1st Oxford/Berlin Latin American Graduate Conference

Annual Meeting of the International Latin American Graduate Network

In 2020, a group of undergraduate students from the Latin American Center (LAC) at the University of Oxford and the Lateinamerika-Institut (LAI) of Freie Universität Berlin founded the International Latin American Graduate (ILAG) Network as a platform of exchange and cooperation between master and doctoral students from both institutes. The main aim of the network is to enhance the academic dialogue of young researchers in the field of Latin American Studies in Germany and the United Kingdom and to foster cooperation between the two institutions. So far, multiple collaborations – such as reading groups, online workshops, and jointly organized panels – have resulted from the network.

 After the pandemic-related travel restrictions had been lifted, the first Oxford/Berlin Latin American Graduate Conference took place at Oxford’s Latin American Center (LAC) from 30-31 May 2022. This event was co-organized by doctoral students from the University of Oxford and the Freie Universität Berlin, funded by the Oxford Berlin Research Partnership and supported by both universities. By building a network of early career researchers, the conference aimed to strengthen and expand the existing bonds between Oxford’s LAC and Berlin’s LAI.

The conference included two days of workshops on campus with presentations by six masters students (four from Oxford and two from Berlin) and ten doctoral students (six from Oxford and four from Berlin). The respective directors of the LAC and the LAI, Prof. David Doyle and Prof. Stefan Rinke, introduced both days of activities. Additionally, the conference counted with the participation of Prof. Markus Hochmüller, CONPEACE post-doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford and currently visiting professor at the LAI, Prof. Eduardo Posada-Carbó and Francisca Tucci, the Research Development Officer of the Oxford School for Global and Area Studies.

Thus, the ILAG Network successfully hosted the first ever student-led conference that was jointly organized by Oxford’s Latin American Center and Berlin’s Institute for Latin American Studies, allowing six postgraduate students from the Freie Universität Berlin to spend three days in Oxford, sharing ideas about future research and institutional collaborations with their Oxford peers. Through the Oxford/Berlin Latin American Graduate Conference 2022 and the following promotion of the network at both universities, a solid core group of interested students came together, so that the initiative could be carried forward.