Center of Latin American Studies KU

Graduate

Undergrad

Language

KULAC

Library

Faculty
Over 115 core, affiliate, and research faculty are associated with the Center of Latin American Studies. They are listed below alphabetically and in five groups, core, affiliate, research, lecturers and emeritus along with their department and areas of specialization. Prospective graduate students are encouraged to contact faculty members whose research and teaching interests intersect with their own. Additional information is available on the departmental websites, which can be accessed through the University of Kansas homepage.

Name	Department	Specialization

Core		top
Chris Anderson	Business Associate Professor	International finance, Brazil and Ecuador
Danny Anderson	Spanish and Portuguese Associate Professor	Spanish American and Mexican novel, Mexican literature
Santa Arias	Spanish and Portuguese Associate Professor	Colonial Latin American discourses, colonial and post-colonial theory, interdisciplinary approaches to the study of literature and culture
Melissa Birch	Business Associate Professor	International trade, privatization in Latin America, Paraguay
Christopher Brown	Geography Associate Professor	Culture, kinship, gender in the Amazon Basin, medical anthropology
Stuart Day	Spanish and Portuguese Associate Professor	Contemporary Latin American literature, theater and performance in Mexico
Bart Dean	Anthropology Associate Professor	Culture, kinship, gender in the Amazon basin, medical anthropology
Tamara Falicov	Theatre and Film Associate Professor	Nationalism in Argentine film, Latin American film
Bryant Freeman	African and African American Studies	Haitian Creole, voodoo, Haitain culture and politics
Jane Gibson	Anthropology Associate Professor	Development studies and women, Nicaragua
Tanya Hart	American Studies Assistant Professor	Women's studies, African American studies, public health and medicine in U.S. history, and migration studies
Laura Herlihy	Latin American Studies Lecturer	Mexico, Central America, indigenous and afro-descendant peoples, gender, social organization
Peter Herlihy	Geography Associate Professor and Associate Director/Graduate Advisor, Latin American Studies	Geography, conservation in Central America, and indigenous peoples
Anita Herzfeld	Latin American Studies Associate Professor and Undergraduate Advisor	Socio-linguistic inequality, multiculturalism, multilingualism
John Hoopes	Anthropology Associate Professor	Costa Rican archeology, ceramics, prehistoric trade, Mesoamerica
Sheyda Jahanbani	History Assistant Professor	History of the U.S. and the world, modern U.S. history, the history of international cooperation, the cold war at home and abroad, the U.S. and the "third world," global poverty, U.S.-Latin American relations
Nina Kinti-Moss	Latin American Studies Lecturer	Ecuadorian culture and Quichua language
Jana Krentz	Spain, Portugal, and Latin America Bibliographer	Gendered space in novels of Emilio Pardo Bazan and Eça de Queiroz
Jill Kuhnheim	Spanish and Portuguese Associate Professor	Contemporary poetry, cultural studies, and gender studies in Spanish America
Elizabeth Kuznesof	History/Latin American Studies Professor and Director, Latin American Studies	Colonial Latin American social and family history, colonial Brazil, slavery
Linda Lee	School of Journalism Associate Professor/Associate Dean	Television and global imperialism in Costa Rica and Ecuador
donna luckey	Architecture and Urban Design Associate Professor	Housing and settlement patterns in Costa Rica, environmental planning
Brent Metz	Anthropology Assistant Professor	Cho'rti' Maya indigeneity, ethnicity and identity, Central America
Mehrangiz Najafizadeh	Sociology Associate Professor	Development sociology, socio-political movements and third world change
Town Peterson	Biology Associate Professor	Biological diversity and conservation, avian systematic, specialization
Rosalea Postma-Carttar	Spanish and Portuguese Associate Specialist	Modern Spanish novel and language pedagogy
Gary Reich	Government Associate Professor	Contemporary Latin American politics, political economy and developing nations
Robert Rodriguez	Education Administration Lecturer/Associate Director EOP	Latin American Politics and Sports, Argentina
Anton Rosenthal	History Associate Professor	Southern cone labor and liberation movements, Latin American economic history
Antônio Simões	Spanish and Portuguese Associate Professor	Linguistics, experimental phonetics, literacy problems in Brazil
Lee Skinner	Spanish and Portuguese Associate Professor	Nineteenth and twentieth-century Latin America
Paul Sneed	Spanish and Portuguese Assistant Professor	Brazilian literature and culture, contemporary popular favela music
Vicky Unruh	Spanish and Portuguese Professor	Latin American theatre, vanguard novel in Latin America
William Woods	Environmental Studies and Geography Director and Professor	Cultural landscapes of the Neotropics, anthrosols, traditional agriculture
Ketty Wong	Music and Dance Assistant Professor	Nationalism, identity, migration, Latin American music, Ecuador

