Latin American Studies & Human Rights at UT

Few universities in the United States have the broad range of academic resources and people dedicated to the study human rights issues in Latin America as the University of Texas at Austin.

Through the partnership of the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies and the UT Libraries, UT has positioned itself at the forefront of Human Rights research. Our combined resources and expertise has allowed our vibrant community of scholars to engage these issues from an interdisciplinary perspective. By engaging scholars across multiple disciplines, we have managed to produce a broad array of voices and perspectives that seeks not only to understand but also to advocate for the victims of human rights abuses in the region. We are training future academics and practitioners with a thirst for deeper understanding and a passion for equity and social justice.

UT Faculty working on Human Rights in Latin America

Arias, Arturo: Latin American Studies; Central American literature.; indigenous literatures; social and critical theory; race, gender and sexuality in postcolonial societies; cultural studies, ethnographic approaches.
Auyero, Javier: Political ethnography; urban poverty and social inequality; collective action; Latin American Studies; social and cultural theory.
Brinks, Daniel: Associate Professor of Government in the fields of Comparative Politics and Public Law. Dan's research focuses on the role of the law and courts in supporting or extending human rights and many of the basic rights associated with democracy, with a primary regional interest in Latin America.
Carcamo-Huechante, Luis: Indigenous cultures in the Americas, with a focus on the movement of contemporary Mapuche poets as well as on indigenous radio and the revitalization of indigenous languages and cultures in Latin America; intersections between economic, literary, and cultural discourses in Latin America, with emphasis on “the fictions of the market” in modern and contemporary Chile; poetry, economics, and politics.
Costa Vargas, Joao: Race, politics, and social inequality; cultural studies; social theory; U.S.; Brazil; African Diaspora.
De Cesare, Donna: Associate Professor of Documentary Photography at the Journalism School at University of Texas in Austin. De Cesare teaches photography workshops for at-risk youth, journalism students and professional photojournalists in the US, Spain and in Latin America.
Dulitzky, Ariel: Leading expert in the Inter-American human rights system. In 2010, Dulitzky was appointed to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. Prior to joining the University of Texas, he was Assistant Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (ICHR), an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS).
Engle, Karen: Cecil D. Redford Professor in Law at The University of Texas School of Law and founding director of the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice. She is also an affiliated faculty member of Latin American Studies and of Women's and Gender Studies. She teaches courses and specialized seminars in public international law, international human rights law, and employment discrimination.
Garrard-Burnett, Virginia, Professor in the Department of History. Her research in Guatemala has focused on issues of gender and violence, as well as the human rights tragedies that took place under the regime of General Rios Montt.
Gilman, Denise: Teaches and co-directs the Immigration Clinic after having joined the clinical faculty at the University of Texas Law School in the fall of 2007. Gilman received her law degree from Columbia University School of Law, where she served on the Law Review, was elected president of the Student Senate and received the Rosenmann award for leadership and public interest scholarship.
Gordon, Edmund: Culture and power in the African Diaspora; gender studies (particularly Black males); critical race theory; race education; the racial economy of space and resources.
Guridy, Frank: Caribbean/African Diaspora history with an emphasis on the Spanish-speaking Caribbean; transnational history; sports history.
Hale, Charles: Race/ethnicity; identity politics; consciousness and resistance; activist anthropology; Latin America; the Caribbean.
Hines, Barbara: Frequently lectures and writes on topics related to immigration law and immigrant rights.
Hooker, Juliet: Writes on issues in contemporary political theory. In addition to her work on political solidarity, her research and teaching interests include theories of multiculturalism, critical race theory, comparative political theory (especially Black political thought and Latin American political thought), and multiculturalism and indigenous and Afro-descendant politics in Latin America.
Smith, Christen: Performance; race; violence; the body; transnational racial formation; Brazil; Latin America; the African Diaspora; social protest theater; social movements; grassroots organizing; black and indigenous struggles.
Speed, Shannon: Human rights; indigenous rights; gender; Mexico; activist research; Latin America; Chiapas.