Faculty Voices

Episode 78: Gareth Doherty on Urban Ecologies of Afro-Brazilian Sacred Groves

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Gareth Doherty, June Carolyn Erlick) — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 18:33:57 +0000

Gareth Doherty, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at Harvard's Graduate School of Design and an affiliate at the Department of African and African American Studies, discusses his most recent book, Landscape Fieldwork: How Engaging the World Can Change Design. He tells us a fascinating story about the secret gardens, islands of green, that he wrote about in the chapter "Gathering Leaves: Urban Ecologies of Afro-Brazilian Sacred Groves.

Episode 77: Raquel Jimenez and David Guerra on the Arts in Puerto Rico

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (David Guerra, Raquel Jimenez, June Carolyn Erlick) — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 02:24:32 +0000

How does art make a difference? Students in Raquel Jimenez’s Arts and Cultural Organizing Intensive course at the Harvard School of Education got to see how in a learning experience in Puerto Rico. In Faculty Voices, Jimenez, a lecturer on education and co-chair of the Arts and Learning Concentration at HGSE, and David Guerra, a curator and Harvard Law School alum, discuss the impact of the experience and what Puerto Rico can teach us.

Episode 76: Louis E. Caldera on the Panama Canal and DEI under Trump's Administration

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Louis E. Caldera, June Carolyn Erlick) — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Louis E. Caldera, a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School, chaired the Panama Canal Commission the year the Canal was returned to Panama, 1999. He was also the first (and only) Latino to serve as Secretary of the Army. He talks on issues ranging from President Trump's threat to "take back" the Canal to the implications of the ban of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) on the nation's military and security.

Episode 75: Aitor Bouso-Gavín on the importance of Latinx Studies

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Aitor Bouso-Gavín, June Carolyn Erlick) — Fri, 7 Mar 2025 21:47:28 +0000

As we head into a new era under President Donald Trump, migration and rights are very much in the news, even as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Threatened deportations and the end of some existing paths to legal status, as well as the Supreme Court decision against university use of affirmative action, create new challenges. Aitor Bouso Gavín, a lecturer of Latinx Studies at Harvard's Ethnicity, Migration, Rights (EMR) and the faculty coordinator for the Latinx Studies Working Group, discusses the important role of Latinx Studies.

Episode 74: Tomomichi Amano on Colombian Markets

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Tomomichi Amano, June Carolyn Erlick) — Mon, 3 Mar 2025 18:50:49 +0000

Tomomichi Amano is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Market Unit at Harvard Business School. Recently he's been researching a large Colombian retailer.

Episode 73: Amber Henry on Black History Present and Past

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Amber Henry, June Carolyn Erlick) — Sat, 22 Feb 2025 01:55:08 +0000

In honor of Black History Month, Amber Henry, an assistant professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard, discusses the importance of Black history past and present. An anthropologist of Latin America and the Caribbean, her latest book focuses on San Basilo de Palenque in Colombia, a community founded by runaway formerly enslaved people.

Episode 72: Gabrielle Oliveira on Trump's Hardline Immigration Policies

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Gabrielle Oliveira, June Carolyn Erlick) — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 03:40:52 +0000

You can access the information about Colectivas Infancias by clicking the link below.

https://infanciasenmovimiento.org/en/infancias-collective/

Episode 71: Vesall Nourani on Education for Community Development

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Vesall Nourani, June Carolyn Erlick) — Wed, 5 Feb 2025 21:01:51 +0000

Vesall Nourani, an assistant professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education, will be teaching a course on Education for Community Development this semester. With a disciplinary background in development economics, he talks about his research on education and development in both Colombia and Uganda,

Episode 70: Ignacio Bunster-Ossa on the Panama Canal Under Trump's Administration

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Ignacio Bunster-Ossa, June Carolyn Erlick) — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 20:42:38 +0000

Ignacio Bunster-Ossa, a design critic in landscape architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design,co-teaches a timely studio course on the Panama Canal with fellow faculty member Anita Berrizbeitia. He talks about the implications of President Donald Trump's threats to take over the Canal, as well as "how a 19th-century symbol of 'ecological triumph' can be transformed into a 21st-century landscape that repairs, reconciles, and reconnects, safeguarding local conditions and aspirations from mounting pressures from ongoing global interests and climate uncertainty."

