Conference to address South American regionalism


LAWRENCE — Experts on business, international relations and environmental issues in South America will converge at the University of Kansas for a conference, MERCOSUR and Latin American Regionalism: Land, Business, Environment, and Politics.

The conference will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16, at The Commons in Spooner Hall.

KU faculty from the interdisciplinary research cluster on MERCOSUR (the Southern Cone Common Market) and distinguished visitors will share current research on the organization and how it has affected the environment, business, migration, foreign policy and income distribution in the region.

Organizers of the conference are Melissa Birch, associate professor of business; Chris Brown, associate professor of geography and director of the Environmental Studies Program; Elizabeth Kuznesof, professor of history, and Gary Reich, associate professor of political science.

Through this conference, participants will explore the complex issues facing the MERCOSUR countries in a regional context, moving beyond the limitations of research based in single countries and the perspectives of single disciplines.

In addition to the participants from KU, four invited scholars will participate in panel presentations and discussions:

  • David Brown, professor and department chair, political science, University of Colorado-Boulder   
  • Jeffrey Cason, Edward C. Knox Professor of International Studies and Politics, Middlebury College
  • Kregg Hetherington, assistant professor of anthropology, Concordia University
  • Gabriel Ondetti, associate professor of political science, Missouri State University.

The conference responds to the university’s strategic theme Building Communities, Expanding Opportunities and was organized with support of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, a comprehensive National Resource Center funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the university. CLACS coordinates and supports interdisciplinary research and teaching about the Americas on the KU campus and conducts educational outreach to teachers and communities throughout the Great Plains and the nation.

Mon, 09/09/2013

author

Peter C. Haney

Media Contacts

Peter Haney

Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies

785-864-1127