America Invertida on November 10-11, 2023 in Birmingham, United States

In 1943, the Uruguayan artist Joaquín Torres-García drew a curious illustration that has come to be known as ‘Inverted America’. Through an ink drawing, he sought to challenge the prevailing narrative of the colonization of the Americas and upend hierarchical structures by recalibrating what should be thought of as ‘up’, what is ‘north’, and what is ‘south’. The idea that South American art should be created, experienced, and understood on its own terms rather than by its relationships to other centers of power was embodied in this image. The MALAS Conference will honor this proposition by serving as a platform to explore and discuss Latin America on its own terms. Scholars are invited to share scholarship that articulates genuine qualities of Latin America, Epistemologies of the South, histories, cultural landscapes, political and alternative frameworks to articulate ontological dimensions of Latin America. The content of this conference is multidisciplinary, and submissions may address a wide variety of topics, including social, cultural, historical, and political aspects of Latin America.

The 2023 conference marks the 73rd edition of the MALAS conferences. This conference will take place November 10-11, 2023, in Birmingham, Alabama and will provide an opportunity for scholars (faculty, researchers, students) in Latin American matters to contribute towards a better understanding of all things Latin American, from literature to politics to human rights, and more. The program will consist of presentations selected through this open call for submissions. Depending on the topic to be discussed, the presentations may be in English or Spanish. In addition, there will be invited speakers and panel discussions