Latin American and Iberian Studies program

Advisory Committee

Faculty - Alphabetical

Faculty - Fields

Staff

Graduate Students

Alumni

raduate Alumni

Name	Alumni News
Rafaela Acevedo-Field MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2000	ra-f@umail.ucsb.edu
After having taught World History, U.S., and Mexican American History courses at Mount San Antonio Community College in Walnut, CA, I came back to UCSB in September 2004 to work on my doctorate in History, focusing on Crypto-Jews in seventeenth-century Mexico.
Ryan Alaniz BA, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2002	contentsoul@hotmail.com
Ryan Alaniz in typical attire, reading Bill Robinson's book "Promoting Polyarchy." The quote in the background is by Martin Luther King.	Accepted into the doctoral program in Sociology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities with full support.
Amy Alton BA, UCSB	amyalton66@gmail.com
(2005), "Invisible Zapatistas: Women's Work Outside the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional." (John Foran, Sociology). Current Position: Student is working in an NGO in Central America.
Suzanne Avellano MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1984
Thesis: “Social Conditions and Political Aspirations of the Black Community in Cuba’s Early Republican Period.”
Brenna Avinelis BA, University of California, Santa Barbara
(2006), "Racism and Interracial Marriage: Case Studies in Santa Barbara and Hollywood." (Ralph Armbruster-Sandoval, Chicano/a Studies).
Helena C. Barreto MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1980
Thesis: “The Life and Times of Fernão Carrilho: A Seventeenth-Century ‘Bandeirante’ of Northeastern Brazil.” Supervisor: Francis A. Dutra
Teresa Berenhauser Fernandes MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1991
Thesis: “Literary Tradition and Translation: E.E. Cummings in Brazil.” Supervisor: Suzanne Jill Levine
Timothy Karsten Braatz MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1990
Thesis: “Challenging the Myths: the Revisionist Movement in Mexican-American Historiography.”
Ricardo Caton BA, University of the Pacific, Stockton MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2005	ricaton@umail.ucsb.edu
Ricardo is pursuing doctoral studies in the History Department at UCSB and hoping to write a dissertation on Mexican soldiers in the Mexican-American War. Ricardo has a TAship in the History Department (Supervisor, Sarah Cline). "Liberal Conservatism: Lucas Alaman's assesment of Agustin de Iturbide, Miguel Hidalgo, Jose Maria Morelos, and Vicente Guerrero."
Mónica Figueroa Landeros MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1999
Thesis: “Las Cristeras: A Socio-Historical Analysis of Women in the Cristero Rebellion, México, 1926-29.” Supervisor: John Foran
Lillian Flores MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1997
Thesis: “The Paradox of Elite Coalition and Party Formation: A Comparative Study of the Argentine and Uruguayan Political Systems.” Supervisor: John Foran
Jason Brian Ford BA, University of California, Santa Barbara MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2004	jason_ford@umail.ucsb.edu
Areas of interest: Post-Franco nationalist discourse and cultural processes within Spain, Basque identity/nationalism and the politics of language in Spain. Thesis: “Alternative Representations of Sexuality in Post-Franco Catalan Cinema”. Supervisor: Timothy McGovern
Sean S. Fromson MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1991
