Congratulations to the LASA2020 Awardees

February 5, 2020

The Latin American Studies Association is pleased to announce the LASA2020 awardees, which will be publicly congratulated by the LASA President, Mara Viveros-Vigoya, during the Welcome Ceremony of the Association's XXXVIII International Congress LASA2020 “Améfrica Ladina: vinculando mundos y saberes, tejiendo esperanzas” in Guadalajara, México / May 13 ­– 16, 2020.

Guillermo O’Donnell Democracy Award and Lectureship

José Woldenberg
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM

The Guillermo O’Donnell Democracy Award and Lectureship honors the distinguished career and pioneering intellectual leadership of the late Guillermo O’Donnell. This annual, Association-wide award and lectureship recognizes either outstanding scholarship in the field of democracy studies or particularly meritorious public service that promotes democracy and democratic values in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

LASA/Oxfam America Martin Diskin Dissertation Award

Macarena Bonhomme 
Goldsmiths, University of London and Centro de Estudios de Conflicto y Cohesión Social, COES
Dissertation: Boundaries of Belonging: Unveiling Racism against Latin American and Caribbean Migrants in Multicultural Urban Chile.

Honorable Mention

Astrid Adriana Pozos Barcelata
Université du Québec à Montréal, UQÀM
Dissertation: El cuerpo ausente como sujeto político: el proceso de construcción de la desaparición de personas en México como un problema de acción pública (1969-2018).

The Martin Diskin Dissertation Award is made possible through the generosity of Oxfam America, LASA, and LASA members. This award is offered at each LASA International Congress to an outstanding junior scholar who embodies Professor Diskin’s commitment to the creative combination of activism and scholarship.

LASA/Oxfam America Martin Diskin Memorial Lectureship

Irma A. Velásquez Nimatuj 
Stanford University

The Memorial Lectureship award is given to an outstanding individual who embodies Professor Martin Diskin’s commitment to the combination of activism and scholarship. Dr. Martin Diskin was a vital member of the Latin American Studies Association and of Oxfam America. His passion towards the human rights movement and his guidance over grantmaking in Latin America proved to be invaluable.

Charles A. Hale Fellowship for Mexican History

Gerardo Sánchez Nateras
El Colegio de México
Dissertation: La última revolución: la insurrección sandinista y la Guerra Fría interamericana.

Honorable Mention

Carlos Inclán Fuentes
Yale University
Dissertation: Red Tide: Surveillance, Containment and Conflicts of Communist Exile in Mexico, 1937-1945.

This fellowship will reward excellence in historical research on Mexico at the dissertation level. It will be awarded at each LASA International Congress to a Mexican graduate student in the final phase of his or her doctoral research in Mexican history, broadly defined. 

LASA Media Award

Jennifer Ávila
Journalist and Co-founder of the digital media Contra Corriente

The LASA Media Award is given every year to recognize long-term journalistic contributions to analysis and public debate about Latin America in the United States or in Latin America, as well as for breakthrough journalism.

LARR-Pitt Best Article Award

Albert Sergio Laguna
Assistant Professor of Ethnicity, Race and Migration, Yale University
Article: Before the Thaw: The Transnational Routes of Cuban Popular Culture.

The LARR-Pitt award is presented at each LASA International Congress to the best research article published by the Latin American Research Review (LARR) during the past calendar year. The award covers articles published by LARR in all disciplines and in any language. 

About LASA

The Latin American Studies Association (LASA) is the largest professional association in the world for individuals and institutions engaged in the study of Latin America. With over 13,000 members, over 60% of whom reside outside the United States, LASA is the one association that brings together experts on Latin America from all disciplines and diverse occupational endeavors, across the globe. LASA's mission is to foster intellectual discussion, research, and teaching on Latin America, the Caribbean, and its people throughout the Americas, promote the interests of its diverse membership, and encourage civic engagement through network building and public debate.

If you wish to interview a LASA Executive Council member, you can contact the LASA communications office at (412) 648-7929 or send an email to lasa@lasaweb.org.