Episode 69: Alejandra Caraballo on Implications for LGBTQ Community Under Trump's Administration

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Alejandra Caraballo, June Carolyn Erlick) — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 19:01:50 +0000

Are Latinx immigrants and transgender people the canaries in the coal mine for the new Trump administration? Alejandra Caraballo, Esq., a clinical instructor in the Cyberlaw Clinic at Harvard University Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, reflects on future challenges, historical precedents, and what we can do. Before joining Harvard, Caraballo worked as a staff attorney with the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, and at the LGBTQ Law Project at New York Legal Assistance Group, where she focused on immigration and family law.

Episode 68: Raúl Zegarra on Faith and Politics in Latin America

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Raúl Zegarra, June Carolyn Erlick) — Tue, 3 Dec 2024 05:50:01 +0000

Raúl Zegarra, Assistant Professor of Roman Catholic Theological Studies at the Harvard Divinity School, talks about the relationship between faith and politics, as well as surprising trends in today's Catholicism.

Episode 67: Brian Farrell on Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and his Latest Research

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Brian Farell, June Carolyn Erlick) — Tue, 5 Nov 2024 04:17:12 +0000

Brian D. Farrell, Harvard Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Curator of Entomology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, talks about his latest research with mosquitos and other insects.

Episode 66: Marcel Roman on the Latinx Vote in the 2024 Election

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Marcel Roman, June Carolyn Erlick) — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 03:54:18 +0000

Marcel Roman is an Assistant Professor of Government at the Department of Government. He specializes in racial and ethnic politics in the United States, with a focus on Latino political behavior, immigration, and policing. In this Faculty Voices, he talks to us about the Latino vote in the upcoming presidential election.

Episode 65: Americo Mendoza-Mori on Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Americo Mendoza-Mori, June Carolyn Erlick) — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 04:34:26 +0000

Américo Mendoza-Mori. an interdisciplinary scholar whose research focuses on U.S. Latinx and Indigenous communities, discusses Hispanic Heritage Month in the context of post-affirmative action. Mendoza-Mori is affiliated with Harvard’s Committee on Ethnicity, Migration, Rights and is currently teaching at Northeastern University.

Episode 64: Chris Lombardo on Engineers Without Borders in the Dominican Republic

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (DRCLAS) — Thu, 3 Oct 2024 02:04:39 +0000

Chris Lombardo, Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies and Lecturer in Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at Harvard, is very active in the Harvard University Chapter of Engineers without Borders. He just came back from a trip to Los Sanchez Water Supply Project in the Dominican Republic, where he has been working for more than a decade.

Episode 63: Noreen Tuross on Archeological Research in Oaxaca, Mexico

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Noreen Tuross, June Carolyn Erlick) — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 15:03:06 +0000

Noreen Tuross, Landon T. Clay Research Professor of Scientific Archaeology at Harvard's Department of Evolutionary Biology, talks about her most recent project, "A Land of Art and Botanicals: Collaborative Research at the Cueva de las Manitas, Oaxaca, Mexico."

Episode 62: Alicia Yamin on Mexico's Judicial Reform Plan

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Alicia Yamin) — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 02:41:27 +0000

Alicia Yamin, Lecturer on Law and the Director of the Global Health and Rights Project at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, talks about Mexico's judicial reform plan, which makes all federal judges elected, rather than appointed positions. Yamin, who is also Adjunct Senior Lecturer on Health Policy and Management at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, considers this a threat to Mexican democracy.

Episode 61: Alisha Holland on Ecuador's Current Political Climate

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Alisha Holland) — Tue, 3 Sep 2024 04:45:48 +0000

Alisha Holland, a Professor in the Government Department at Harvard University, discusses the situation in Ecuador, an Andean country that faces multiple challenges from organized crime, as well as economic and energy crises.

