CALACS 2020 Graduate Essay Prize Winner

It is with great pleasure that the Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS) announces the recipient of the 2020 CALACS Graduate Essay Prize Winner: Nancy Rocio Tapias Torrado, for her original paper “The problem of not being heard now and being silenced forever: the criminalization of indigenous women leading the defense of human rights in relation to mega-projects in Latin-America. A case in Honduras”.

The essay by Nancy Rocío Tapias Torrado was selected because of its significant contribution to our understanding of the gendered and racialized dynamics of extractive industry operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. Based on fieldwork conducted in Honduras (and elsewhere as part of her larger dissertation project), the author argues that by making the abuses visible through mobilization and collective action, the “affirming actions” of Indigenous women has allowed them to have a voice not only in Honduras but on the world’s stage. Her emphasis on Indigenous women’s agency in this dynamic is a refreshing correction to much of the literature on this topic.

The CALACS Graduate Essay Prize aims to provide recognition to the most outstanding essay-length contribution by a graduate student conducting research on Latin America or the Caribbean to be presented at the annual CALACS Congress. The essays were adjudicated by a three-person jury, through a double-blind review process. The jury and CALACS would like to congratulate all nominees for the outstanding quality of their submission and thank them for participating in the competition.