It is with great pleasure that the Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS) announces the recipient of the 2018 CALACS Graduate Essay Prize Winner: Daniel Ruiz-Serna, for his paper, "A Jaguar and a Half: Violence and Justice beyond the Human in Indigenous and Afro-Colombian Territories." 

The jury agreed unanimously on the selection of this paper for the CALACS graduate student essay prize. The jury found that it was a compelling paper that presents a strong and convincing argument using a creative theoretical framework and strong evidence. In particular, the jury commends its original insights on armed conflict and reparation in Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities as an experience shared by human and non-human beings.

Daniel Ruiz-Serna is a doctoral student in the Department of Anthropology at McGill University. He presented his paper at the CALACS Congress on Thursday May 17, 8:30-10:20 in the panel on "The Past and Present of Violence in Latin America".

The CALACS Graduate Essay Prize is a new award, in its third year. Its aim is to provide recognition to the most outstanding essay-length contribution by a graduate student scholar 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.