Episode 60: Pablo Pérez Ramos on Oasis of Mezcal in Oaxaca

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Pablo Pérez Ramos, June Carolyn Erlick) — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 21:27:24 +0000

Pablo Pérez Ramos, an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, discusses “Oasis of Mezcal," his work in a Oaxacan rural community where agave-growing is changing agricultural production patterns. It is at once an intensely local story and a reflection of worldwide challenges posed by climate change and environmental degradation.

Episode 59: Kathryn Sikkink on the Transitional Justice Database

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Kathryn Sikkink) — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 17:50:16 +0000

Kathryn Sikkink, the Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, talks about the findings of a new database for transitional justice: https://transitionaljusticedata.org/ You may find some of them surprising!

Episode 58: Ricardo Hausmann on Venezuela's Political Crisis

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Ricardo Hausmann, June Carolyn Erlick) — Fri, 9 Aug 2024 05:29:31 +0000

Ricardo Hausmann, the founder and Director of Harvard’s Growth Lab and the Rafik Hariri Professor of the Practice of International Political Economy at Harvard Kennedy School, was Minister of Planning of Venezuela (1992-1993). Here, he reflects on the crisis in his country following a disputed presidential election which most say was stolen by Venezuela's autocratic regime.

Episode 57: Steve Levitsky on 2024 Venezuelan Election Results

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Steve Levitsky) — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 03:59:19 +0000

As protests rage in Venezuela and allegations of electoral fraud mount, Steve Levitsky, Professor of Government at Harvard University and Director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, discusses the challenging situation.

Episode 56: Christina Warinner on the Ancient City of Chichén Itza

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Christina Warinner, June Carolyn Erlick) — Sun, 14 Jul 2024 23:58:52 +0000

Christina Warinner, Professor of the Social Sciences in the Harvard Department of Anthropology and Sally Starling Seaver Associate Professor at the Radcliffe Institute, has uncovered lost stories about the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itza. With techniques like ancient DNA, isotopes and bioarchaeology, she and an international team of genetic scientists have made some startling discoveries that contradict the myth of sacrificed virgins—the offering of little boys, particularly twins.

Episode 55: Natalia Garbiras-Diaz on Peace Agreements and Post-Conflict Solutions

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Natalia Garbiras-Diaz, June Carolyn Erlick) — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 04:16:41 +0000

Natalia Garbiras-Diaz, an Assistant Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, examines peace processes in Colombia. She's particularly interested in the formation of citizens' and excombatants' attitude towards peace agreements and their role in stabilizing peace in post-conflict situations.

Episode 54: Dr. Louise Ivers on Health and Haiti

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Louise Ivers, June Carolyn Erlick) — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 15:51:00 +0000

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned April 25, clearing the way towards new elections. Dr. Louise Ivers, Harvard professor of global health and social medicine, and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, has devoted 21 years of her life to Haiti. Here, she talks about the current situation in the country and how it affects ordinary people.

Episode 53: Paulina Alberto on Afro-Latin America and Racial Storytelling

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Paulina Alberto, June Carolyn Erlick) — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 07:51:06 +0000

Paulina Alberto, Harvard Professor of African and African American Studies and of History, discusses her work with Afro-Latin American lives, thought and politics, and why creating narratives about that history is important.

Episode 52: Michael Chu on Businesses for Good in Latin America

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Michael Chu, June Carolyn Erlick) — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Michael Chu, faculty at Harvard Business School, talks on Faculty Voices about how businesses can be instrumental in providing goods and services to low-income and middle-class people in Latin America.

Episode 51: Thomas Bossert on Latin American Health

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Thomas Bossert, June Carolyn Erlick) — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 17:00:00 +0000

Thomas Bossert, Senior Lecturer. Emeritus in the Department of Global Health and Population of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, reflects on his career trajectory and the lessons he’s learned as a “traveling scholar” who has worked as a researcher, teacher and advisor in almost 80 countries around the world after starting as a Latin Americanist.

Episode 50: Steve Levitsky On Argentine Presidential Election Results

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Steven Levitsky) — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 18:00:00 +0000

Steve Levitsky, the David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Government at Harvard University and Director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard, discusses the recent landslide election of far-right Javier Milei as Argentina’s next president.

