Leo J. Garofalo is the Virginia Eason Weinmann '51 Professor of History at Connecticut College, where he joined in 2002. He coordinates the Social Justice and Sustainability Pathway and co-directs the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program. His scholarship focuses on colonial Latin America with emphasis on racial dynamics and cultural exchange. Education: B.A. in History and Hispanic Studies from Brown University M.A. from Boston College Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin at Madison Research Focus: Garofalo investigates the intersection of African and Indigenous cultures in colonial Peru, examining how marketplaces, taverns, and religious practices shaped Afro-Andean identities. His current work traces West African diaspora routes to the Andes and analyzes Afro-Iberian influences on witchcraft traditions. He utilizes Inquisition records and Spanish imperial archives to reconstruct transatlantic cultural networks. Awards: Virginia Eason Weinmann '51 Professorship (endowed chair) Social Science Research Council Grant Fulbright-Hays Research Grant Academic Leadership: Garofalo has organized campus events featuring Afro-Peruvian performers (Negrura Peruana) and activists like former Colombian Governor Luis Murillo. In 2010, he co-led a Study Away Teach Away program in Oaxaca, Mexico, examining immigration and indigenous rights movements.
Joel Suarez serves as Assistant Professor of History and Social Studies within Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, holding dual appointments in the Department of History and the Committee on Degrees in Social Studies. His research examines critical intersections of labor, freedom, and social transformation in modern American history. His scholarly work centers on two major book projects: The Labor of Liberty: Work and the Problem of Freedom in American History , which analyzes evolving conceptual relationships between work and freedom amid abolition, industrialization, and deindustrialization; and a global labor history of the Volcker Shock investigating how debt crises reconstituted working-class families across Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the United States. His methodological approaches span intellectual history, political economy, and transnational frameworks with emphasis on class, race, and gender dynamics. Professor Suarez teaches foundational courses in labor history, intellectual history, and social theory. His educational background includes a PhD in History from Princeton University, followed by teaching positions at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies prior to his current Harvard appointment. His research themes consistently engage Economic & Financial History, Global & Transnational Historiography, Labor History, and Social History within the twentieth-century United States context.
Marisol De La Cadena is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Davis, with affiliations in Science and Technology Studies (STS). Her work bridges anthropology, political theory, and environmental thought, focusing on ontological divergence and multispecies relations in Latin America, particularly in Peru and Colombia. Department: Department of Anthropology School: College of Letters and Science University: University of California, Davis Email: mdelac@ucdavis.edu Office: Young Hall 315 Her research centers on the intersection of modern politics and non-modern or ahistorical ontologies, especially through what she calls "ontological openings." Drawing from deep ethnographic engagement with Quechua-speaking interlocutors in the Andes, she explores how earth-beings, humans, and nonhumans co-constitute worlds that exceed Western categories. Her theoretical contributions challenge conventional boundaries between nature and culture, history and timelessness, and politics and cosmology. Her recent fieldwork in Colombia examines human-cow relations on cattle ranches and in veterinary schools, situating these practices within broader ecological crises and post-conflict transitions. Her publications reveal a consistent interest in how ethnographic concepts function as both empirical observations and theoretical tools. The body of her work, including key articles like "Uncommoning Nature" and "Runa: Human but not only," reflects a deep commitment to rethinking anthropological method and theory. Her research trends emphasize ontological politics, multispecies ethnography, and the decolonization of knowledge, contributing significantly to contemporary debates in STS and anthropology. Her scientific honors include: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow (2008) Lewis H. Morgan Lecture Series Invited Speaker, University of Rochester (2011) Invited Researcher, Center for Advanced Studies, Norwegian Academy of Sciences (2015) Guest Speaker, Mellon-Sawyer Seminar, University of Cape Town (2010) She has been principal investigator on several major grants, including the John E. Sawyer Mellon-Sawyer Seminar on the Comparative Study of Cultures (2012–2016), a Wenner-Gren Conference Support Grant (2009–2010), and multiple research fellowships from the Guggenheim, Wenner-Gren, and American Philosophical Societies. These grants have enabled collaborative, transdisciplinary research on cosmopolitics, indigeneity, and the anthropology of worlds. She is affiliated with research initiatives such as the Sawyer Seminar on the Comparative Study of Cultures and contributes to global academic networks in anthropology and STS. Her work fosters dialogue between indigenous thought, continental philosophy, and ethnographic practice, creating spaces for alternative modes of knowing and being.
