The Eduardo Matos Moctezuma Lecture Series

Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, Mexico’s foremost archaeologist and member of the Colegio Nacional

Professor Brian D. Farrell, Director, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS), and Professor Davíd Carrasco, Director, Moses Mesoamerican Archive and Research Project (MMARP), are proud to announce the formation of the Eduardo Matos Moctezuma Lecture Series. This five-year project, a joint initiative of DRCLAS, MMARP, and the Harvard Divinity School, will offer preeminent Mexican archaeologists and anthropologists the opportunity to present their work both in their homeland of Mexico and at Harvard. This historic forum honoring Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, Mexico’s foremost archaeologist and member of Colegio Nacional, is made possible by the generosity and vision of José Antonio Alonso Espinosa. The initiative forms part of efforts led by DRCLAS to strengthen the intellectual relationship between Harvard and the people and cultures of Mexico.

Winter Programs and Opportunities in Latin America for Harvard Students

In January, 104 Harvard graduate and undergraduate students from across the University traveled to Latin America to participate in ten distinct winter programs. Through an internship program in Mexico City, a healthcare and education program in rural Chile, and a mentoring and language acquisition program in São Paulo, Brazil, DRCLAS provided Harvard students with structured opportunities for professional development, learning about rural health in indigenous communities, and engaging in public service.


Harvard College students in the Healthcare and Education Program in rural Chile

Moreover, DRCLAS also facilitated four distinct Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health winter field courses—two in Mexico, one in Brazil, and one in Chile, the last being in its fourteenth iteration. In addition, DRCLAS supported two Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences collaborative field programs—one in Peru focusing on providing solutions to pressing global environmental issues, and one in Chile seeking to solve problems drawn from astronomical data collected in Chilean observatories. Last month, DRCLAS, in collaboration with Universidad de Puerto Rico (UPR), also relaunched the Puerto Rico Winter Institute, which provided Harvard and UPR students with the opportunity to engage in place-based learning about transnationalism, inequality, and citizenship.

Brazil Office New Executive Director

We are pleased to announce that Helena Monteiro is the new Executive Director of the DRCLAS Brazil Office in São Paulo as of January 9, 2017. Helena brings extensive experience in international cooperation, global health, education, and philanthropy, as well as knowledge about the operations of complex organizations. Her enthusiasm and strategic vision will be key in leading the Brazil Office forward as we deepen the educational and research ties between Harvard and Brazil.

New Dissertation Award in Latin American Politics

We are pleased to announce the Dissertation Award in Latin American Politics. The award is established with gifts from friends, colleagues, and former students to honor Jorge I. Domínguez, Antonio Madero Professor for the Study of Mexico, Harvard University's Department of Government, for his service to the study of Latin America, Harvard, and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies. The prize will be awarded annually to recognize outstanding original research on a Latin American and Caribbean political topic undertaken in any of the social sciences and history.

Pre-Texts Workshop in Santiago, Chile

In mid-January in Santiago, Chile, Harvard Professor Doris Sommer, Director of Cultural Agents, and Professor Sergio Araya, Dean of Design at Universidad Adolfo Ibañez (UAI), led a week-long Pre-Texts training workshop for a diverse group of local teachers and professionals from different disciplines. The workshop is part of a collaboration between Pre-Texts and UAI that aims to investigate the effects of this arts-based literacy program, which is designed to foster innovation and critical thinking. The impact of the workshop on both the attendees and their students—children and youth from public schools located in the area surrounding UAI—will be tracked and analyzed in the upcoming months. This collaboration has been made possible by the new Harvard-UAI Collaborative Research Fund Program, which aims to strengthen connections between UAI and Harvard through research and educational relationships around technology, innovation and design.

Interpreting Displacements and Migrations through the Arts and Sciences

Doris Salcedo, A Flor de Piel (detail), 2013. Rose petals and thread. Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum.

Interpreting Displacements and Migrations through the Arts and Sciences is a thematic initiative at DRCLAS for the academic year 2016-2017, in connection with the Harvard Art Museums' special exhibition Doris Salcedo: The Materiality of Mourning (on view November 4, 2016 to April 9, 2017). The exhibition brings together a deeply evocative constellation of recent works by Doris Salcedo, renowned Colombian sculptor and visual artist known for her sculptures and public installations that respond to the testimonies of survivors and victims of political violence. DRCLAS is pleased to collaborate with the Harvard Art Museums and other units to offer a series of events drawing attention to the causes and effects of displacement in Latin America. Click here for more information about the initiative and related upcoming events.