Episode 49: Dan Nocera On Saving Energy, Agriculture, and Biofertilizer

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Dan Nocera, June Carolyn Erlick) — Thu, 9 Nov 2023 15:04:46 +0000

Daniel Nocera, the Patterson Rockwood Professor of Energy, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, talks about a biofertilizer that has the potential to revolutionize world agriculture and save energy in the process.

Episode 48: Steven Levitsky on Argentina's Elections

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Steve Levitsky) — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 16:00:00 +0000

Steven Levitsky, the David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Government at Harvard University, takes a deep look at Argentine elections, the recent October 22 run-off and the final elections November 19 with the incumbent party Sergio Massa facing off against the far-right candidate Javier Milei.

Episode 47: Jesse Hoffnung-Garskof on Transnational Migration from the Caribbean

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Jesse Hoffnung-Garskof, June Carolyn Erlick) — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 19:14:48 +0000

In a wide-ranging conversation, Jesse Hoffnung-Garskof, a new faculty member in Harvard's History Department, looks at ethnic studies in the context of the Supreme Court's recent decision on affirmative action, as well as innovative digital humanities research, immigration justice and transnational migration from the Caribbean. His research and teaching focus on the history of Latinx people in the United States, the history of Latin America and the Caribbean, immigration and asylum law, publicly engaged humanities, and digital humanities. He is also the third Harvard senior faculty member dedicated to the teaching and scholarship of ethnicity, indigeneity, and migration.

Episode 46: Marcela Del Carmen on Hispanic Heritage Month and Equity in Medicine

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Marcela Del Carmen, June Carolyn Erlick) — Fri, 6 Oct 2023 16:36:04 +0000

Dr. Marcela del Carmen is the president of Massachusetts General Physicians and Vice President of Mass Gen Brigham. She is a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School. And she's also an immigrant from Nicaragua. On this episode of Faculty Voices, we talk about her experience and the challenges to diversity and equity in the context of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Episode 45: Daniel Neafsey on Malaria

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Daniel Neafsey, June Carolyn Erlick) — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 16:00:00 +0000

Daniel Neafsey, Associate Professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of of Public Health, as well as Associate Director of the Broad (Brode) Institute's Genomic Center for Infectious Disease, talks about his work combatting malaria in Colombia and Guyana through cutting-edge technologies.

Episode 44: Kathryn Sikkink on the 50th Anniversary of the Sept. 11 Coup In Chile

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Kathryn Sikkink, June Carolyn Erlick) — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 13:10:00 +0000

Kathryn Sikkink, the Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, discusses the 50th anniversary of the Sept. 11 coup in Chile and why the coup still matters.

Episode 43: Adriana Umaña-Taylor on Developmental Science and the Identity Project

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Adriana Umaña-Taylor, June Carolyn Erlick) — Fri, 1 Sep 2023 16:00:00 +0000

Adriana Umaña-Taylor, the Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, talks about her work with the Identity Project, applying developmental science to help reduce ethnic-racial disparities for adolescents both in Latinx communities in the United States and in Colombia.

Episode 42: Fernando Villavicencio's Assassination

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Alisha Holland, June Carolyn Erlick) — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 18:41:43 +0000

Ecuadoran presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, an anti-corruption crusader, was assassinated at gunpoint August 9, just two weeks before the country's elections. Alisha Holland, Associate Professor in Harvard’s Government Department who specializes in the Andean region, analyzes the horrific event and what it means for Ecuador.

Episode 41: Diane Davis Thinking about Water

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Diane E. Davis) — Wed, 5 Apr 2023 20:17:54 +0000

Diane Davis, Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning and Urbanism recently co-organized a two-day conference on water with Gabriela Soto Laveaga, Professor of the History of Science and Antonio Madero Professor for the Study of Mexico in Harvard's History of Science Department. The two—co-chairs of the Faculty Committee on Mexico at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies—brought together an unusual group of experts—from historians to hydrologists to border analysts and architects—to think about think about the challenges for water in Mexico and beyond in the context of climate change.