Marysol Quevedo is an Associate Professor at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music, specializing in musicology with a focus on Cuban and Puerto Rican musical cultures. Her research explores intersections between music, politics, and identity in post-revolutionary Cuba and the Caribbean diaspora. Research Themes: Cuban avant-garde music and revolutionary ideology Film music analysis (e.g., Leo Brouwer's scores) Cultural diplomacy through symphonic institutions Puerto Rican music historiography Public ethnomusicology and community engagement Publication Trends: Analyzes Cuban composers' negotiation of socialist values with global artistic movements, emphasizing music's role in ideological narratives through film scores, symphonic programming, and diasporic cultural preservation.
Marcela Echeverri Muñoz is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Yale University, affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Her scholarship bridges history, anthropology, and political theory, with a focus on Latin America, the Atlantic World, and the Spanish Empire. She is recognized for her interdisciplinary approach to understanding political subjectivities, state formation, and social transformation during the Age of Revolutions. PhD in Latin American and Caribbean History, New York University, 2008 MA in History of the Hispanic World, Fundación MAPFRE-Tavera and CSIC, Madrid, 2006 MA in Social and Political Theory, The New School for Social Research, 2001 BA in Anthropology, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, 1997 Her research centers on the interplay of race, gender, law, and political theory in colonial and 19th-century Latin America. She investigates how enslaved and Indigenous peoples navigated imperial and republican transitions, particularly through royalist affiliations. Her work challenges peripheral narratives of Spanish America in Atlantic slavery studies, positioning the region as a central site of abolitionist and constitutional experimentation. The trends in her recent publications reveal a sustained focus on slavery, abolition, and political transformation in the Spanish American mainland. She analyzes how anti-slavery movements were intertwined with republicanism, citizenship, and state formation, especially in Gran Colombia. Her scholarship spans legal history, Atlantic processes, and transimperial dynamics, often highlighting marginalized voices in revolutionary contexts. She frequently contributes to major reference works and edited volumes on Atlantic revolutions and Latin American independence. Her scientific awards and fellowships reflect her standing in the field: James Alexander Robertson Prize Michael Jiménez Prize Bolton-Johnson Prize Honorable Mention Yale Heyman Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Publication Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship MacMillan Research Fellow, Yale Mellon Residential Fellow, CUNY NEH Summer Institute Participant, Johns Hopkins Fellowships from John Carter Brown Library, CSIC, Fundación Mapfre, and Instituto Colombiano de Antropología e Historia Echeverri has secured significant research grants from Harvard’s Atlantic History Seminar, CUNY Research Foundation, and Yale. She has co-edited special issues on Gran Colombian history and Spanish American abolition, and led key academic initiatives including the Race and Slavery in the Atlantic World Working Group and the Early Modern Empires Workshop at Yale. Though student advising is not explicitly detailed, her role as a senior scholar implies mentorship of graduate students. She is affiliated with several research networks and has been a visiting scholar at institutions such as Freie Universität Berlin. Her ongoing book project on Gran Colombian slavery underscores her commitment to redefining the hemispheric significance of Latin American abolition. She remains an active contributor to both scholarly and pedagogical conversations in Atlantic and Latin American history.
Carlos Jáuregui is Professor of Spanish at the University of Notre Dame, with concurrent appointments in Anthropology and faculty fellowships at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies and Institute of Latino Studies. His research focuses on colonial Latin American cultural studies, biopolitics, and visual culture, bridging literary analysis with historical anthropology. Education includes: Ph.D. Hispanic Languages and Literatures, University of Pittsburgh (2001) Graduate Certificate in Latin American Studies, University of Pittsburgh (2000) M.A. Spanish American Literature, West Virginia University (1997) Law Degree, Universidad Externado de Colombia (1993) Research explores colonial power dynamics through frameworks like biopolitics and postcolonial theory, examining how historical narratives conceal violence while invoking spectral 'returns' of suppressed alterity. Recent work analyzes visual sovereignty in revolutionary iconography (e.g., Emiliano Zapata) and theological justifications of Spanish colonialism. Publications consistently engage with paradoxes of memory, resistance, and representation across 500 years of Latin American cultural production. Awards highlight transnational recognition: 2024 Emiliano Zapata Catedra distinction 2023 Dolores Huerta Book Award Premio Casa de las Américas (2005) Multiple Fulbright and NEH fellowships Advising includes doctoral students now faculty at University of Florida, Concordia College, Carleton College, and Furman University. Current book projects examine colonial renegades in Yucatán and monumental forgetting of Hernán Cortés in Mexico (1524-2024).
Carolina Alves is an Associate Professor in Economics at University College London's Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP). She holds a distinguished position as a Fellow in Economics at Girton College, University of Cambridge, and serves on the Leadership Team of the UCL Centre for Capitalism Studies. Her academic journey spans prestigious institutions including SOAS, University of London for her PhD, and Unesp and Unicamp in Brazil for her undergraduate and master's degrees. BSc in Economic Science from Unesp (Brazil) MPhil in Sociology of Labour from Unicamp (Brazil) PhD in Economics from SOAS, University of London Joan Robinson Research Fellow in Heterodox Economics at Girton College, University of Cambridge Dr. Alves' research spans critical areas including Critical Macro-Finance, Structuralist Macroeconomics, and the Decolonisation of Economics, with influences rooted in Classical Political Economy, Latin American Structuralism, Dependency Theory, and Marxian economics. Her work critically examines the international monetary system, power relations in economic systems, and Eurocentric limitations in economic theory. Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on heterodox economic approaches, with particular attention to government bonds, international financial subordination, and the historical development of economic thought. Her eight most recent publications reveal a consistent research trajectory examining the intersections of political economy, financial systems, and economic theory development, with increasing attention to decolonial perspectives in economics. This work has garnered significant attention across academic and policy circles, with multiple citations and social media engagement. Joan Robinson Research Fellowship in Heterodox Economics at Girton College, University of Cambridge Co-founder of Diversifying and Decolonising Economics initiative Co-editor of The Developing Economics blog Trustee for Cambridge Trust for New Thinking in Economics As an educator, Dr. Alves serves as module leader for 'New Economic Thinking and Public Value' and co-leader for 'Rethinking Capitalism' at UCL. She is deeply engaged in initiatives aimed at transforming economics education, particularly through the Diversifying and Decolonising Economics movement which she co-founded. Her leadership extends to multiple advisory roles including the Rebuilding Macroeconomics Advisory Board, Progressive Economy Forum Council, and Positive Money Advisory Panel.
Claire Priest is the Simeon E. Baldwin Professor of Law and Professor of History at Yale University, holding dual appointments in the Yale Law School and the History Department. She specializes in legal and economic history, with a focus on property laws, credit systems, and institutional development in early America. Her seminal work Credit Nation (2021) redefines American economic history by examining how colonial credit laws shaped capitalism and slavery. Education: B.A. (Yale, 1994), J.D. (Yale Law School, 2000), Ph.D. in History (Yale, 2003). Roles: Co-director of Yale Law School’s Latin American program (SELA) and Yale’s Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies advisory committee. Her research bridges law, economics, and slavery, appearing in top journals like Harvard Law Review and Law and History Review . She has held visiting posts at Columbia and Harvard Law Schools and clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Recipient of the 2021 Yale Law Women’s Faculty Excellence Award, she teaches courses on property, American legal history, and political economy in the Age of Revolution.
