Well-known U.S. forensic psychologist to give keynote address on serial murders in Mexican border town
BY RACHELLE COOPER
Close to 200 experts on Latin American and Caribbean studies from 15 countries and almost every Canadian province are coming to campus Oct. 28 to 31 for the annual international conference of the Canadian Association for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS). CALACS is the national organization for Latin American studies in Canada and embraces a wide range of disciplines, including history, sociology, political science, anthropology and literature.
Speakers from around the world will focus on the theme “Latin America and the Caribbean: Independence and Interdependence.” Conference panellists include scholars from the National University of Mexico, Oxford University and the University of San Carlos in Guatemala; government officials; and members of non-governmental organizations, including Amnesty International, the North-South Institute and MiningWatch Canada.
“With the University's critical mass of new and established experts in Latin American and Caribbean studies, it's fitting that we are hosting a conference of this magnitude,” says College of Arts dean Jacqueline Murray.
The growing Latin American/Caribbean community in Canada has piqued people's interest in this area of study, says Murray. “I think the role of Latin America and the Caribbean in our consciousness has increased a great deal. It's a hemispheric view of the world referenced in the North American Free Trade Agreement and other kinds of collaboration between North and South. It's an area students are particularly interested in.”
That growing interest prompted Murray to set out to hire a Latin Americanist in every College of Arts department. “We thought that by showing strong interdisciplinary interest in Latin America at Guelph, we would be able to attract some great candidates, and we did,” she says.
Seven new faculty members with expertise in Latin American and Caribbean studies were hired, mostly in the summer of 2003. Profs. Rosario Gomez and Joubert Satyre joined the School of Languages and Literatures; Profs. Martha Nandorfy and Pablo Ramirez joined the School of English and Theatre Studies; Prof. Deborah Root was hired in the School of Fine Art and Music; and Profs. Karen Racine and Stuart McCook joined the Department of History.
This group joins a number of established faculty who specialize in Latin America and Caribbean studies: Profs. Frans Schryer, Sally Humphries, Tony Winson and Terisa Turner, Sociology and Anthropology; Gordana Yovanovich and Stephen Henighan, Languages and Literatures; Susan Douglas, Fine Art and Music; David Murray, History; and Richard Phidd and Kris Inwood, Economics.
“It's one of the largest convergences of interdisciplinary Latin Americanists at a Canadian university,” says Murray. “It's not common to have such a critical mass of experts in the humanities, and that's what makes this such a valuable group of people on the Canadian university scene.”
The idea to host the CALACS congress came about when U of G's Latin America and Caribbean experts came together for their inaugural meeting about a year ago. Racine, McCook and Gomez agreed to co-chair the conference. They have lined up well-known forensic psychologist Candice Skrapec to give the keynote address.
Skrapec will discuss “The Murders of Women and Girls of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico,” Oct. 30 at 5 p.m. in War Memorial Hall. The talk will focus on her work in the ongoing investigation into the serial murders of women and girls in the border town of Ciudad Juarez.
In the past 10 years, more than 340 young women have been found mutilated, murdered and dumped in the areas surrounding assembly plants along the U.S.-Mexico border. Skrapec will talk about the forensic aspects and the larger social and economic aspects of the investigation.
A criminology professor at California State University, Fresno, she holds a PhD in criminal justice from the City University of New York and a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of Calgary.
Her work on investigative profiling, serial killers, forensic criminology and sexual violence has been featured in a wide range of media, including Global TV, CBC, ABC, NBC, CNN, BBC, Maclean's and the Globe and Mail. Her articles have appeared in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, Homicide Studies and Archives of Sexual Behaviour.
Forty-three panel discussions on topics such as “Women in 20th-Century Latin America,” “Human Rights in Chile” and “Struggles for Citizenship: Latin Americans in Canada” will take place during the four-day conference.
For more information, visit http://calacs.concordia.ca.
