CLAS > Research
Research
One of the aims of the Centre for Latin American Studies is to provide a stimulating, cross disciplinary environment for debates and discussions about Latin America and to create an inspiring milieu where researchers can share their research findings and receive critical feedback on their works in progress.
The overall research theme of the centre is the question of power and identity in Latin America, both past and present.
Research Projects
1. Research project on Bolivia
To examine the new Political Constitution of Bolivia, the issue of power, identity constructions, the relationship between citizen and the State and mechanisms of exclusion. Some parts of this project have already been published:
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Ejdesgaard Jeppesen, A.M. & Julio Prudencio (2009): 'Ciudadanía y Seguridad Alimentaria en Bolivia' (Citizenship and Food Security in Bolivia). Diálogos Latinoamericanos 14/2008.
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Ejdesgaard Jeppesen, A.M.: La Nueva Constitución Boliviana y mecanismos de inclusión y exclusión. Paper presented at the AHILA Conference, University of Leiden, August 2008, CD Rom, Radio Nederland (RNW), June 2009.
Also on Bolivia:
Forthcoming project:
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Ejdesgaard Jeppesen, A.M.: Global discourses, Local meanings; Indigenous and Nationalistic Responses to Neoliberal globalisation in Bolivia. In: Globalization and Latin America. Eds. Jan Gustafsson & Manuela Knapp. 2010.
2. Research project on Narratives of Longing and Belonging; Learning from Politically Active Women in Bolivia and Peru
The project is in collaboration with Associate Professor, Ph.d. Christina Hee Pedersen, Roskilde University and Associate Professor, Ph.D. Jan Gustafsson, Copenhagen Business School.
Focus and Aims:
The project is about the basic human condition of having a sense of belonging to the society where you live. More specifically, it focuses on the interrelated constructions of 'longing' and 'belonging' as driving forces of social change. The overall aim of the project is to explore how the dynamic concept of (be)longing, as an empirical and analytical conceptualisation, can produce new understandings of the complexities of social in- and exclusion in complex multicultural societies. The project consists of four empirical studies of the narratives of politically engaged women in Peru and Bolivia - both societies characterised by overlapping systems of domination based on race, social class and gender. We claim that much can be learned from this particular political moment in both countries. Strong mobilisations of indigenous peoples without precedence in Latin America take place in both Peru and Bolivia and new formulations of (be)longings see the light of the day, interestingly enough very differently in the two countries.