Roland Greene is the Mark Pigott KBE Professor and Anthony P. Meier Family Professor of the Humanities at Stanford University, holding dual appointments in the Department of English and the Department of Comparative Literature. He serves as Director of the Stanford Humanities Center and co-chair of the Renaissances and Poetics Workshop research groups. Educated at Brown University (A.B., 1979) and Princeton University (Ph.D., 1985), his academic career includes prior roles at Harvard and Oregon universities. His research focuses on Renaissance literatures of England, Latin Europe, and the transatlantic world, with expertise in poetry and poetics from the Renaissance to the present. Major works include Five Words: Critical Semantics in the Age of Shakespeare and Cervantes (2013) and editing the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics (2012). Recent lectures address topics like Juan Caramuel’s Metametrica , Baroque aesthetics, and digital humanities challenges. Greene has advised over 50 Ph.D. students, many of whom hold academic positions globally. Awards include American Academy of Arts and Sciences membership and leadership roles like MLA President (2015–2016). His work engages with interdisciplinary themes such as colonial baroque, digital humanities, and global literary history.
Aaron Kappeler is a Lecturer in Anthropology of Development at the University of Edinburgh's School of Social and Political Science, Department of Social Anthropology. He teaches core courses in the MSc International Development program and MA Social Anthropology, including Anthropology and Environment and Social Development. Education: PhD, University of Toronto Graduate studies, University of Heidelberg and University of Leipzig Undergraduate, University of Arizona Research Focus: Kappeler specializes in Latin American political economy with emphasis on agricultural development , petro-populism , and rural livelihoods . His fifteen-year ethnographic fieldwork in Venezuela examines state enterprises, agrarian reform under Chávez, and the interplay of race, nature, and capital in socialist policy implementation. Current work analyzes oil rent redistribution mechanisms. Publication Trends: Recent scholarship (2021-2025) reveals consistent focus on Venezuelan political economy , bridging anthropology and political science . Key themes include petro-populism's impact on rural cooperatives (2024), racialized sovereignty production (2023), and neo-structural socialism in state enterprises (2025). His work critically engages with dependency theory while documenting grassroots responses to resource nationalism. Scientific Awards: None documented in source material. Academic Supervision: Kappeler annually supervises MSc dissertations in International Development and MA dissertations in Social Anthropology. He has served as Director of Admissions for graduate development programs and coordinates departmental open-day events.
Ruben Gallo is the Walter S. Carpenter, Jr., Professor in Language, Literature, and Civilization of Spain at Princeton University. He serves as Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Cultures and has directed the Program in Latin American Studies since 2008. His academic credentials include a B.A. in English from Yale University and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Columbia University. Professor Gallo specializes in Latin American Studies with interdisciplinary research spanning: Twentieth-century cultural movements Avant-garde literature and art Psychoanalytic theory (particularly Freudian studies) Transatlantic intellectual history His endowed professorship recognizes significant contributions to Hispanic studies. Current institutional roles include program leadership and teaching graduate/undergraduate courses on modern cultural theory.
Dr. Jennifer Cearns is an Associate Professor in AI at the University of Manchester and a Visiting Professor at KU Leuven . Previously, she held roles as an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow and Lecturer in Digital Anthropology at University College London , an Associate Postdoctoral Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute , and a Leach Fellow in Public Anthropology at the Royal Anthropological Institute . Her work bridges digital anthropology and AI , focusing on culturally-constructed empathy and the reproduction of norms in algorithmic systems. PhD in Anthropology (University College London, 2016-2020) Languages : English, Portuguese, Spanish (Latin American) Her research spans Artificial Intelligence , Algorithms , and Data Practices , with ethnographic fieldwork in Brazil, Cuba, the US, Guyana, Panama, Mexico, Spain, and the UK. Current projects explore the ethics of AI in mental healthcare, transnational digital networks , and contraband economies in Latin America. Recent publications analyze cultural norms in AI , transnational exchange , and digital piracy , with a focus on Latin America. Her 2023 monograph Circulating Culture (University Press of Florida) examines postsocialist networks and contraband economies. Nominated for Association of Latina and Latino Anthropologists First Book Prize Nominated for Society for Latin American & Caribbean Anthropology Book Prize Finalist, BBC New Generation Thinker Award She collaborates with institutions like UCL's Centre for Digital Anthropology and KU Leuven, and has advised the technology industry for over a decade. Her ORCID identifier is 0000-0001-6498-1766.
