PILAS Annual Conference 2018

“Contested Narratives: Engagement with Latin 

America within and beyond academia” 

University of Liverpool 4th and 5th June 2018

PILAS Annual Conference 2018 confirmed Keynote line-up

The PILAS Annual Conference 2018 will take place at University of Liverpool on 4th and 5th June 2018. The theme of this year's conference is “Contested Narratives: Engagement with Latin America within and beyond academia” and the PILAS Committee are delighted to announce the confirmed line-up of keynote speakers: Professor Patience Schell (Hispanic Studies, University of Aberdeen) joins Dr. Jelke Boesten (Gender and Development, King’s College London) and Dr. Sian Lazar (Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge) who will all deliver keynote sessions. Furthermore, our roundtable discussion, chaired by Professor Cathy McIlwaine (Transnational migration, King’s College London), will also address the concerns of the Latin American migrant community here in the United Kingdom and will involve representatives from the Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS), the Indoamerican Refugee Migrant Organisation (IRMO) and Latin American House (LAH). 

Visit the conference website now: www.pilasconference.com to register to attend the PILAS Annual Conference 2018. Full biographies for each of our keynote speakers and roundtable discussants are available on the conference website, as is all the information you need on travel and accommodation in Liverpool. You can also and view a draft schedule including timings for panels, keynote lectures, the roundtable discussion and social events taking place - including a film screening, wine reception and the conference dinner. 

PILAS Annual Conference 2018 opens at 7pm on Sunday 3rd June with documentary film screening and director’s Q&A

The PILAS Committee are excited to announce that the PILAS Annual Conference 2018 will open at 7pm on Sunday 3rd June with a screening of “Where do you draw the line?”, a documentary film that tells the story of an indigenous community in the Ecuadorean Amazon rainforest fighting enforced oil extraction. The film features narration and original music by Grant “Daddy G” Marshall of seminal English trip hop group Massive Attack. The screening will take place at 81 Renshaw St, Liverpool L1 2SJ. The film’s director, Joseph Wordsmith, and producer Cora Fern will also join us for a Q&A after the screening. This event is free to attend for PILAS Annual Conference delegates.

Book your tickets for the screening now at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pilas-conference-liverpool-2018-free-film-screening-and-discussion-tickets-45624597399

You can also view the film’s trailer at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUQcmczJUsY

PILAS Annual Conference 2018 panel speakers

The PILAS Committee are in the process of contacting successful panel speakers to confirm their attendance at the Annual Conference. PILAS have a small number of bursaries available to help contribute towards travel costs for postgraduate researchers participating in panels. We hope to offer fixed rate travel bursaries, and will announce the process shortly, however, as our budget is small we would encourage participants to claim travel bursaries from other sources where possible. 

Please note that for panel speakers attending the conference from abroad who need an invitation letter to accompany their visa application, you can email the PILAS Committee directly at [log in to unmask]. Please include use ‘Panel speaker visa letter request’ in the subject line, and indicate in your email any specific details you need to be included in the letter.

Open call - nominations for PILAS Committee 2018/19

The current PILAS Committee invites nominees for future PILAS Committees to send us their proposals (see details below). Elections for the PILAS Committee will take place at in the AGM at the 2018 PILAS Annual Conference at the University of Liverpool on 4th and 5th June. At least one representative of each nominee Committee must attend the AGM election.

Please send committee proposals to [log in to unmask] by Wednesday 30th May 2018. Please include subject line: PILAS Committee Proposal.

PILAS Committee Activities:

The PILAS Committee are responsible for developing and maintaining PILAS resources for postgraduate students throughout the year. This is based around two key events:  

• PILAS Annual Conference - The major activity for the Committee is to organise the conference, including finding a host venue, setting up catering, creating a conference website, scheduling speakers and panels etc. 

• PILAS@SLAS Lunch Event for postgraduates attending the annual SLAS conference, which often includes a brief workshop or training element. 

The PILAS programme in recent years has expanded to include workshops on Methods in Latin American Fieldwork, and Latin American Archive Collections.

Additionally, a PILAS representative (often the President) represents postgraduates on the SLAS Committee, and attends all SLAS meetings (held four times throughout the year).

Committee Structure:

The main committee consists of a President, Secretary, in addition to general committee members who assist in PILAS responsibilities throughout the year, especially organising the annual conference. We welcome bids from single universities and consortia of universities.

Visit the PILAS Conference website: http://pilasconference.com/About%20PiLAS.html for further details of the Committee members for 2018.

Individual nominees

While whole committee proposals are preferred, we are also happy to put interested individuals who email us in touch with each other to allow them to create their own committee. Send your enquiry to [log in to unmask], please include your name, institution and location.

Committee Proposals:

Nominees for future PILAS Committees are invited to provide a brief proposal outlining their intention to form the committee and host the annual PILAS Conference. 

The proposal should include a list of prospective committee members, their department/institution, and their expected position on the committee (primarily for President, Secretary and Treasurer, but also could include roles such as social events coordinator, logistics team coordinator, etc). Visit the PILAS Conference website: http://pilasconference.com/About%20PiLAS.html for further details of the Committee members for 2018.

The committee should ideally be between 3-10 members dedicated to working on PILAS during the coming academic year. A minimum of 3 confirmed members is required for a group to nominate itself for election. 

Nominees can suggest a long term aim for PILAS throughout the year, perhaps reflected in a proposed theme for the PILAS Annual Conference. It is often helpful to consider, as far as possible, how this will be achieved through the annual programme of PILAS active

NB. When arranging the prospective committee, please keep in mind a realistic vision of individuals’ time constraints and availability to participate, particularly during the months prior to the conference (for example, assess who is planning to conduct fieldwork abroad, during which terms, assessment deadlines etc). While committee members often attend the same institution, collaboration with postgraduates from neighbouring universities is also encouraged.

As the selected committee’s university will be the site of the following year’s PILAS Conference, it is also important to ensure institutional endorsement and capacity (please note that substantial funding for the conference is provided by SLAS; however, some supplementary funding might be necessary from the host university). Preferably, nominations should include the contact details of an academic member of staff who is in support of the conference. For bids from consortia of universities, one of the universities should host so official endorsement from that institution should be included in the bid. 

Please send proposals to [log in to unmask] by Wednesday 30th May 2018. Please include subject line: PILAS Committee Proposal.

Each nominated Committee will be asked to present their proposal at the AGM during the PILAS Annual Conference, which subsequently will be discussed and voted upon by AGM attendees. Election results will be announced to the PILAS membership following the conference, at which point PILAS responsibilities will be handed over to the new committee.

Best Wishes