Fostering Collective Care and Repair: Critical Central American Studies Research and Pedagogical Praxis as Resistance

Giovanni Batz
Chicana and Chicano Studies
UC Santa Barbara

José Ignacio Carvajal Regidor
Literature
UC San Diego

Despite many challenges, Central American Studies scholars and students continue to carve out spaces to thrive within the UC system, which serves thousands of Central American students. To continue building bridges between the various UC campuses, we are forming a working group that will culminate in a UC-wide Critical Central American Studies Symposium. The symposium will bring together junior and senior faculty members and select graduate students to participate in a series of workshops that will be open to the larger local community. The workshops will focus on: a) presenting current and ongoing research to academic and non-academic audiences; b) professional development in the areas of pedagogy and teaching Central American Studies; and c) sharing cross-campus experiences regarding the challenges and opportunities that will foster a UC-wide intellectual community at the forefront of the field. One of the significant themes within Central American Studies is the question of belonging to institutional places of higher learning as well as society at large. Collective care and repair through a communal academic gathering will further strengthen our ability to serve our students and intellectual commitments to higher education.

Image credit: Installation view of Ixkin: Kaxb’ichil, Xamal, Ootzaqib’al /ThreeStones: Wound, Fire, Knowledge by Tohil Fidel Brito (“Knowledge of Wounds,” Performance Space New York, January 2020).