Jocelyn Saidenberg is a Lecturer specializing in comparative literature, ancient poetry, and interdisciplinary studies. She holds a doctoral degree in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research integrates linguistics, social anthropology, and psychoanalysis to analyze didactic poetry’s transformative potential, as seen in her dissertation Echo Otherwise on Lucretius’s atomic poetics. Her creative work includes multiple poetry collections and essays exploring themes like displacement, existential inquiry, and interdisciplinary art. Key publications span academic interviews and poetry anthologies, with notable works such as kith & kin (2018), Dead Letter (2015), and Shipwreck (2013). Dr. Saidenberg has received prestigious awards including the Frances Jaffer Award and the American Academy of Poets Greenwald Prize (2001). Her creative and critical outputs reflect a sustained engagement with language’s capacity to interrogate human experience across historical and cultural contexts.
Otto Maduro is a Venezuelan-born Professor of World Christianity & Latin American Christianity at Drew University (Madison, New Jersey) since 1992. He chairs the Division of Church & Society in the Theological School and co-leads the Hispanic Institute of Theology and Hispanic D.Min. Program. Married to Dr. Nancy Noguera, they share a passion for social justice, music, and intercultural dialogue. His research focuses on liberation theology, social justice, and the intersection of religion with marginalized communities. Education: PhD (1977), MA (1975), and MA (1973) in Philosophy/Sociology of Religion from the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium), all summa cum laude. Licentiate in Philosophy from Universidad Central de Venezuela (1968). Research Interests: Liberation theology, social justice, ecological ethics, epistemological critiques, religious resistance, and LGBTQ+ rights. His work emphasizes global South perspectives, particularly Latin America’s socio-religious dynamics. Grants & Awards: Henry Luce III Fellowship (2006), Ford Foundation grants (2000–2002), Will Herberg Award (1997), and international recognition for his book Marxismo y Religión (1977). Professional Contributions: Associate editor of Concilium , Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology , and others. Served on editorial boards of leading journals and as council member of PARAL, SSSR, and ACHTUS. Current Projects: Researching Pentecostal congregations among Latina/o immigrants in Newark and directing the Hispanic Summer Program in Religion & Theology.
Arthur Weststeijn is an Assistant Professor in Political History at Utrecht University, specializing in the history of the Dutch Republic and its colonial empire, the history and contemporary politics of Italy, and the history of Spain and Latin America. He is affiliated with the Department of History and Art History within the Humanities faculty and is part of the Research Institute for History and Art History, focusing on International and Political History. Dr. Weststeijn's educational background includes: PhD in History, European University Institute, Florence (2010) RMA in History, European University Institute, Florence (2006) MA in Philosophy, University of Amsterdam (2005) MA in History, University of Amsterdam (2004) Erasmus Exchange, Universidad de Sevilla (2000-2001) His research focuses on the intellectual history of power, particularly examining ideas that express and contest political authority through two main themes: colonialism (how ideas have shaped European colonialism and resistance against it) and republicanism (how resistance to autocratic rule has given rise to ideas of liberty, citizenship, and democracy). His work spans early-modern Dutch colonialism, anticolonial thought, the history of democracy, and connections between ancient and modern forms of settler colonialism. He has published extensively on early modern republicanism, the political uses of classical heritage, and the making of modern Italy. Weststeijn's scholarly output demonstrates a consistent focus on the intersections between political thought, colonial history, and republican theory. His work often examines how historical ideas continue to shape contemporary political discourse, particularly regarding democracy, citizenship, and colonial legacies. He frequently engages with both European and transatlantic intellectual traditions, showing particular expertise in Dutch and Italian political thought. His notable awards and fellowships include: Fellow, Huntington Library, San Marino, California (Summer 2022) Fellow, John Carter Brown Library, Providence, Rhode Island (Spring 2019) Director of Historical Studies, Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome (2011-2017) Dr. Weststeijn has served as a visiting researcher at prestigious institutions including the Cambridge Centre for Political Thought, University of Southern California, University of Wisconsin at Madison, and University of Padua. He frequently appears as an expert commentator on Italian culture and politics in Dutch media and maintains an active public intellectual presence. He is involved in multiple research initiatives including the IOS research themes on Contesting Governance, Futures of Democracy, and Longtermism and Institutional Change. His work often involves interdisciplinary collaboration with archaeologists, classicists, and scholars from various humanities disciplines.