Thesis: “The Andean Cocaine Trade: the Destabilizing Effects of a Criminal Industry in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia.” Supervisor: John Foran
Elizabeth González BA, University of California, Los Angeles MA University of California, Santa Barbara 2005	lizgo@umail.ucsb.edu
Thesis: “The Maquiladora Murders.” Supervisor: Sarah Cline. Liz is now attending University of San Diego Law School on a full scholarship.
Douglas M. Goodner MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1995
Thesis: “Of Women Seen But Not Heard”: The Spanish Women in Bernal Díaz del Castillo’s Chronicle of the Conquest of New Spain.” Supervisor: Francis A. Dutra
Anabel Gutierrez BA, University of California, Santa Barbara	anabel@umail.ucsb.edu
(2006) Reconsidering Mexican Immigrant Entrepeneurship: A Case Study of the East Side of Santa Barbara." Supervisor: Juan-Vicente Palerm, Anthropology Current Position: Graduate student in the doctoral program in Anthropology at UCSB.
Alison Goodwin BA, Tulane University
(2006) "Eugenio Dittborn and the 'Airmail Paintings': Remembrance in Chile after Pinochet." Supervisor: Silvia Bermudez, Spanish and Portuguese
Elizabeth Sheldon Greider MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1980
Thesis: “A Case Study of Two Urban Middle-Class Families of Oaxaca, Mexico.” Supervisor: Francis A. Dutra
Craig Harmelin BA, University of California, Santa Barbara MA University of California, Santa Barbara 2005	harmelin@umail.ucsb.edu
Thesis: “Parental Attitudes Toward a Southern California Spanish-English Two-Way Immersion Program.” Supervisor: Dorothy Chun
Mark Hjerpe MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1996
Thesis: “The Evolution of the Land Reform Movement in Twentieth-Century Mexico.” Supervisor: Kathleen Bruhn
Dong-yang Julio Hsieh MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1993
Thesis: “Land Reform in Chile, 1965-1989.” Supervisor: John Foran
Julianna Cecilia Krolak MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1994
Thesis: “The Influence of American Oil Companies on the Mexican Revolution of 1910.”
Amelia Maureen Layne MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2002
Thesis: “Communicative Competence in the University Language Classroom.” Supervisor: Timothy McGovern
Michele L. Lipka MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1999
Thesis: “Filmmaking and the Making of Revolution: Jorge Sanjines, the Ukamau Group, and the New Latin American Cinema.” Supervisor: Victor Fuentes
Edwin López MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2000
Thesis: “Race and Revolution: Indigenous Peasants and Reform in Guatemala, 1944-1954.” Supervisor: John Foran
María Carmen Lozano Ibañez MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2002
Thesis: “The Sounds of Immigration: Cultural and Legal Discourse in Spanish Pop Music and Las Leyes de Extranjería (Spanish Immigration Laws). Supervisor: Silvia Bermúdez Current Position: People's Self Help Housing Educational Enhancement Project, Santa Barbara.
Heather Kiger BA, University of California, Santa Barbara	this-is-heathers-email@umail.ucsb.edu
(2004) “Relationships between Socioeconomic Status and Disordered Eating Among Latin American Women.”
Andrew Leonard B.A. Arizona State University 1996, Political Science.	leonardam@umail.ucsb.edu
(2006) "Historical Transition of the FARC: From Marxist Insurgent Guerrillas to Bolivarian State Competitors." Supervisor: John Foran, Sociology Current Position: Lt. Col. in the US Army, will be assigned to a Latin American embassy posting.
Gregorio Luna	Lecturer UCSB Dept of Spanish and Portuguese

