hall, where they shared their research with fellow students, faculty and staff.
John Kennedy, Ph.D. student in the Department of Romance Studies and minoring in Latina/o Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences presented the research he conducted in Guatemala, which focuses on Central American migration. Specifically, his research focuses on poetry and art of Mayan and Garifuna poets Humberto Ak'abal and Wingston González, and how poetry serves as a framework/modality for understanding migration in Central America and beyond. During his presentation, Kennedy also emphasized the importance of nature, geography and indigenous knowledge in understanding how we perceive migration patterns and causes.
Alan Ramos '22, an undergraduate student in CALS studying Biology & Society, presented their research on the socio-cultural (de)construction of the sex and gender binaries in the U.S. and Latin America and their colonial origins. As part of their research, Alan conducted fieldwork in Peru and interviewed various QTBIPOC Latinx artists to understand and document how they challenge sex and gender binaries through their art. During the presentation, Alan shared their experience working and building rapport with these artists and what it meant to intentionally work outside Western analytical frameworks. Alan’s work is discussed at length in their senior thesis, titled “Deconstructing the Colonial Sex Binary: Post-Genital Genderqueer Communities in Latin America.”
As Latina/o Studies research grant recipients, their research is invaluable in expanding the reach and horizons of interdisciplinary Latinx studies. Latina/o Studies research grants are available to both undergraduate and graduate students “who wish to engage in research projects whose ultimate goal is to enhance the understanding and knowledge of the Latina/o experience in the United States.” Learn more about the grants here.
