Los Latinoamericanistas

Spring 2011

New Graduates:

Dr. Terry Rugeley and Dr. Michele Stephens

The spring semester proved a historic moment for the Latin American history program at the University of Oklahoma.  Michele M. Stephens became the program’s first Ph.D. graduate.  Her dissertation titled “Under the Eyes of God: The Huichols and the Mexican State, 1810-1910” examines how the Huichols maintained a significant degree of indigenous identity and culture in the face of an expanding Mexican state over the course of the 19th century. In many ways, the Huichols used the state against itself in defense of core beliefs (one of the most important of which was peyote) and adapted aspects of non-indigenous culture that would not threaten their existence. 

Michele accepted a two-year position as a Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Denison University in Granville, OH. 

Teryn L. Piper successfully defended her Master’s Thesis titled “The 1974 Congreso Indigena: The Church, the State, and the Emergence of the Indigenous Movement of Chiapas.”  Teryn conducted summer research in the Archivo General de la Nación in Mexico City and archives in Tuxtla Gutiérrez and San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas.

Congratulations to Michele and Teryn!

Conferences:

The University of Oklahoma Department of History consistently encourages students to present their work.  Here are this semester’s conference presentations:

58^th Annual Conference of the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies (RMCLAS)

                        Santa Fe, New Mexico (April 6-9, 2011)

                        http://www.rmclas.org/conf_11.php

                        Student Presentations:

Matt Caire, “From Commonplace to Concern: Mexico’s Corn Crisis, 1940-2008”

                        Gary Moreno, “Mexicans in the Wild West:  José ‘Mexican Joe’ Barrera as Performer”

Gary Moreno, Matt Caire, Dr. Sterling Evans, Dr. Chris White (RMCLAS)

New Students:

Welcome  Elena!

Elena Llinas received her B.A. in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology from the University of Arizona in 2007.  She fell in love with history after exploring various fields within the Social Sciences. Elena is now working on her M.A. with Dr. Terry Rugeley exploring the complex dynamics of education in the 19th and 20th centuries in the southern Mexican region of Yucatán.

http://www.ou.edu/cas/history/grad-llinas.html

Student Updates:

Research Trips

This semester Gary Moreno and Justin Castro visited the Wisconsin Historical Society. 

http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/

Gary Moreno 

Comprehensive Exams

            Congratulations to Ariana Quezada for completing her doctoral exams.