6th Thinking Andean Studies
Smith College, April 2-3, 2027
Deadline for submissions: December 18th, 2026
Keynote speaker: Brooke Larson (Stony Brook University) [Convocatoria en español, aquí]
The 6th edition of the Thinking Andean Studies conference will take place on April 2-3, 2027, at Smith College (Western Massachusetts)! In this edition, we will also get together to celebrate the trajectory and legacy of Professor Ann Zulawski, a founding member of the Program in Latin American and Latino/a Studies at Smith and a foundational scholar of Bolivian and Andean history.
We will continue our mission to strengthen the interdisciplinary network of scholars thinking through theory and praxis from the Andes. We invite you to another opportunity to help foster a mentoring relationship between established and emerging scholars. As always since our first edition in 2015, our event will provide a space for participants to share their research through paper presentations and roundtable discussions, and we hope to showcase the increasing number of scholars globally conducting research in and about the Andes.
In previous editions, we have asked participants to consider the importance of working across disciplines, and how to potentially theorize the Andes (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia, as well as northern Argentina and Chile). This year, we invite participants to reflect on the long historical arc that has led to contemporary developments in politics, economics, cosmovision, literature, philosophy, and culture in the region. What were the conditions that set up contemporary states of affairs in the region, and how can studying the relation between past and present help us make interventions today?
Ideally, papers will reflect on some of the power dynamics that intersect to shape various facets of Andean societies. This interdisciplinary conference will also aim to connect scholars with Indigenous language and culture advocates. In this spirit, the Conference will include presentations that explore the intersections of indigenous languages of the Andes and media and activism, language pedagogy, literature, performance, and community organizing.
Proposals from any theoretical perspective and examining any aspect of the Andes are welcome, including, but not restricted to: cultural studies, cultural policy, literature, indigenous studies, language planning and policy, bilingual education, decolonization, colonial studies, anthropology, sociology, cultural heritage and reclamation, political science, linguistics, media studies, ethnicity, ethnomusicology, and history. Papers can be in English, Spanish or any of the languages spoken in the Andean region. We highly welcome panel proposals (3-4 people).
Sessions will take place on April 2-3, 2027 at Smith College in Northampton, MA. Please submit a paper title, presenter’s name, institutional affiliation, abstract of 250 words maximum to lals@smith.edu by Friday December 18th, 2026. Applicants have the option to submit panel applications, which should include panel title along with each presenter’s abstract. In-person event.
Responses will be made available by January 10th, 2027 to all who submitted.
The 2027 Thinking Andean Studies Conference is made possible this year with the generous support of the Louise and Edmund J. Kahn Institute, the Phoebe and John D. Lewis Global Studies Center, the Lecture Committee Fund at Smith College, the Five College Consortium, and the Program of Latin American and Latino/a Studies at Smith College.
