Dialogues in Afrolatinidad Michele Reid Vazquez

The closing episode of Dialogues in Afrolatinidad, Season 3, highlights Eva Margarita, a performance artist, PhD candidate in ​​Communication Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and Board Director at The VORTEX Repertory. She joins guest host, Israel Herndon, to share how her research and art are connected. A participant in the 2022 NEH Summer Institute: Transnational Dialogues in Afro-Latin American and Afro-Latinx Studies, Eva speaks on the transnational Black traditions and personal experiences that inform her work.

Episode 7 features Benjamin Barson, currently a Fulbright Garcia-Robles postdoctoral scholar-in-residence at the Instituto de Investigaciones Culturales-Museo at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, and an upcoming Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Africana Studies at Cornell University. He joins host, Dr. Michele Reid-Vazquez, to explore the interconnections among being a musician, historian, and political activist, which range from his work with Scientific Soul Sessions to his forthcoming book, Brassroots Democracy: Maroon Ecologies and the Jazz Commons. The opening and closing background of this episode features music from his group, the Afro-Yaqui Music Collective.

Dr. Ashley Ngozi Agbasoga, Assistant Professor/Faculty Fellow at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University, joins guest host, Israel Herndon, to discuss how her inquisitive nature motivated her ethnographic research. Dr. Agbasoga argues that the Mexican state’s policies about race are not reflective of Black and Indigenous Mexicans. In addition, she explains how participating in the 2022 NEH Summer Institute: Transnational Dialogues in Afro-Latin American and Afro-Latinx Studies opened her mind to other research possibilities.

This week’s episode spotlights the conversation between guest host, Israel Herndon, and Dr. Justo Planas, Assistant Professor of Spanish and Endowed Professor for the Study of the Americas at Le Moyne College. Dr. Planas shares his passion for bridging the gap between the Caribbean and the classroom. He discusses his research on Caribbean sex tourism in film. Through his work, he examines how stereotypes about the are created and challenged on the big screen. He also explores the significance of the 2022 NEH Summer Institute: Transnational Dialogues in Afro-Latin American and Afro-Latinx Studies on his teaching and research.

In episode 4 of Dialogues in Afrolatinidad, guest host Israel Herndon, talks to Dr. Reighan Gillam, anthropologist and Associate Professor of Latin American Studies at Dartmouth College. Dr. Gillam shares how her university experiences fueled her passion for Afrolatinidad and the importance of complex media representations for Black people and the anti-racist power of Afro-Brazilian media. She also comments on the impact of the 2022 NEH Summer Institute: Transnational Dialogues in Afro-Latin American and Afro-Latinx Studies on her professional development.

In episode 3 of Dialogues in Afrolatinidad, guest host Israel Herndon speaks with Ammy Sena, a doctoral candidate in Counseling Psychology at the University of Georgia. She describes how her early observations about the impact of racism on communities of color in the U.S. and the Dominican Republic ignited her passion for liberative mental healthcare. She also reflects on the significance of the 2022 NEH Summer Institute: Transnational Dialogues in Afro-Latin American and Afro-Latinx Studies.