Karen Luna BA, University of California, Santa Barbara	lunakare@gmail.com
(2006) "Salvadoran Men's and Women's Testimonios: A Gender Analysis of Historical Claims of Truth." Supervisor: Horacio Roque Ramirez, Timothy McGovern and Ellen McCracken, committee members. Current Position: Teaching Spanish at Santa Barbara City College as well as working at Harding Elementary School as one of their reading teachers. I am looking forward to working with the Latino community in Santa Barbara as a full-time teacher in the near future.
John Patrick Lyons MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1999	PhD candidate UCSB History Department
The Masters program in Latin American and Iberian Studies allowed me to take a number of interdisciplinary reading and research seminars; out of one such seminar I decided on a subject for a master's thesis. This was based on the life of Amaro Velho Cerqueira, a Sargento-mor and Governor in 17th-century Northeast Brazil. This research experience encouraged me to pursue history and education as my profession. LAIS offered an introduction to a number of departments, and introduced me to faculty that helped me to focus my interests and educational goals. I met two members of my doctoral committee in seminars taken through LAIS. As a result, after completing my MA, I knew that I would pursue PhD in history at UCSB and in particular the history of the Southern Cone. My research focuses on the instability experienced by the Uruguayan state after the Guerra Grande (1843-1851) or Great War. The program in LAIS provided an important foundation for my future studies. The experience of graduate course work in a number of departments, allowed me define the discipline that best suited my interests and career goals, while also encouraging the incorporation of methodologies and research from other areas. Thesis: “Amaro Velho Cerqueira, A Life in Service of the Portuguese Crown in the South Atlantic in the Seventeenth Century.” Supervisor: Francis A. Dutra
Fernando Magallon BA, CSU Monterey Bay MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2005	fernando_magallon@umail.ucsb.edu
Thesis: “The Changing Landscape of Production and Labor Organization in Kings County Dairy Farms: From Family to Immigrant Labor." Supervisor: Juan-Vicente Palerm, Anthropology. Current position: Title at Fidelity, Santa Barbara.
Rene Marchington BA, Evergreen State College, Washington MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2005	reneisa_@hotmail.com
(MA 2005) “Locating la Santera: Lucumí and Gender in Havana, Miami and Los Angeles.” Supervisor: Roberto Strongman, Black Studies. Current position: Full time writer/editor for history and geography websites, specializing in Latin America, ABC Clio, Goleta, CA.
Flor Martínez BA, University of California, Santa Barbara	lala01@umail.ucsb.edu
I am concentrating in El Salvador and its twelve-year civil war. I am specifically interested in the role of women, because they bring to their stories not only the question of class, but the subordinate position that women as a group have had to endure.
Omideh Miri BA, George Washington University MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2004	omi@umail.ucsb.edu
I completed the LAIS MA program in September 2004 and am beginning a Ph.D. program in Education at UCSB. The LAIS program was incredibly influential in my decision to continue with my studies, primarily because of its interdisciplinary emphasis that allowed me to take a number of classes in different fields until I determined which department I was the most interested in. Also, the open nature of the course and thesis options allowed me to pursue study of a topic that I was very interested in; Latino deaf students and equity in education, and laid a framework for my future studies in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at UCSB. (2004) “Barriers to Educating Deaf Students: The Roles of Culture and Stereotypes.” Supervisor: Laura Romo, Education.
Paul William Moncrief MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1997
Thesis: “The Rise and Decline of the PRI: The Emergence of the PAN and its Impact on Democracy in Mexico.”
Jeanine Anne Mendoza MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1987
Thesis: “Membership in the Portuguese Military Order of Santiago, 1668-1706.” Supervisor: Francis A. Dutra, Kumar
Anil Kumar Mukerjee MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2002	PhD Candidate UCSB History Department
Thesis: “The Provedor-Mor da Fazenda in Colonial Brazil: Lourenço de Brito Correia (1659-1662).” Supervisor: Francis A. Dutra Co-winner, Best MA Thesis Prize 2004
Elena Olivera MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2001	Doctoral Student UCSB History Department
Thesis: “We Belong to the Land: Access and Ownership in Southern Colorado.” Supervisor: Francis A. Dutra
Michael Peyron	spent@santamariatimes.com
(2006) "Bridging the Rural-Urban Divide: Mobilization and Citizenship of a Peruvian Peasant Organization, 1917-1927." Supervisor: Cecilia Mendez G. Current Position: Editor, Spanish language edition of the Santa Maria Times.
Tina Pérez MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1999
Thesis: “The Life and Times of Constantino Barradas, Fourth Bishop of Brazil (1603-1618).” Supervisor: Francis A. Dutra
Michael Perri MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1993 PhD, Emory University	Professor of History Texas A&M University, Texarkana mperri@tamut.edu website
Thesis: “The Commerce of Early Colonial Venezuela.”
Michael Efren Peyron MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2003	mpeyron@hotmail.com
(2003)“Devotion or Dissatisfaction?: Lucas Alamán and the Catholic Church.” Current Position: Teaching public school in Boston.
Adriene Pilon MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1997
Thesis: “Chile: The Art of Mourning.” Supervisor: Ellen McCracken
Graciela Reynoso MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2002
Thesis: “The Corrido as a (Re)Interpretation of Mexican Society: Los Tigres del Norte as Socio-political Discourse.” Supervisor: Silvia Bermúdez Current Position: Cox Communication working as a trainer.
Raúl Reynoso BA, University of California, Berkeley MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2004	raul@confluente.com