Affiliate		top
Name	Department	Specialization
Omofolabo Ajayi-Soyinka	American Studies/ Women's Studies Associate Professor	Feminist criticism, post-modern theory and criticism
Giselle Anatol	English Assistant Professor	Caribbean literature, literature of the African Americas
Elizabeth Asiedu	Economics Assistant Professor	International development in economics
Phillipe Barriere	Architecture and Urban Design Associate Professor	Architecture
Christina Bejarano	Political Science Assistant Professor	The intersectionality of race/ethnicity and gender.
Marta Caminero-Santangelo	English Associate Professor	U.S. Latino/a literature
Diana Carlin	Communications/International Programs Professor	Gendered communication and political debates, speech writing, women in politics
Ben Chappell	American Studies Assistant Professor	Popular culture, cultural politics, performance, space, Mexican American lowriders
Muriel Cohen	Music and Dance Associate Professor	Modern dance technique, composition, repertory, dance for children, and approaches to world dance
Luis Corteguera	History Associate Professor	Spanish and Catalan history, early modern history, Atlantic World history
Michael Crawford	Anthropology Professor	Biological anthropology, anthropolical genetics, biological bases of human behavior
Gregory Cushman	History Assistant Professor	Global environmental history, Latin America since 1750, history of science and technology
Paul D'Anieri	Government Associate Professor	International relations, comparative politics
Rene Diaz	Architecture Professor	Pre-Columbian and colonial architecture of Mexico and South America
Lindy Eakin	History Lecturer/Associate Provost	Borderlands of Mexico and US
Dietrich Earnhart	Economics Assistant Professor	Environment and economic development in Costa Rica
Bryan Foster	Biology Assistant Professor	Biodiversity and conservation of plants
Ronald Francisco	Government Professor	Democratic processes, revolution in Latin America
Tanya Golash-Boza	Sociology/American Studies Assistant Professor	Race and Ethnicity, Social and Economic Justice, Immigration
Manuela Gonzalez Bueno	Education Assistant Professor	Foreign Language, ESL
David Graham	Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering Associate Professor	Water quality and soil conservation in Latin America
Michael Greenfield	Biology Professor	Entomology of Central America
Tanya Hartman	Art Associate Professor	Painting, themes in art and literature, materials and techniques for painters
John Head	School of Law Professor	Comparative law, international commerce and investment, and public international law
Shigeru Iwata	Economics Professor	Econometrics, macro-finance, international finance, economic growth
Paul Laird	Music and Dance Professor	Renaissance and baroque Spanish music, Latin American music
Thomas Lewin	History Associate Professor	Business history, US multinational corporations, cultural change
John Mayhew	Spanish and Portuguese Associate Professor	Spanish poetry and literary theory
Patricia Manning	Spanish and Portuguese Assistant Professor	Spanish Golden Age, Baroque poetry and prose, emblem literature, and inquisition
Judith McCrea	Art Professor	Latin American art, Venezuela
Elizabeth MacGonagle	History Assistant Professor	African history and comparative Black history, in social and cultural history and gender history
Lewis Mennerick	Sociology Associate Professor	Social inequality, education, ideology, social change, gender and global issues
Felix Moos	Anthropology Professor	Cultural change and development, ethnic conflict
Joane Nagel	Sociology Professor	Race, gender and ethnicity theory
Yajaira Padilla	Spanish Assistant Professor	19 th and 20 th century Latin American literature, Central America
Cornel Pewewardy	Teaching and Leadership Associate Professor	Multicultural education and ethnology
Ray Pierotti	Biology Associate Professor	Evolutionary ecology
Catherine Preston	Theater and Film Assistant Professor	Latin American film, Latin American women in film
Isidro Rivera	Spanish and Portuguese Associate Professor	Medieval narrative, literature of fifteenth-century Spain
Fred Rodriguez	Professional Development Schools Alliance Associate Professor /Director	Multicultural education
Amy Rossomondo	Spanish and Portuguese Assistant Professor	Second language acquisition and pedagogy, sociolinguistics
Paola Sanguinetti	Architecture and Urban Design Assistant Professor	Latin American architecture
John Simmons	Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Research Center	History of museums; history of natural history specimen preparation; herpetofauna of the Andes
Geraldo de Sousa	English Associate Professor	Resnaissance theatre and literature, Latin American theatre and literature
Michael Swann	Architecture Assoc. Professor/Assoc. Dean	Migration in Colonial America, historical geography
Valery Terwilliger	Geography Associate Professor	Geography of plants, effects of soil slips on vegetation distribution
Susan Twombly	Teaching and Leadership Professor	Education reform in Costa Rica
Peter Ukpokodu	African and African American Studies Professor	African-American theatre, African film and culture
Jessica M. Vasquez	Sociology Assistant Professor	Race/Ethnicity, Mexican Americans/Latinos, Family
Maria Velasco	Art Assistant Professor	Identity issues, border populations and Paraguay
Marta Vicente	History/Women's Studies Assistant Professor	Spain, gender and sexuality, industrialization
Barney Warf	Geography Professor	Political economy as it pertains to the construction of space and place, regional development, product services, telecommunications
Ted Wilson	History Professor	Twentieth and twentieth century US diplomatic theory
Don Worster	History Professor	Agricultural and rural history of North America
Akira Yamamoto	Linguistics Professor	Native American languages and language maintenance among Native American groups