Episode 40: Jennifer Alpert on Latinx Women in Media

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Jennifer Alpert, June Carolyn Erlick) — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 03:15:40 +0000

On the occasion of International Women’s History Month, Jennifer Alpert, a Lecturer in Harvard’s History and Literature program, discusses the representation of Latin American and Latinx women in film and television—ranging from Carmen Miranda to Encanto to the Gordita Chronicles. As a film scholar who worked on "From Latin America to Hollywood: Latino Film Culture in Los Angeles 1967–2017," aiming to increase Latin American/Latinx representation in popular media, she gives as an insider’s view on progress and setbacks in the depiction of women.

Episode 39: Emiliana Vegas on Improving Educational Opportunity in Developing Countries

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Emiliana Vegas) — Mon, 6 Mar 2023 19:21:03 +0000

Emiliana Vegas, a professor of practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, focuses on improving educational opportunity in developing countries. She discusses learning loss caused by Covid-19 in Latin America and what we can do about it, as well as the challenges faced by teachers in a profession with declining prestige. And although it hasn’t caught on yet in Latin America, she takes a look at the innovative technology of micro-credentials and what it might mean for the region.

Episode 38: Steffany Chamut on an Oral Health and Nutrition Project in Mexico

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (steffany chamut, June Carolyn Erlick) — Thu, 9 Feb 2023 16:39:23 +0000

Dr. Steffany Chamut, an instructor in oral health policy and epidemiology at the Harvard Dental School, talks about her work with a collaborative project between an interdisciplinary team of public health experts from Harvard and Mexico to jointly combat the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (including obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay) arising from increased consumption of sugary snacks and beverages in both countries. Originally from Mexico, Dr. Chamut believes an important factor is integrating oral health into early childhood education.

Episode 37: Steven Levitsky on the Political Crisis in Peru

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Steven Levitsky) — Sat, 17 Dec 2022 04:04:34 +0000

What’s going on in Peru? Harvard’s Government Professor Steven Levitsky, who is also the director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies and the co-author of How Democracies Die, tells us of the many challenges the country faces after Peruvian President Pedro Castillo was ousted from office last week after an attempted self-coup. His Vice-President Dina Boluarte became the seventh president in six years and the first female Peruvian president in history.

Episode 36: Daren Graves and Steve Ortega on the World Cup

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Steve Ortega, Daren Graves, June Carolyn Erlick) — Thu, 1 Dec 2022 11:55:49 +0000

World Cup: Daren Graves, Lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Steve Ortega, an Associate at Harvard’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, like to call themselves “the Sports Profs.” They discuss the World Cup and the role of Latin American teams.

Episode 35: Marcia Castro on the Brazilian Presidential Election

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Marcia Castro, June Carolyn Erlick) — Thu, 3 Nov 2022 02:28:50 +0000

Marcia Castro, Andelot Professor of Demography at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, is chair of the Brazil Studies Program at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS). We're talking to her about the recent election in Brazil.

Episode 34: Mayra Rivera Rivera on Hispanic Heritage Month

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Mayra Rivera Rivera, June Carolyn Erlick) — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 15:35:46 +0000

During Hispanic Heritage Month, Faculty Voices talked with Mayra Rivera Rivera, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Religion and Latinx Studies at Harvard University,. She discusses what it means to be Latinx with shared cultures and history of a colonial past.

Episode 33: Sidney Chalhoub on the Fate of Brazilian Democracy

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Sidney Chalhoub, June Carolyn Erlick) — Thu, 6 Oct 2022 23:18:51 +0000

After the October 2 first-round election, Brazilians will return to the polls October 30 to decide between left-leaning front-runner Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva "Lula" and the right-wing incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro. Sidney Chalhoub, a Brazilian social historian, is David and Peggy Rockefeller Professor of History and of African and African American Studies, discusses the Brazilian elections, the challenges the country faces and the very threat to Brazilian democracy.

Episode 32: Gonzalo Giribet on Tracing History with... Worms?

