DRCLAS research grants awarded

The David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) has awarded 51 summer research travel grants to students either traveling to Latin America or to cities within the United States while researching Latin American topics. This year, the center awarded 23 undergraduate awards and 28 graduate awards.

The following is a list of this summer’s DRCLAS research travel grant recipients, including their destination, School, concentration, and research:

Argentina: Julia Sarreal ’08 (Graduate School of Arts and Sciences [GSAS], history) will carry out predissertation archival research in Argentina and Paraguay.

Bolivia: Daniel Gingerich ’05 (GSAS, government) will work on a pilot survey of Bolivian employees to measure the politicization of public institutions. Kristin Huang ’05 (Graduate School of Education, Ed.D.) will investigate how street children in La Paz, Bolivia, make meaning of their lives. Miriam Shakow ’08 (GSAS, anthropology) will carry out predissertation research on inequality and economic policy. Shakow will also conduct a Quechua language study.

Brazil: Derrick Ashong ’07 (GSAS, Afro-American studies) will study the influence of music on Afro-Brazilian identities, specifically capoeira and hip-hop. Vanessa Fajans-Turner ’04 (Faculty of Arts and Sciences [FAS], social studies) will study the debate surrounding Brazil’s Belo Monte dam, exploring how identity and politics motivate actors in the modernization debate. Shanti Hubbard ’04 (FAS, sociology) will explore Brazilian constructions of race manifested in youth culture and artistic forms of social protest. Alison Kidwell ’04 (GSAS, history) will extend data sets of bankruptcy cases, wills, and inventories in Brazil. Adriana Lafaille ’04 (FAS, Latin American studies) will study social movements and policy concerning irregular housing in São Paulo, Brazil. Shawn Mullet (GSAS, history and science) will study the history of physics in Brazil. Gregory Santoni ’04 (FAS, chemistry and physics) will assess landscape-level forest dynamics to validate carbon studies and understand the impact of global climate change in the Amazon.

Chile: Monica Ricketts ’06 (GSAS, history) will study military officers and men of letters in Peru and Chile from 1793 to 1830. Hillel Soifer ’06 (GSAS, government) will study development of the nation states of Peru and Chile.

Colombia: Patricia Hernandez ’04 (FAS, psychology) will study interventions that make a positive difference to Colombian children.

Costa Rica: Alexis Finkelberg ’04 (FAS, history and science) will study the perception of feminine identity and unequal access to health care/AIDS medications in Colombia.

Cuba: Cristina Chu ’04 (Graduate School of Design [GSD], architecture) will complete an analysis of Sert’s Cuban projects to understand changes in his urbanism. Todd Reid ’03 (Harvard School of Public Health [SPH]) will research the historical evolution of epidemics in the Americas from 1492-2000. Michelle Tisdel Flikke ’04 (GSAS, social anthropology) will study Cuban museums. Keja Valens ’03 (GSAS, comparative literature) will research biographical documents on Jose Martí.

Dominican Republic: Daniela Tartakoff ’04 (FAS, visual and environmental sciences) will work in the Proyecto Para Niños Huérfanos in Cuba to create a structured recreational program for children and teach English.

Grenada: Justin Gest ’04 (FAS, government) will research various factors that led to the Reagan administration’s decision to intervene in Grenada.

Guatemala: Rebecca Sawady ’04 (SPH, population and internal health) will study community-based grassroots development and participatory community health-worker training. Benjamin White ’05 (Harvard Medical School [HMS]) will create an evaluation matrix for short-term medical missions. Supinda Bunyavanich ’04 (HMS) will study physical exams on onchocerciasis patients to lay the groundwork for CDC clinical trial of drugs for disease elimination. Alexis Caloza ’04 (FAS, social studies) will examine World Bank and U.S.AID support for bilingual education and multicultural reform. Sarah Jackson ’03 (GSAS, anthropology) will investigate ancient Maya nonroyal elites.

Honduras: Catherine Honeyman ’04 (FAS, social studies) will examine a rural secondary education system and its impact on community solidarity and development.

Japan: Aaron Litvin ’04 (FAS, Romance languages and literature) will research Brazilian reverse migration to Japan.

Mexico: Anthony Arnold ’04 (FAS, social studies) will study the influence of racial and economic inequality on the development of democracy in Mexico. Ingrid Bleynat ’07 (GSAS, history) will examine labor markets and workers’ behaviors in the early 20th century Mexican textile industry. Isaac Campos-Costero ’05 (GSAS, history) will research the history of marijuana in Mexico. Rebecca Cantú ’04 (FAS, government) will investigate voting in Mexico as a tool to ensure accountability of elected officials. Amilcar Challú (GSAS, history) will research regional archives in Mexico to understand the institutional underpinnings of grain markets and their impact on malnutrition. Paul Dexter ’04 (FAS, linguistics/math) will conduct linguistic field research with speakers of Western Huastecan Nahuatl. Daniel Gutierrez ’04 (GSAS, history) will research at the Archivo General in Mexico City. Maribel Hernández ’04 (FAS, social studies) will conduct a comparative study of Ciudad Juarez and Puebla to assess NAFTA’s impact on Mexico’s maquiladoras. Sarah Mercer ’04 (FAS, social studies) will examine social mobilization in Mexico after the 1985 earthquake and how it affected national political change. Aaron Navarro ’04 (GSAS, history) will research in the National Archives in Mexico City. Allison Tirres (GSAS, history) will study legal history of the U.S./Mexico borderlines from 1848 to 1930. Benjamin Wells ’04 (FAS, history and literature) will research agrarian reform in Hidalgo during and after the Mexican Revolution. Santiago Ramirez (GSAS, Romance languages and literature) will examine the evolutionary significance of the chemical specificity on fragrances gathered by male euglossine bees (Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil).

Netherlands: Oliver Dinius ’03 (GSAS, history) will study the role of the FBI in Brazil’s police professionalization as relevant for labor control.

Nicaragua: Jason Alcorn ’04 (FAS, social studies) will study the University of the Autonomous Regions in Nicaragua and its relationship with ethnic communities. Julia Sheketoff ’04 (FAS, social studies) will analyze how the contemporary women’s movement in Nicaragua reflects the work of the Sandinistas.

Panama: Duane McKenna ’05 (GSAS, organismic and evolutionary biology) will study Central American rain forest beetles.

Peru: Melanie Adrian ’05 (GSAS, religion) will study the debate in the human rights community over the religious rights of groups. Mónica Ricketts ’06 (GSAS, history) will study military officers and men of letters in Peru and Chile from 1793 to 1830.

Spain: Sheila Lopez ’04 (FAS, history and literature) will study the role of print media and literature in the Spanish-American War. Lara Setrakian ’04 (FAS, government) will investigate growth and development across Europe and Latin America, in terms of an economic “reconquista” and economic sectoral unification. Francisco Ramirez Santacruz (GSAS, Romance languages and literature) will study obscure years in the biography of novelist Mateo Alemán (Spain, Mexico).

United States: Rachel Bloomekatz ’04 (FAS, social studies) will study the experience of Latin American immigrants with social institutions in the North American South. Carrie Endries ’06 (GSAS, history) will examine captured German documents and private papers regarding anti-Nazi refugee politics in Brazil. Helen Marrow ’05 (GSAS, society and social policy) will carry out predissertation fieldwork on new immigrants in the United States. Jennifer Sternad Flores ’04 (FAS, literature) will study cultural identity and social activism in Chicano/a arts in Santa Barbara, Calif.