(2004). “Assisting Globalization: The Use of Foreign Aid for the Expansion of Capitalism in Latin America”. Supervisor: Fernando López-Alves, Political Science. Current Position: Student in graduate prgoram in the School of Public Policy at UC, Berkeley.
Ana Rivadeneyra MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1999
Thesis: “Poor Women’s Struggles Against Gender Inequality: A Case Study From Urban Venezuela.” Supervisor: John Foran
Maribel Roxana Roldán Pérez MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1999
Thesis: “Narratives of Five Guatemalans Residing in Washington, D.C.: Uncovering Through Life Histories the Importance of Cultural and Religious Traditions of Immigrants in the United States.”
Anna Belinda Sandoval Girón MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1999
Thesis: “Anguish, Fear, and Motherhood: Madres Angusitiadas in the Guatemalan Post-Civil War.” Supervisor: John Foran
Mary Aileen Seliger MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2003
Thesis: “El Exilio y sus Angeles Enigmáticos en la Narrativa de Cristina Peri Rossi y de Juan Goytisolo.”
Daniel Anthony Smith MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1986
Thesis: “Siku Ensemble Music in the Urban Environment: Tradition and Change in the ‘Turgurios” of Lima, Peru.”
Kevin Paul Smith MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2003	Doctoral Student UCSB History Department
Thesis: “Here I Stand: Don Carlos of Texcoco, the Inquisition, and the End of Aztec Resistance, 1539.” Supervisor: Sarah Cline. Co-Winner, Best MA Thesis Prize. Kevin Smith is currently preparing for his doctoral exams and drafting his doctoral dissertation proposal on early colonial central Mexico.
Yolanda Swoopes-Jiménez MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2001
Thesis: “The Brazilian Popular Church and its Role in the Formation of Black Consciousness in Brazil.” Supervisor: Reginald Daniel Current Position: Working at the San Louis Obispo County Department of Education.
Matthew A. Tompkins MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2003	Adjunct Instructor National Hispanic University tompkins@umail.ucsb.edu
Currently, I am teaching as an Adjunct Instructor at the National Hispanic University in San Jose, California. I am teaching a course on the Indigenous groups of Mexico and Central America and I will be teaching several courses in Ethnic Studies on the Latino experience in the U.S. and an Introduction to Anthropology as well. I had a wonderful experience at UCSB and feel that I was very well prepared for teaching and for future research by Dr. Bermudez, Dr. Cline, and Dr. Robinsion. As a grad student at UCSB I conducted a historical study of Guatemala's recent insurgency, and conducted a research project on Catholics and Protestants Mayas in the department of Solola, Guatemala. I am currently applying for the doctoral program in Sociology at UCSB and I am hoping to begin historical research on the town of Santa Clara La Laguna, Guatemala and to also study the many effects of Globalization in the community as well. Thesis: “Evangelical Protestantism in a Highland Maya Community: Reshaping the Religious, Social, and Economic Landscape of Santa Clara La Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala.” Supervisor: Sarah Cline
Amy Vogel MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2000
Thesis: “Blaming Burnham for Guyana’s Decline.” Supervisor: John Foran
Marcelo Warkentin MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2000
Thesis: “The Nationalization of the German-Russian Mennonite Schools in Brazil, 1930-1945.” Supervisor: Francis A. Dutra Current Position: Teaching Spanish since 2000 at Bethany Christian School in Goshen, Indiana.
Laura Suzanne Weingarten MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 1998	PhD Candidate in Latin American literature University of Maryland, College Park
Received her PhD in Spanish literature at University of Maryland (2004). Dissertation: "Homelands in Exile: Three Contemporary American Jewish Women Writers Create a Literary Homeland." Thesis: “Writing for Self-Discovery: Two Mexican-Jewish Women Explore Their Complex Identities.” Supervisor: Ellen McCracken
Cari Williams BA, James Madison University MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2004	cswilliams@umail.ucsb.edu
Five-year Doctoral fellowship in History at Emory University. Thesis: “Coisas de Negro: Alem do Pitoesco: The First Afro-Brazilian Congress, 1934.” Supervisor: Francis A. Dutra. Winner of best thesis prize.
Todd Yates BA, Northwestern University	toddyates02@gmail.com
(2005)"Black Gold and White Elephants: Energy Policy and Foregin Debt in Brazil and Mexico in the 1970s." (Supervisor Sarah Cline. Frank Dutra, committee memeber). Current Position: Google User Support Division. In January 2006, Todd started working for Google, providing support in Portuguese and Spanish for several of their products. Todd writes, "Though living in Mountain View, California isn't as exciting as my semester in São Paulo, the opportunity to work for a dynamic place like Google makes it all worthwhile."
Vanessa M. Ziegler MA, University of California, Santa Barbara 2000	Doctoral Candidate UCSB History Department vmz0@umail.ucsb.edu
I entered the Latin American and Iberian Studies Master's Program in 1998 and graduated in 2000. The LAIS program has an excellent affiliated faculty. I particularly enjoyed taking courses taught by the members of my Master's committee, which included advisor Dr. John Foran (Sociology), and Dr. Francis A. Dutra and Dr. David Rock (both from History). The staff also made me feel very comfortable in transitioning from undergraduate to graduate studies. In addition, this program provided me with a diverse background in Latin American and Iberian studies. This, in turn, enabled me to choose my area of specialization in which I am now conducting research. Currently, I am a Ph.D. candidate in the UCSB Department of History. My interests include Cuba and U.S.-Latin American foreign relations. The LAIS Master's Program provided me with the insight and background I needed to pursue my doctoral studies. Thesis: “The Rise and Fall of Fulgencio Batista in Cuban Politics.” Supervisor: John Foran
Note: Theses are part of the collections of the Davidson Library at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Call number: F1409.95.U6S25