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Gonzalo Giribet, June Carolyn Erlick) — Fri, 9 Sep 2022 19:21:44 +0000

Gonzalo Giribet, the director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology and a Professor in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, talks about the museum’s many collections, including a considerable quantity from Latin America. He also discusses his fieldwork and how Harvard undergraduates in his class will have the opportunity to explore biodiversity in Bocas del Toro, Panama, for the first time since the pandemic.

Episode 31: Doris Sommer on The Value of Uselessness

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Doris Sommer) — Fri, 2 Sep 2022 16:00:00 +0000

Doris Sommer, Ira Jewell Williams Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and of African and African American Studies, tells us of an unusual collaboration with Pope Francis and of her new projects, including the Renaissance Project, which aims to make cultural initiatives a priority in cities around the world.

Episode 30: Alisha Holland on The Challenges Facing Gustavo Petro's Colombia

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Alisha Holland) — Thu, 4 Aug 2022 14:25:45 +0000

In the wake of Gustavo Petro’s August 7 inauguration, Alisha Holland, Associate Professor in Harvard’s Government Department who specializes in the Andean region, talks about the challenges facing the incoming left-leaning government. In a wide-ranging interview from Bogotá, she discusses his cabinet and such issues facing his government as land and police reform, security issues, health care and the environment.

Episode 29: Architecture, Politics and Race at the Museum of Modern Art

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Patricio del Real, June Carolyn Erlick) — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 22:55:53 +0000

Patricio del Real, Associate Professor of Art and Architecture at Harvard University, talks about his new book Constructing Latin America: Architecture, Politics and Race at the Museum of Modern Art. It’s the fascinating story of how race, gender, politics and even climate control formed the tapestry of Latin American modernist architecture and how it was projected through MOMA.

Episode 28: The Situation in Cuba

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Alejandro de la Fuente) — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 15:57:27 +0000

Alejandro de la Fuente, Director of the Afro-Latin American Research Institute at Harvard’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, brings us up to date on the situation in Cuba, looking at human rights, the economy and the staggering flow of Cubans from the island.

Episode 27: Latin America's Path to Economic Recovery

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Ricardo Hausmann) — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 23:04:07 +0000

Ricardo Hausmann, the founder and Director of Harvard’s Growth Lab and the Rafik Hariri Professor of the Practice of International Political Economy at Harvard Kennedy School, talks about Latin America’s path to economic recovery. He examines a wide range of subjects, including the pandemic, global inflation, decarbonization and the impact of Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine on Latin America.

Episode 26: Reflections on the May 29 Colombian Elections

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Alisha Holland) — Fri, 20 May 2022 16:00:00 +0000

Alisha Holland, Associate Professor in Harvard’s Government Department, looks at the upcoming Colombian elections on May 29.

Episode 25: Ancient Art and the Dumbarton Oaks

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Thomas Cummins) — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 16:00:00 +0000

Thomas B. F. Cummins is the new director of Dumbarton Oaks, a Harvard-owned research institution in Washington, D.C. A Harvard History of Art and Architecture professor and an expert on pre-Columbian and Latin American colonial art, he discusses future plans for Dumbarton Oaks and a recent conference there on the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan.

Episode 24: Promoting Quechua and Latinx Studies

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Americo Mendoza-Mori) — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 16:00:00 +0000

Américo Mendoza–Mori, an interdisciplinary scholar trained in literary, linguistic and cultural studies who teaches in Harvard’s Committee on Ethnicity, Migration and Rights, discusses his plans to promote Quechua, as well as Latinx studies at Harvard. He talks about two of his popular courses “Indigeneity and Latinidad” and a course that looks at Latinx representation in the media and arts. That’s something very familiar to him, he observes, since he was a cultural consultant on Dora and the Lost City of Gold.

Episode 23: Latin America and Human Rights

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Kathryn Sikkink) — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 17:00:00 +0000

Kathryn Sikkink, the Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, discusses how Latin America has been a protagonist in the development of human rights law, not just a victim of global politics. And as war wages in the Ukraine, she gives us her thoughts on how international law has virtually put an end to what she calls “aggressive interstate wars” in Latin America.

