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*PILAS Annual Conference Dinner at Pen Factory - Book Now!* The PILAS committee is excited to announce that this year’s PILAS Conference Dinner 2018, scheduled for the evening of Monday 4th June, will take place at the *Pen Factory* <https://www.pen-factory.co.uk/>. This an intimate subterranean bar and bistro situated only a short walk <https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Rendall+Building,+Liverpool/Pen+Factory,+13+Hope+St,[log in to unmask],-2.968812,18z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x487b211eb799e5e9:0x6e6b8fab1961c11e!2m2!1d-2.965734!2d53.4018786!1m5!1m1!1s0x487b2118b12e2db1:0x4013b88b803bb4e0!2m2!1d-2.969444!2d53.4028034!3e2?hl=en> from the conference venue,. The price to attend the dinner will be only £15.00 per head and the menu will comprise small bites on arrival before a buffet-style main course. There will be a cash bar. We encourage all conference attendees to join us at the Pen Factory for what will be a relaxed and enjoyable evening of networking with your fellow Latin American-centred academic community. *Please book your place for dinner by the 28th May* to allow us to tell the Pen Factory numbers and dietary requirements for the dinner. Follow this link for more information on the Conference dinner, to get a flavour of the menu and to reserve your place: *https://payments.liv.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/events-at-liverpool/school-of-histories-languages-and-cultures/pilas-conference-dinner-2018* <https://payments.liv.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/events-at-liverpool/school-of-histories-languages-and-cultures/pilas-conference-dinner-2018> Please contact the PILAS committee at If you have any questions about the event, or if you have any dietary or access requirements that you would like us to address. *Drinks Reception* The PILAS Committee invites all participants and attendees to join us for a complimentary drinks reception to round off the first full day of the PILAS Annual Conference 2018. This is an opportunity to meet with your fellow attendees to continue the discussions prompted by the panel sessions and keynote lectures. The reception will feature a short talk by *Sue Branford* about her forthcoming book, written with Mauricio Torres, *Amazon Besieged — by dams, soya, agribusiness and land-grabbing**. *In the book Sue and Mauricio tell the story of the assault on the Tapajós basin and its tributary river, the Teles Pires, by Brazil’s vast soya megafarms as they attempt to create road, rail and river highways to ship their product to the sea. Sue’s talk will feature some photos from her research trips to the Teles Pires and Tapajós river basins in Mato Grosso and Pará in 2016-2017. There will be an opportunity to pre-order copies of the book during the drinks reception. *Documentary film screening and director’s Q&A - Book Now!* 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* <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 on the PILAS Conference website: *www.pilasconference.com* <http://www.pilasconference.com/> *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)*. *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 (www.pilasconference.com) 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]* <[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 current Committee members. *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 activities. 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]* <[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 *Richard, Jo, Marta, Juliette, Luke and Jeremy* *PILAS Committee* *Postgraduates in Latin American Studies * http://pilas.slas.org.uk https://www.pilasconference.com Register for our annual conference on: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pilas-conference-2018-tickets-43673999107 Follow us on Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/postgraduatesinlatinamericanstudies> and Twitter <https://twitter.com/pilas_postgrads> *PILAS is the postgraduate affiliate of the Society for Latin American Studies (SLAS)* * <http://www.pilasconference.com>*