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STANDING CONFERENCE OF
LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES IN THE UK

Constitution

The Standing Conference was established in 1966 to coordinate the development of Latin American Studies in the UK.

 

Mission

The mission of the Standing Conference is to provide a forum for collaboration between member institutions on issues of strategic importance to the field of Latin American Studies, and on their behalf to represent it to outside bodies, including research councils and government policymakers.

Membership, Chair and Steering Committee

Membership of the Standing Conference is open to one representative of any UK institution where teaching and/or research on Latin America is undertaken by five or more scholars, in one or more departments or disciplines. Applications for membership should be sent to the Chair of the Standing Conference; formal approval will be by majority vote held either virtually or at the next scheduled meeting.

Ex-officio membership will be granted to the elected representatives of a limited number of other relevant societies and special interest groups associated with teaching and/or research on Latin America at UK institutions. These include: the President of the Society for Latin American Studies (SLAS), the President of the Society for Caribbean Studies (SCS), The President of the Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland (AHGBI), the President of Association of British and Irish Lusitanists (ABIL), the Chair of the Latin American Geographies Research Group of the RGS (LAGRG), a representative from UK Latin American Historians Network (UKLAH), the President of the United Kingdom Council for Area Studies Associations (UKCASA), and the President of Women in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies (WISPS).

The elected representatives of any groups who believe they should have representation as ex-officio members should contact the Chair of the Standing Conference. Formal approval will be by majority vote held either virtually or at the next scheduled meeting.

The Standing Conference is chaired by the Past President of SLAS for a two-year term, or, in his or her place, the current Vice-President. The Chair is advised by a Steering Committee elected by the members of the Standing Conference by majority vote held either virtually or at the next scheduled meeting. The Steering Committee comprises three representatives, each undertaking the role for a three-year term, with staggered start dates to ensure continuity.

Changes to the constitution will be discussed with members, either at scheduled meetings or by virtual means and will be approved by majority vote.

Meetings

Meetings of the Standing Conference normally take place once a year, in the autumn, and are held online. All members are eligible to vote. Where a binding decision requires a vote of members, this will be on the basis of a majority of those present.

Agendas will be circulated to members in advance, as will summary notes of discussions and actions agreed at the previous meeting.

Chair Standing Conference (2023-25)
 

Thea Pitman, Past President of the Society for Latin American Studies, University of Leeds

Steering Committee

Thea Pitman, Past President of SLAS (University of Leeds)

Peter Baker (University of Stirling; 2021-24) 

Rachel Randall (QMUL; 2024-27)

Soledad Garcia Ferrari (University of Edinburgh; 2022-25) 

Ex-officio membership

 

SLAS: Marieke Riethof

SCS: Kesewa John

AHGBI: Sarah Wright

ABIL: Carmen Ramos Villar

LAGGR: Sam Halvorsen

UKCASA: Nick Selby

UKLAH: Anna Grimaldi

WISPS: Alison Ribeiro de Menezes

JOINING THE STANDING CONFERENCE

Applications for membership should be sent to the Chair of the Standing Conference; formal approval will be by majority vote held either virtually or at the next scheduled meeting.

Please contact Thea Pitman - t.pitman@leeds.ac.uk

APPROVED MEMBER INSTITUTIONS AND REPRESENTATIVES

Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, IMLR: Ainhoa Montoya & Jamille Pinheiro Dias

Institute of the Americas, UCL: Katherine Saunders-Hastings

Kings College, UoL: Eleonora Natale

LSE: Anna Cant

Newcastle University: Patricia Oliart & Nick Morgan

QMUL: Sam Halvorsen & Rachel Randall

Queen's University Belfast: Sarah Bowskill

University of Aberdeen: Patience Schell

University of Bristol: Jo Crow

University of Cambridge: Felipe Hernández

University of Edinburgh: Soledad García Ferrari and Julie Cupples

University of Exeter: Katie Brown

University of Glasgow: Mo Hume

University of Leeds: Rebecca Jarman & Anna Grimaldi 

University of Liverpool: Niamh Thornton and Marieke Riethof

University of Manchester: Peter Wade and Ignacio Aguiló

University of Oxford: Eduardo Posada Carbó and David Doyle

University of Reading: Claudia Murray and Cherilyn Elston

University of Sheffield: Lauren Rea

University of Stirling: Peter Baker and Eamon McCarthy

University of Swansea: Geraldine Lublin

University of Warwick: Benjamin Smith

University of Westminster: Liz Harvey-Kattou

Photo: Molly Avery. Street art in Xela (Quetzaltenango).

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