Episode 22: The Decriminalization of Abortion in Colombia

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Alicia Yamin, June Carolyn Erlick) — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 17:00:00 +0000

Abortion is no longer a crime in Colombia. Alicia Yamin, who heads up Harvard’s Global Health and Rights Project, discusses the hemispheric impact of the recent Colombian Constitutional Court decision to decriminalize abortion in that country.

Episode 21: Building Medical Collaborations

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Michael Starnbach, June Carolyn Erlick) — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 17:00:00 +0000

Michael Starnbach, a professor of microbiology at Harvard Medical School and member of the DRCLAS Executive Committee, works on the very timely subject of infectious diseases. He has fostered medical collaborations with Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly with Cuba and Argentina.

Episode 20: Reflections on Costa Rica’s Upcoming Election

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Laura Alfaro) — Fri, 4 Feb 2022 18:15:00 +0000

Laura Alfaro, the Warren Alpert Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, served as Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy in Costa Rica from 2010-2012. She reflects on the upcoming elections on February 6, with an unprecedented 25 candidates.

Episode 19: Chilean Elections: Going Forward

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (DRCLAS) — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 17:00:00 +0000

Steven Levitsky, director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies and the co-author of How Democracies Die, discusses what the election of leftist Gabriel Boric means for Chile and democracy.

Episode 18: Asylum Seekers: Climate and Gender

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Deborah Anker, June Carolyn Erlick) — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 17:00:00 +0000

This Faculty Voices includes topics such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and identity-based discrimination and harassment. Some of this content may be difficult for some listeners.

Episode 17: At the Southern Border

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Sabi Ardalan) — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 20:39:28 +0000

Sabi Ardalan, director of the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program, discusses the critical situation of asylum seekers at the southern border between the United States and Mexico. This is the first of a two-part series on immigration and asylum with Harvard faculty.

Episode 16: Hispanic Heritage Month

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Maria Luisa Parra) — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 16:00:00 +0000

María Luisa Parra, Senior Preceptor in Spanish in Harvard’s Romance Languages and Literatures Department, tells us why Hispanic Heritage Month is important. She also discusses teaching Spanish to Latinx students and the other courses she has developed to promote Latino culture. And what terms does she prefer—Hispanic, Latino/a, Latinx or Latine? Listen to find out!

Episode 15: Beyond Water Rights in Mexico

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Diane E. Davis, June Carolyn Erlick) — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 17:00:00 +0000

Resources:

https://sintesis.com.mx/hidalgo/2019/03/03/agua-apan-grupo-modelo/

https://agua.org.mx/academicos-dicen-la-planta-modelo-en-hidalgo-tanto-halagan-dejara-pueblos-sin-agua-sinembargo/

https://hidalgo.quadratin.com.mx/principal/desatienden-orden-federal-de-suspender-obras-del-grupo-modelo/

Episode 14: The Nicaraguan Crisis

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Laura Alfaro, June Carolyn Erlick) — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 17:00:00 +0000

Laura Alfaro, Warren Alpert Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and former Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy in Costa Rica, reflects on why the current crisis in Nicaragua with its draconian human rights abuses should matter to the region and the world

Episode 13: Vaccine Inequity

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Paul Farmer, June Carolyn Erlick) — Fri, 16 Jul 2021 16:00:00 +0000

Paul Farmer, chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, looks at why some countries have lots of vaccines and others don’t...and our responsibility to improve the inequal situation.

Episode 12: The Politics of Food in the Age of Covid-19

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Gabriela Soto Laveaga) — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 16:00:00 +0000

Gabriela Soto-Laveaga, Professor of the History of Science and Antonio Madero Professor for the Study of Mexico at Harvard University, discusses how food insecurity and the challenges of food distribution in the pandemic have underscored already existing inequities.

Episode 11: What to Make of the Peruvian Elections

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Steve Levitsky) — Fri, 28 May 2021 16:00:00 +0000

Steve Levitsky, Harvard Professor in the Government Department and director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, discusses the upcoming June 6 Peruvian elections. It’s a hot contest between Keiko Fujimori on the right and Pedro Castillo on the left.