Research		top
Name	Department	Specialization
Stephen Bozarth	Geography Assistant Professor	Palynology, opal phytolith analysis, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, ancient agriculture
William Johnson	Geography Professor	Maya habitat in Honduras and Belize, geoarcheology and geomorphology
Clifton Pye	Linguistics Associate Professor	Mayan languages
Barbara Thompson	Special Education Associate Professor	Children with disabilities in Peru and Mexico
Robert Timm	Museum of Natural History Assoc. Professor/Assoc. Curator	Neotropical mammalogy, Amazonian manatee, Ecuadorian Amazon

Emeritus		top
Name	Department	Specialization
Samuel Adams	Journalism
John Augelli	Geography	Central America
Robert Casad	School of Law Professor	Civil procedure, conflicts, federal jurisdiction, remedies
Donald Chambers	Social Welfare
Larry Day	Journalism
Dimitrios Dendrinos	Architecture and Urban Design Assistant Professor
Michael Doudoroff	Spanish and Portuguese	Spanish American modernism and literature
William Duellman	Museum of Natural History
Peter Frevert	Economics Associate Professor
John Garland	School of Business	NAFTA, US-Canada-Mexico trade
George Heller	Music and Dance
Phillip Humphrey	Museum of Natural History
Judith Leblanc	Life Span Institute
Robert Lichtwardt	Biology
Charles Michener	Museum of Entomology
Robert Nunley	Geography	Central American geography, geography of population
Robert Ridgeway	Curriculum and Instruction
Robert Smith	Museum of Anthropology
Raymond Souza	Spanish and Portuguese	Twentieth-century Spanish American literature, Caribbean literature, Cuban fiction
Robert Spires	Spanish and Portuguese	Modern Spanish novel and literary theory
Charles Stansifer	History	Central American history and politics, Caribbean history, revolutions of Latin America
Marilyn Stokstad	Art History
Robert Tomasek	Government
Phillip Wells	Botany
George Woodyard	Spanish and Portuguese	Latin American theatre, literature and Portuguese poetry

top