The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) has awarded pre-dissertation research funding to 3 graduate students from 3 MSU colleges, through a Tinker Foundation Field Research Grant and the Center’s modest endowment. Because of travel and research restrictions in place during the pandemic, fewer students applied and the deadline to expend funds has been extended to August 31, 2022.

Vanessa J. Aguilar (Dual Ph.D. student, Chicano/Latino Studies and English, CSS and CAL)

Discursive Power: Rewriting Women’s Authoritative Presence within Supernatural Sabidurías (Wisdoms) in New Galicia

Vanessa’s research explores how women in New Galicia sought relief in spiritual practices and magic to put social justice into their own hands. Through archival research, Vanessa will explore colonial Mexican inquisition documents that contain testimonies of how women's agency was perceived as threatening and how women navigated around oppressive patriarchal structures.

Armando Dans Chavarria (MS student, Fisheries and Wildlife, CANR)

Conservation of Baird’s Tapirs in Potential Protected Areas in Nicaragua

Armando’s research project aims to assess the conservation potential of two of the remaining key territorial areas for Baird’s tapir survival in southeast Nicaragua by understanding the anthropogenic factors that threaten Baird’s tapir and collecting ecological information of the species’ population and its habitat.

Aubree Marshall (Ph.D. student, Anthropology, SSC)

Resiliency in the Face of Collapse: Health and Diet at the Coastal Maya Site of Marco Gonzalez, Belize

Aubree will travel to Marco Gonzalez, Belize to conduct bioarchaeological excavations of the site. These excavations will allow her to analyze the biological condition of the population as they dealt with the significant social and economic disruptions of the Maya Collapse.