ISLAA Forum

Call for Proposals

The University of Texas at Austin

April 22-23, 2022

Application deadline: February 20, 2022

ISLAA Forum: Latin American and Latinx Art and Visual Culture Dissertation Workshop

The Center for Latin American Visual Studies (CLAVIS) and the Institute for Studies on Latin American Art (ISLAA) are pleased to announce the inaugural convening of the ISLAA Forum: Latin American and Latinx Art and Visual Culture Dissertation Workshop, to take place at the University of Texas at Austin on April 22-23, 2022.

This workshop is intended to serve doctoral students of modern and contemporary Latin American and Latinx art and visual culture from the nineteenth century to the present day. Full-time students with at least one year of completed doctoral coursework at an accredited university, and currently working on a dissertation proposal or a chapter manuscript, are eligible to apply. Generous support from ISLAA will cover the full cost of round-trip economy air travel to Austin, lodging, and ground transportation.* Meals will also be provided.

We are especially interested in hearing from emerging scholars working on Black, Indigenous, feminist, queer, Central American, and Caribbean projects. We also want to hear from scholars from communities historically underrepresented in academia.

This 2-day program invites up to 6 doctoral students to develop their dissertation proposals or chapter manuscripts with a group of scholars with a variety of geographic, thematic, and methodological interests, including Drs. George Flaherty and Adele Nelson, of CLAVIS, and two invited scholars, Dr. Anna Arabindan-Kesson, Assistant Professor of Black Diasporic Art at Princeton University, and another soon-to-be-announced scholar. In the workshop, student and scholar participants will engage in extended discussion of the dissertation projects, offering and receiving constructive commentary toward improving their research plan and writing. Discussions will emphasize strengthening conceptual and narrative frameworks and potential for interdisciplinary approaches, as well as identifying additional primary sources, relevant literatures, and possible interlocutors. The goal is to support highly original and fully historicized dissertations that directly contribute to a more rigorous, international, and collaborative field.

As part of the program, student participants will give brief public presentations of their projects and the invited scholars will offer keynote presentations. All participants will have an opportunity to visit UT Austin’s research collections, including the Blanton Museum, Benson Library, and Ransom Center during their stay.

* Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and attendant unpredictability of international travel requirements, the first iteration of the event (2022) will be limited to participants based in the United States. We recognize that the approved vaccines are not equitably distributed in the Americas, and lack of access to the vaccines may prevent scholars from visiting Austin currently. Future iterations, we expect, will be open to all qualified students regardless of location.

Application Information

To apply please submit the following to claivsislaaforum@gmail.com by 11:59pm CST, Sunday, February 20, 2022:

1) A 1,000-word narrative description of your dissertation project

We understand that expectations for dissertation proposals vary from institution to institution. For the purposes of this program, we are looking for a description of your dissertation, including: summary of topic, object(s) of inquiry, hypothesis or overarching argument(s), primary sources to be consulted, methodology, (very concise) literature review, and potential historiographical significance.

2) A 2-page curriculum vitae

3) A 1-page cover sheet with your legal name (and preferred name), department, university, year of doctoral study, citizenship, current address, phone, and email address.

4) A brief letter from your primary dissertation advisor that confirms that you are currently preparing or writing a dissertation and explains your project’s potential scholarly contribution to your chosen field(s). Letters should be sent by the advisor directly to clavisislaaforum@gmail.com.

Selection decisions will be communicated to applicants by March 7, 2022. Questions about the workshop can be directed to Dr. Flaherty (gflaherty@austin.utexas.edu) and Dr. Nelson (adele.nelson@austin.utexas.edu).

Additional Information

Applications are accepted in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. The primary language of the workshop will be English, but participants are welcome to use the language they are most comfortable with.

By March 31, 2022, selected participants will provide a 2,000-2,500-word version of their dissertation proposal or a chapter manuscript (please no more than 7,500-12,500 words). Selected participants will also prepare a 10-minute illustrated presentation of their project to be delivered publicly on the first day of the workshop.

Selected participants agree to submit required documents on time and participate in every aspect of the two full-day workshop, including the expectation of arrival to Austin by Thursday, April 21 and departure on Sunday, April 24.

In light of the evolving status of COVID-19 transmission, the workshop may be altered to a hybrid or fully virtual model. We will keep invited participants informed as we negotiate these contingencies.

Faculty Committee: Dr. George Flaherty, Associate Professor of Art History & Director, Center for Latin American Visual Studies, College of Fine Arts, University of Texas at Austin; and Dr. Adele Nelson, Assistant Professor of Art History & Associate Director, Center for Latin American Visual Studies, College of Fine Arts, University of Texas at Austin.

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