PhD students and young researchers are an important target group for NALACS. In cooperation with PhD students, we organize an annual activity intended specifically for this group. This may be a master class or a studyday for and by PhD students, focusing on their research experiences. Examples include:

• Studying citizenship and politics in Latin America (2007)
  
• Doing research in Latin America and the Caribbean: theoretical debates and ethical dilemmas (2006)
  
• Options and challenges in collaborative research (2005)
  

Nalacs Thesis Award

In order to stimulate and recognize talent at the MA level, NALACS presents a thesis award every autumn. An independent jury awards the prize, worth € 500, to the MA thesis that succeeds best in combining scientific excellence with creativity and writing skills. The deadline for submission is September 1. Information about past winners can be found below.

Nalacs Thesis Award 2009: Call for Submissions

Past winners of NALACS thesis award

The 2008 NALACS thesis award was presented to Pedro Santos Silva for his thesis entitled “Che Guevara: A Martyr’s Death: Messianism & the Cuban Political Religion.” Click here to read the jury report. 

In 2007, the thesis award went to two students, Marlieke Kieboom and Christian Laheij. Marieke received the award for her thesis ‘Divide and rule, a study of social exclusion and active citizen participation in Cochabamba, Bolivia’ (in Dutch). She studied anthropology at Utrecht University, and her thesis was supervised by Dr. Wil Pansters. In her thesis, she succeeds in showing the human face of citizen participation in Bolivia, a theme that is generally studied from more political or economic perspectives. Her anthropological view, with an eye for detail and symbolism, gives a lively depiction of this world.

She shared the 2007 award with Christian Laheij for his thesis ‘Has fear crept into the churches? Catholicism, trauma and violence on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro’ (in Dutch). Christian Laheij is also an anthropologist, who graduated at the Free University of Amsterdam, where he was supervised by Marjo de Theije. His thesis is a strong narrative of the daily life of a small group of people involved in a church community in Rio de Janeiro.  

In 2006, Folkje Lips won the award with her thesis titled ‘Rap, Rock, Reggae and Revolucion. On skin color identity and national identity of Cuban moneros, roqueros and rastas’ (in Dutch). She graduated at the Free University of Amsterdam, supervised by Ton Salman and Marjo de Theije. She researched different musical genres and the way in which they are perceived by Cuban youth and utilized in identity formation. One of her conclusions is that young Cubans use this Music to express their own vision of the Cuban Revolution, sometimes with a critical note.

The 2005 NALACS thesis award was presented to cultural anthropologist Judith Jansen (Leiden University), who studied transnational marriages and households in the Dominican Republic. Her research shows the effects of migration to the United States on the daily life of those who stay behind, in this case the Dominican women Yasate. By combining a literature review, six months of ethnographic fieldwork, and the analysis of music lyrics, this thesis demonstrations how migration is a daily reality for these women.