November 3-5, 2011
University of California, San Diego
The Second Conference on Ethnicity, Race and Indigenous People was held during the first week of November 2011 at the University of California, San Diego. The conference was organized by ERIP - LASA Section on Ethnicity, Race, and Indigenous Peoples; CILAS - Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies, University of California, San Diego; and LACES - Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, journal published by Taylor and Francis. The event was part of the commitment to periodically organize an international conference following the establishment of ERIP Section of LASA and the launching of the journal LACES in 2006.
The conference covered topics related to all aspects of ethnicity, race relations, indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants and other ethnic or racial groups in Latin America and the Caribbean. Issues of immigration, indigenismo, racism and anti-racism where discussed along with new forms of literature, film, dance and music of indigenous and Afro-descendant population across the continent. Following the tradition of LASA, this conference conveyed a large diversity of perspectives, disciplines and issues reflecting the richness and complexities of the social processes that encompasses the Americas.
Professor Lynn Stephen, in her keynote address “Otros Saberes: Insights from Afro-Descendant and Indigenous Peoples in Latin America” presented the results of the LASA initiative to build alternative forms of collaborative research in the Americas. The concluding panel of the conference included Mónica Chuji (Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador), Juliet Hooker (University of Texas, Austin), and Percy Hintzen (University of California, Berkeley). From their particular perspectives, these distinguished guest speakers lay out some of the most pressing issues that indigenous people and Afro descendants are facing today.
As expected of any conference, the four days where filled with opportunities to learn, exchange new ideas and continue ongoing discussions. The sheer size of the event facilitated the possibility to meet people and encourage dialogue. The conference program included 66 panels and 303 participants from 25 different countries. About a third of the participants were graduate students.
The ERIP section of LASA, the journal LACES and UCSD's Center for US-Mexican Studies established a Travel Grants fund that assisted with the travel costs of 16 participants from Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, ERIP and LACES funded the Best Graduate Student Paper Competition, which awarded two first prizes and two honorable mentions to outstanding papers presented by graduate students at the conference.
