Florida Atlantic University’s Study of the Americas Initiative foregrounds an interdisciplinary approach to research, discuss and engage the histories, cultures, societies, politics, languages, literatures, media, music, and arts of the western hemisphere. The nations of North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean share many cultural and historical interrelations that bind them through the legacies of colonialism, slavery, political movements and revolution. The Initiative promotes conversation on the intersections of spaces in the Americas by providing fora for discussion among scholars in all disciplines in the humanities.

Features of the Americas Initiative include:

• FAU’s unique geographic, demographic and cultural relation to the Americas and Caribbean
• Specialized resources for research including The Marvin and Sybil Weiner Spirit of America Collection which contains more than 13,000 publications and artifacts including rare works from the 16th century.
• Substantial number of interdisciplinary faculty with extensive specializations on topics throughout the Americas
• The College’s Ph.D. Program in Comparative Studies and the Caribbean and Latin American Studies Certificate especially encourage an extensive and interdisciplinary hemispherical focus.
• A unique intellectual hub featuring lecture series from FAU and distinguished international scholars, an annual conference dedicated to Americas study, publication opportunities and affiliation with Americas-centered research centers around the globe.
• The Americas Initiative aligns with FAU’s university-wide strategic plan platforms on Diversity, Community Engagement, Globalization, South Florida Culture and the Peace, Justice and Human Rights Initiative.
• The Initiative showcases draws on FAU’s strengths as a minority serving institution where more than half the student population represent racial or ethnic difference and/or our robust international student body.

   

ALEJANDRA AGUILAR DORNELLES, PhD.

Dr. Alejandra Aguilar Dornelles is the Director of the Study of the Americas Initiative. She is also is an Associate Professor of Spanish and Latin American studies in the Department of Languages, Linguistics, and Comparative Literature (LLCL). Her teaching and research interests include Caribbean literature, Brazilian literature, and Afro-Latin American Diaspora. She is the author of Entre el bronce y el olvido: heroísmo y afrodescendencia en Colombia, Brasil y Cuba / Between Bronze and Oblivion: Heroism and Afro-descendants in Colombia, Brazil and Cuba (2023) published by Iberoamericana- Vervuert. She has published articles on Latin American poetry, narrative and theater in journals such as Latin American Research Review, Afro-Hispanic Review, and Latin American Theatre Review. Her article, “Heroísmo y conciencia racial en la poeta afrocubana Cristina Ayala,” was awarded the 2017 Ibero-American Prize for an Academic Article on the Nineteenth Century (LASA) as well as the Harold Eugene Davis Prize by the Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies (MACLAS). Feministas Unidas awarded the Adela Zamudio Prize (2019) to her article “Activismo, literatura y cambio social en el Caribe hispano: aproximación en tres movimientos.” In 2022, her project “En nombre de la madre: el valor político del heroísmo en la narrativa de Maria Firmina dos Reis” was awarded the Marielle Franco Prize by the Gender and Feminist Studies section of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA). For more information, please visit her website: https://www.fau.edu/artsandletters/llcl/faculty/faculty-profiles/maria-alejandra-aguilar-aornelles/