Femininities in Contemporary
Latin American Cinema
Organized by Observatorio de Las Américas.
Every Saturday from March 6th to 27th at 12:00PM (US Central Time)
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Observatorio de Las Américas invites you to discuss complex representations of femininity in Latin American Cinema. Following the success of previous working groups on Latin American contemporary film and the representation of masculinities in Latin American cinema, we developed the series Femininities in Contemporary Latin American Cinema with the explicit intention to provide a space for thoughtful reflection during this years' Women's History Month.
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The objective of the series is to spark curiosity on issues affecting women and the representation of female identities in Latin America. Participants are invited to share the appreciation of the Latin American and Latinx cinematography, as well as the cultures and the peoples whom they depict. Discussions in this series uses a dialogue based approach to facilitate a collaborative interaction between all workshop participants. It is also open to is a continuation to the program Trends in Contemporary Latin American Cinema.
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This working group is an introductory platform to learn about film, which requires no previous knowledge of the topic. Interested people with some previous knowledge of the topics discussed are also welcome to attend. All discussions will be primarily conducted in English, except as noted.
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Gender and Sexualities
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Marginalized Identities and Communities
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Racialization and Ethnicity
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Migration and Urbanization
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Health and Well-being
Javier Muñoz Díaz
Program and Hosts:
Day 1: Ixcanul (Guatemala/Francia, 2015)
March 6th, 2021
Tiffany Álvarez
Javier Muñoz Díaz
Tiffany Álvarez is a biocultural anthropologist interested in female reproduction, evolutionary models of human drug use, and cultural and evolutionary perspectives of health. I focus on human female life-history allocation challenges to reproduction in the face of acculturation pressures, toxin exposure (specifically tobacco), and/or illness.
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Day 2: Que horas ela volta?
(Brazil, 2015)
March 13th, 2021
Fernando Varela
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Fernando Varela is a Ph.D. candidate in Spanish and Portuguese and American Studies at Vanderbilt University. As a firm believer that knowledge is a public good, he is committed to promoting the value of the humanities in and beyond academia. In addition to being supported by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, his research has also been recognized by the Ford Foundation and the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt.
Day 3: Naomi Campbel (Chile, 2013)
March 20th, 2021
María J. Maddox
Juan García Oyervides
Maria Maddox is a Chilean researcher, writer, and visual artist living in Denver, CO. She has a Ph.D. in Latin American Literature from the University of Colorado Boulder. Her areas of interest include Latinx Studies, Disability Studies, Gender and Sexuality, the intersections between Western Medicine and Humanities, and Pop Culture.
Juan is a first generation Mexican-American scholar in the humanities working to increase access to higher education and specialized knowledge. He is the current director of Observatorio de Las Américas and serves as President of the Global Cooperative for Transdisciplinary Research and Engaged Education. His is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Hispanic Studies Program at Graceland University.
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Marissa Bolaños is a Mexican audiovisual artist, writer, and birth worker. She has a BFA in Film and Video from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
Marissa has been working in the field of birth for the last 5 years as a doula, childbirth educator, and documentary photographer. She recently started the podcast "La Revolución del Parto" which centers stories of Spanish-speaking families giving birth outside of the hospital and explores subjects of obstetric violence, immigration, health care access, and body autonomy.
REQUIREMENTS FOR WORKING GROUP PARTICIPANTS
We invite participants to watch the films ahead of each meeting in order to be able to follow and contribute to the conversation of the working group. Respect, cordiality, and tolerance for others’ expressions, personal identities, and opinions is mandatory. Participants who do not comply with these requirements may be asked to leave or, in the case of severe disruption to the learning environment, they may be banned from the meeting. Additional reading materials may be suggested by the facilitators, but are not mandatory.
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