“Trans*versing Knowledge: Travesti/ Trans Speculative Thinking in the Southern Cone”
is a trans*, inter, and non-disciplinary two-day workshop centered around the intellectual and
artistic productions of travesti/trans thinkers from and focusing on the Southern Cone. Travesti is
a transfeminine political and social gender identity originating in the Southern Cone and rooted
in a deep history of marginality, radical solidarity, and political imagination. This workshop
engages travesti aesthetics and political thought through a focus on its speculative elements. In
this context, speculation re-narrativizes histories of marginalized communities and strives
towards a future that is not built on domination. The workshop will feature keynote addresses by
leading travesti scholars and artists from Argentina and Brazil.

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) is accepting applications from Brown University Ph.D. students for Field Research Grants, for short periods of research lasting from two weeks to 4 months. Successful applicants receive up to $4,000 to support research travel during the calendar year 2026 to Latin America and the Caribbean. Typical awards range from $1000-$2500, but amounts awarded will vary depending on the number of applications approved. While candidates who will be conducting research in their pre-candidacy stage are prioritized, those who are in their third and fourth years of Ph.D. support are also welcome to apply. Proposals for funding should outline clear research questions, methodologies, and subjects/collections/materials of study. Funding is not applicable for tuition, language training, field schools, or travel-study programs, whether led by faculty at Brown or other universities. Recipients must be able to present a public lecture or poster in person at CLACS prior to the end of the Spring 2027 semester.

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) Dissertation Prize is an annual prize awarded for the best dissertation in the area of Latin American and Caribbean Studies by a current Brown University graduate student.

CLACS will support a range of programming and research centered on the La(s) Frontera(s) Initiative through June 2027, with particular attention to projects that explore borderlands, migration, and transnationalism in Latin America and the Caribbean. This initiative emphasizes work on the lived experiences of fronteras, whether geographic, cultural, linguistic, or conceptual, and seeks to generate dialogue across disciplines about how borders shape identities, economies, and political life. These Frontera(s) focused research and programming grants will support projects that align with CLACS’s broader themes for 2025–27, which include: Climate and Conservation; Arts and Cultures; and Politics and Peripheries.

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) invites proposals for grants that offer $1,000 to $5,000 for interdisciplinary research and programming during the 2026-27 academic year. These proposals will support projects that align with CLACS’s broader themes for 2025–27, which include: Climate and Conservation; Arts and Cultures; and Politics and Peripheries.

CLACS will support a range of programming and research centered on the Caribbean through June 2027, with particular attention to those projects that extend beyond a single island or territory, a single cultural or linguistic context, or a single historical period. These Caribbean-focused research and programming grants will support projects that align with CLACS’s broader themes for 2025-27, which include: Climate and Conservation; Arts and Cultures; and Politics and Peripheries.