Latin American Studies
Research Grant Program
 Peru photo courtesy of Colin Doyle '06. |
Latin American Studies
· 2007 Grants Awarded |
2007 Research Grants
Sharon Benjamin '08 will work under the supervision of Gustavo Faveron-Patriau on ecotourism in Costa Rica. |
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| Eric Volpe '08 will work with Dan Sharpe and Joanna Bosse on the social history of Samba in Brazil. |
2006 Research Grants
Jonah Gabry '07 went to Buenos Aires to gather works and interview authors and scholars toward a Latin American Studies Honors project on contemporary poetry in Argentina and translation. Jonah is being advised by Professor Enrique Yepes in Romance Languages, and he is translating and analyzing poets Carlos Barbarito and Óscar Torres Duque. See Jonah's Report |
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Shelley Goulder '07 also went to Buenos Aires to obtain oral histories for a Latin American Studies Honors project on how different generations of Argentine Jews have perceived and coped with anti-Semitism. Initially advised by Allen Wells, Shelley worked with Professor Blacker-Hanson upon her return to campus. See Shelley's Report |
2005 Research Grants
Avery Galleher '06 conducted interviews and collected information on how Chileans perceive their Pension System, which resembles President Bush's proposed reform for Social Security in the US. She is advised by Professor Henry Laurence in the Government Department. See Avery's Report |
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Jae Lee '06 collected on-site information to support her proposal entitled "'Core-guayos' in Paraguay," a study on the self-representation and integration processes of different generations of Koreans in Paraguay. Jae is advised by Professor Allen Wells in the History Department. See Jae's Blog |
Application Information
Latin American Studies Research Grants
Established in 2000 by the Latin American Studies Committee, and funded by the office of the Dean for Academic Affairs, these research grants are intended to increase understanding and awareness of the region among sophomores and juniors majoring in any academic discipline. The grants support student research in Latin America and the Caribbean that contributes to a subsequent independent study or honors project. The on-site research can be conducted during the summer months, between semesters, or to extend study away experiences. Recipients will spend three to four weeks in the region and, upon their return, write a two page report summarizing their research and results. During the following semester, these results will be used as the basis to conduct an independent study or honors project under the direction of a faculty member.
Applicants are expected to develop proposals in consultation with a faculty mentor who agrees to supervise a subsequent independent study.
Awards are made on the basis of the candidate's academic record and competence in the language spoken in the target country, the quality and feasibility of the project described in the narrative proposal, the project's relevance to the student's educational program, and the faculty mentor’s recommendation. Applications are reviewed by a subcommittee from the Latin American Studies Program every spring.
Grants cannot be used to support language training or study away programs.
Funds are available for travel, room and board, and research expenses up to a maximum of $1800.
Applications for a Latin American Studies Summer Travel Grant should include the following:
• a narrative proposal, no more than 1500 words in length.
The proposal should explain:
- the topic or problem to be researched,
- the student's background on the proposed study,
- the methods of study to be used,
- the sources of information to be analyzed,
- and other resources of significance (such as
foreign faculty, institutions of higher learning,
government or non-governmental organizations, etc.).
The proposal should also identify preliminary contacts
that indicate the feasibility of the project.
• a current Bowdoin transcript
• a recommendation from the faculty member who has
agreed to supervise the project, which comments on
the feasibility of the proposed study.
The deadline for applications is March 31, 2008.
Completed applications should be sent to Allen Wells, Latin American Studies, Pols House.
Applications will be reviewed by the Latin American Studies Committee and awards will be announced on or about April 14, 2007.
Questions about the program can be directed to Professor Allen Wells (awells@bowdoin.edu), chair of Latin American Studies.
Some Projects from Previous Years Include:
Sage Orr, '01 worked on an archaeological dig in the Rio Bravo Conservation Area in northwestern Belize with the New England Archaeology Institute. She studied the role of gender in traditional middle and lower class Maya domestic settings. Her research focused on how gender and class are reflected and identified in the archaeological remains found at the Maya site of Ma'ax Na. This study grew out of a previous independent study with Prof. Lesley Shaw (Anthropology) which examined the depiction of royal women at Yaxchilan, also a Maya site. Independent Study Advisor, Lesley Shaw.
Chawupi Kalinga, '01 studied Caribbean cultural identity in the context of globalism. His research took him to Trinidad where he studied two schools of Caribbean cultural traditions, Negritude and Creolite, for blacks in the African diaspora. He conducted interviews with West Indian intellectuals, with an eye towards examining how these cultural traditions and the concept of Caribbeanness represented different ways of grappling with West Indian identity. Prof. Patricia Saunders (English) served as his Independent Study advisor.
Sarah Mountcastle, '05 worked at a children center in Quito, Ecuador. She studied the structure of the program and interviewed teachers, directors and children. Upon her return, she conducted a similar project at a center in Portland, Maine, and compared the nature of each program, its conception of education, and their relationship to wider phenomena such as national projects and cultural assumptions. Prof. Enrique Yepes (Spanish) served as her Independent Study advisor.
Erin Dukeshire, '05 a biology and Spanish major (with a minor in music) from Longmeadow, Mass., conducted research on the ecology of the marine snail Tegula atra. Over the summer, she took field measurements of snails at different sites along the coast of Chile. Upon her return, she worked with Visiting Assistant Professor Lindsay Whitlow on a senior honors project.
Michael Lettieri, '05 a history major with a minor in Spanish from Weston, Mass., conducted research and interviews in Mexico City and the provincial capital of Oaxaca in preparation for a senior honors project on the evolution and composition of the Mexican middle class. Michael worked on this project with Allen Wells, Roger Howell Jr. Professor of History.