La Academia del Pueblo
14th Annual La Academia del Pueblo
Latina/o/x and Latin American Studies Research Conference
Gender and the Latinx Imaginary
Event Details:
Date: Friday, April 19, 2024
Time: 12 to 6:30 p.m.
Location: Student Center Ballroom
Download conference flyer
Description:
La Academia del Pueblo seeks to deliberately establish connections between the academy, engaged citizens and urban communities.
Gender and race lie intertwined, coiled together within identities foisted upon the peoples of the Americas throughout centuries of Euro-patriarchal primacy. In the midst of ongoing and profound reflections revolving around the power to produce new identities and the potential longevity of “Latinx” as a decolonized construct for these fraught identities, this conference seeks to boldly engage the “X” across disciplines as a space which reverberates with the possibilities of worlds unbound by binary thought and erasure; futures in which all gender expressions can and will be fully human.
Within this framework, we invite conference participants to join us at the intersections of Latinidad and gendered identities as played out in interpersonal or structural spaces and within historical, contemporary and/or speculative approaches. Irrespective of the routes of exploration to be followed within this creative academic endeavor, we will strive, in the words voiced by Lencan Honduran environmental activist and ancestor Berta Cáceres upon her 2015 acceptance of the Goldman Environmental Prize, to be mindful that our efforts reflect on and act upon the awareness of our “Mother Earth, militarized, fenced in, poisoned, a place where basic rights are systematically violated, [a place which] demands that we take action."
Keynote speaker:
Rosalva Osorio Cooksy, LMSW
Field Faculty and LEO Lecturer IV
University of Michigan School of Social Work
Rosalva Osorio Cooksy, LMSW is a licensed macro and clinical social worker, licensing supervisor, trainer, and educator with nearly 20 years of experience. They currently lead the Detroit Scholars Program at the University of Michigan where MSW students are prepared to serve the medically underserved population within the community mental health system in Wayne County.
Community panel:
The legacy of Muralism has shaped Detroit's art and culture scene for almost a century. From the Detroit Industry Murals to the recent proliferation of street art, Muralism remains central to the city's collective imaginary. This inherently public form of art boldly centered people who had been historically marginalized, whether in post-revolutionary Mexico or in industrialized Detroit. Though often unacknowledged, some of Detroit's most acclaimed artwork is inextricably linked to the Latinx community and its efforts to overcome exclusion.
This panel brings Detroit-based conceptual artist Elton Monroy Durán and other community leaders to discuss the rich legacies of Muralism in Southwest Detroit. As part of Translating Michigan, a public humanities project curated by University of Michigan faculty, the discussion will focus on how murals have and can empower people to resist erasure and envision Latinx utopias grounded in plurality.
The event will also feature a special performance inspired by real interactions between Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Detroit's Mexican community.
Reception:
The event will conclude with a catered reception featuring Southwest Detroit's outstanding cuisine. Please RSVP by Friday, April 12th.
Thank you to our 2024 sponsors:
