Contributed by affiliate faculty Scott Wallace Associate Professor of Journalism Scott Wallace’s memoir of images and text, Central America in the Crosshairs of War, has won the Foreword INDIES Best Book in Political & Social Sciences and a Gold IPPY Winner for Independent Publisher Book Awards for best History Book. Scott’s book is also an International […]

Contributed by Graduate Student Lorraine Pérez My research evaluates the interactions between birds and the parasites that affect them. Specifically, I get to study Darwin’s finch birds in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, and examine how urban vs. non-urban finch populations are affected by an invasive parasite that can cause up to 100% chick mortalities. […]

Contributed by affiliate faculty Michele Back  On September 5th The Modern Language Journal released a special issue entitled “Critical Reflections on Colonial Pedagogies: Lessons Learned for Language Teacher Education.” The issue was co-edited by Michele Back (Associate Professor, World Language Education, Neag School of Education), Romina Peña-Pincheira (Gustavus Adolphus College), and Daniela Silva (University of […]

Contributed by Santiago Mayochi I spent this summer in Buenos Aires, Argentina, doing research for my Ph.D project, which focuses on the Argentine response to the U.S. expansion over the Caribbean, especially Cuba. The Pan American conferences and the interventions in the Caribbean raised the alarms for many people in Argentina who gave speeches and […]

Contributed by Olin Green Earlier this year, I was fortunate to have been awarded the 2024-2025 El Instituto Predoctoral Fellowship, supported by the Elizabeth Mahan Fund. These awards allowed me to continue my research during the summer on a project titled The Hidden Dimensions of Road Safety: Exploring Socioeconomic and Built Environment Factors in Latin […]

Contributed by Charles R. Venator-Santiago (Director, UConnPRSI)             The UConn Puerto Rican Studies Initiative for Civic Engagement and Public Policy is a research initiative housed in El Instituto. This initiative is funded by the Connecticut General Assembly and is tasked with providing research support to community-based organizations, community leaders, academics, and elected officials. Central to […]

Contributed by Apoliana da Conceição dos Santos What happens when graduate students from different departments come together to share their research, questions, and passions? ELIN’s Graduate Research Forum, held on March 1st, 2025, created just such a space — one filled with insightful presentations, lively discussion, and meaningful connections. The forum featured a wide range […]

Contributed by Olin Green The Hidden Dimensions of Road Safety: Exploring Socioeconomic and Built Environment Factors in Latin American and Minority Communities      Marginalized groups are overrepresented in fatal car crashes, an inequity likely exacerbated by the intersectionality of location-based and socioeconomic factors that affect vulnerable communities. For instance, low-income neighborhoods with limited access to […]

Contributed by Javier Garcia Contradictions in State-Indigenous Relations: Reconciling Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Cosmovisions with Human Rights Violations in Ecuador and Colombia Abstract This research examines the contradictions in state-Indigenous relations in Andean Latin America, with a focus on Ecuador and Colombia as comparative case studies. While both countries constitutionally recognize Indigenous rights—including the principle […]

Contributed by Dr. Lisa Werkmeister Rozas Deinstitutionalization of Child Welfare in Peru With the help of El lnstituto’s Seed grant in 2024, I conducted a small pilot study. As a result of this study I was able to connect to state officials in Peru and through my collaborations with NGOs am proposing education and training for […]