Episode 10: Education in Latin America

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Fernando Reimers, June Carolyn Erlick) — Sat, 1 May 2021 14:56:55 +0000

Resources:

Leading Education Through COVID-19: Upholding the Right to Education

Leading Educational Change During a Pandemic: Reflections of Hope and Possibility

Una calamidad educativa Aprendizaje y enseñanza durante la pandemia de COVID-19

Episode 9: What to Make of the Ecuadoran Elections

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Alisha Holland, June Carolyn Erlick) — Mon, 5 Apr 2021 18:45:00 +0000

Alisha Holland, Associate Professor in the Harvard Government Department, looks at the implications of the April 11 elections in Ecuador.

Episode 8: Transforming Black Lives in the Americas

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Alejandro de la Fuente) — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 19:40:00 +0000

Eleven million Africans were forcibly sent to the Americas between the 16th and 19th centuries. Two out of every three came to Latin America and the Caribbean. Alejandro de la Fuente, Robert Woods Bliss Professor of Latin American History and Economics at Harvard, discusses how Afro-descendent mobilization has brought change to the region in the last twenty years. De la Fuente, who is also director of the Afro-Latin American Research Institute at Harvard’s Hutchins Center, points to a transformative wave—particularly in Latin American constitutions—that now recognizes Afro-descendents as integral members of pluricultural nations. That recognition has led to “concrete and measurable opportunities.” But there’s still a long way to go.

Episode 7: What to Make of the Salvadoran Elections

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Jocelyn Viterna) — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 19:00:00 +0000

Jocelyn Viterna, Harvard Professor of Sociology and director of undergraduate studies in the sociology department, discusses the February 28 Salvadoran elections. The results of these elections for the legislative body and mayoral offices are likely to determine the course of the country for years to come. Viterna, the author of Women in War: The Micro-processes of Mobilization in El Salvador, has worked and researched in El Salvador for 25 years.

Episode 6: Unleashing the Power of the Humanities

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Doris Sommer, June Carolyn Erlick) — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 18:20:00 +0000

Doris Sommer, Ira and Jewell Williams Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and of African and African American Studies, discusses the relationship between the humanities and democracies, as well as the dire implications of budget cuts for the humanities both in the United States and Latin America.

Episode 5: Violence and Democracy

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Yanilda María González, June Carolyn Erlick) — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 18:00:00 +0000

Yanilda María González, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and author of Authoritarian Police in Democracy: Contested Security in Latin America discusses policing, state violence and citizenship in democracy. Looking at issues of race and class, she shows how ordinary democratic politics in unequal societies can perpetuate authoritarian policing.

Episode 4: Vaccine Challenges: A Look at Brazil

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Marcia Castro, June Carolyn Erlick) — Fri, 18 Dec 2020 18:35:00 +0000

Marcia Castro, Andelot Professor of Demography at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, takes a look at the challenges Brazil—long a world leader in immunizations—faces with the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Episode 3: Remembering Diego Maradona

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (Mariano Siskind, June Carolyn Erlick) — Fri, 4 Dec 2020 18:30:00 +0000

Mariano Siskind, Harvard Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and of Comparative Literatures, reflects on the political, social, and cultural implications of famed soccer star Diego Maradona’s life and death.

Episode 2: Steve Levitsky on How Democracies Live

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Steven Levitsky) — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 18:15:51 +0000

This Fall has been a busy season for democracy, from elections in Bolivia (and the United States) to a resounding vote for a new Chilean constitution. Steve Levitsky, director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies and co-author of How Democracies Die, puts it all in context in this podcast.

Episode 1: Davíd Carrasco on the Day of the Dead, a Gift from Mexico

drclas@fas.harvard.edu (June Carolyn Erlick, Davíd Carrasco) — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 17:20:28 +0000

Davíd Carrasco, Neil L. Rudenstine Professor of the Study of Latin America, and June Carolyn Erlick, Editor-in-Chief, ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America discuss Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).