ILAG Network Conference 2025: Temporalities in Latin America

The 4th Latin American Graduate Conference, titled Temporalities in Latin America: Experiences and Conceptualizations of Time across Past, Present and Future, was held from July 2–4, 2025, at the Institute for Latin American Studies (LAI), Freie Universität Berlin. This event, organized by the International Latin American Graduate (ILAG) Network, brought together graduate students and early career researchers, fostering interdisciplinary exchange on the complex ways time is experienced and conceptualized in Latin America.

Academic Program and Highlights

Over three days, the conference featured a diverse program including keynote lectures, thematic panels, a guided visit to the Ibero-American Institute, and opportunities for informal networking. The sessions explored temporalities from multiple perspectives, encompassing ancestral epistemologies, memory, speculative futures, feminist movements, and migration.

Keynote Lectures:

• El tiempo del colonizado by Carmen Ibáñez (Postdoctoral Researcher, Freie Universität Berlin), reflecting on the temporalities imposed and experienced under colonial rule.
• A Pro-Palestina Protest in the Mexican Mahjar at the Wilsonian Moment by José Francisco Hernández Reyes (Postdoctoral Researcher, Freie Universität Berlin), examining transnational solidarity and historical moments through the lens of time.

Panel Discussions:

• Cycles and Ruptures: Ancestral Temporalities and Epistemologies in Latin America
• Speculative Temporalities: Past Memories, Future Imaginaries in Film, Art and Literature
• Reframing the Past: Collective Memory and State Silence
• Feminist Movements and Theories: Continuities and Transformations Across Time
• Contested Futures: Youth, Education, and Cultural Diplomacy in Latin American Cold War Contexts
• Migration and the Politics of Temporal Hierarchies in the Venezuelan Diaspora

 Networking and Collaborative Activities

In addition to the academic sessions, the program included a guided visit to the Ibero-American Institute, where Dr. Isabel Richter led the group through the library and special collections, followed by a conversation with Dr. Clara Ruvituso and Dr. Peter Birle, who provided valuable insights into the Institute’s ongoing research activities.

The conference offered ample opportunities for participants to connect informally and strengthen professional relationships. It also fostered the exchange between master’s and doctoral students, giving early career researchers the chance to gain experience in academic contexts.

The conference concluded with a picnic and ILAG Network meeting, serving as a networking format for the core group from Freie Universität Berlin and the University of Oxford. This gathering reinforced the collaborative spirit of the network, facilitated the planning of future activities, and welcomed interested new students to join upcoming initiatives.

 Interdisciplinary and Transnational Exchange

The conference successfully created a vibrant platform for interdisciplinary dialogue, bringing together participants from Freie Universität Berlin, University of Oxford, University of Edinburgh, University of Vienna, University of California, and Humboldt-Universität Berlin, among others. The diversity of topics and methodological approaches contributed to a dynamic exploration of how temporalities shape and are shaped by social, political, and cultural processes in Latin America.

Join the Network!

For more information, upcoming events, and how to get involved, please contact us at ilag-network@lai.fu-berlin.de