University of Illinois » Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS)

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CLACS MA STUDENTS

	Izabel Szary Izabel Szary graduated from North Carolina State University in 2003 with a B.A. in Anthropology and minor in Biology. She is currently in her final year for the M.A. in Latin American and Caribbean Studies and has focused her coursework in History and Anthropology. Her thesis examines souvenir purchasing and the ways in which they function within networks. In addition she is working on completing a minor in Museum Studies and a concentration in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security. Her academic interests include tourism, the Andes, Latin American History, museums and museum studies, and international security.
	Jesus Ballivian Jesus Ballivian is from Lima, Peru. He obtained his B.A. in Political Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May, 2007. He is currently finishing his M.A. in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, focusing on the history of the press in early XIX century Peru, in particular, the anarchist publications that appeared at the turn of the century. He hopes to continue his academic career by applying to various journalism and/or communications programs around the country in the near future.
	Verónica Mendez Vėronica Mėndez is from Mėxico, she obtained her B.A. from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2008. Veronica is in her last year of our Latin American and Caribbean Studies M.A. program. Her thesis focuses on the comparative impact of electoral gender quotas in Chile and Peru. Thanks to the Tinker Summer Research Fellowship she was able to spend 8 weeks in Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru doing primary field research. She loves her CLACS family :) and is thankful for all their support and encouragement.
	Hasan Shahid Hasan Shahid’s current research focuses on the religious identity of Muslim converts in São Paulo, Brazil, where he conducted fieldwork in the summer of 2009. A second-year student in the Latin American studies MA program, he would like to pursue a PhD in sociocultural anthropology and continue studying Islam in Latin America, a topic that began to interest him because of his interactions with the Muslim communities of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he studied abroad as an undergraduate student. He graduated with a BA in sociology and political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2008.
	Nilda Barraza After completing her MA in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at UIUC in 2010, Nilda intends to continue her studies with a focus on Latin American cultures. She is interested in both contemporary displacement of Afro-descendant women in Colombia and Latin American revolutions. Nilda is now involved with NGOs in both Colombia and the United States. Nilda enjoys traveling to “undeveloped” countries and working with women. She is currently collecting narrative testimonies of Mujeres, Negras y Desplazadas from Colombia, which she hopes to write a book about the impact that displacement has over these women.
	Katrina Deely Katrina is from Louisville, Ky. She graduated in 2008 from a small liberal arts university, Transylvania University, located in Lexington, Ky where she received a BA in Economics and Spanish Language and Literature. Now in CLACS, she intends to focus her interests in the fields of education policy and economics in Brazil. By the end of year one, she also plans to complete a graduate minor in the Women and Gender in Global Studies program. In her first semester as a grad student, Katrina is enjoying learning portuguese (thanks to a FLAS fellowship) and is looking forward to pursuing future research opportunities in Brazil.
	Marcos Cerdeira Marcos Cerdeira graduated as an honor scholar of the Croft Institute for International Studies at the University of Mississippi. He joined CLACS in the fall of 2009. He is interested in Latin American History as well as contemporary issues, such as environmental concerns and development. Regionally, he is particularly interested in the countries of the “Southern Cone” of South America, especially Brazil.
	Renato Lima Renato Lima de Oliveira is from Recife (BR) and graduated from Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) with a B.A. in Communication Science/Journalism in 2004. He worked as a reporter of business at Jornal do Commercio de Pernambuco, the leading newspaper in the North-Northeast, where he received national prizes in journalism. He also co-hosts a radio show about culture called Café Colombo(www.cafecolombo.com.br) which is broadcast in Recife. His interests and research are wide and cover politics of Latin America, energy security and alternative energy developments as well as Brazilian culture and literature.

LAST 170 TEACHING ASSITANTS

	Eduardo Herrera
	Kristina Medina Kristina is a Spanish, Italian and Portuguese Ph.D. Candidate, also minoring in Latin American Studies and Latino Studies. Her research focuses on Caribbean contemporary cultural production and transnational expressions, mainly in literature and film. Kristina is currently working on her dissertation and hope to get an academic position as a Literature, Film and Culture Professor in Puerto Rico or the US. Her future plans also include spending more time exploring her main interest of creative writing.
	Ryan Jones Ryan is a PhD Candidate in history, studying 20th century Mexican history, gender, and sexuality, especially of homosexuals in Mexico's countercultural movement. Ryan's research investigates the relationship between homosexuality and citizenship, society, and national identity from 1920-1985. He lived in Mexico City for 16 months, as well as Costa Rica during a summer. Ryan loves tacos pastor, micheladas, and mezcal. I'm a photographer, a writer, and a fan of snarky humor, science fiction, and James Spader.