Tulane University

9th Annual South-Central Conference on Mesoamerica

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The 9th annual South-Central Conference on Mesoamerica will be hosted by the University of Texas San Antonio and the San Antonio Museum of Art on October 19 through October 21, 2018. The South-Central Conference on Mesoamerica is a regional conference that provides a venue to bring together scholars in the fields of archaeology, ethnography, art history, and others, as well as the general public, to share information and interpretations on current research focused on the cultures of the Mesoamerican region.

The keynote address will be given by Dr. Vera Tiesler, who has been a research professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico for nearly 20 years. Her academic interest lies in illuminating the human conditions of the Maya and of past society, by correlating data gleaned from human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts with information from other material and documentation. In her keynote address Ancient Maya Life, Death, and Identities: A View from Yaxuná, Yucatan, Mexico, Dr. Tiesler will discuss perceptions of life and death of the Yucatecan Maya prior to and during the rise of the ancient city of Chichén Itzá. This northern cultural arena is poorly understood compared to other regions of the Maya kingdoms. Tiesler anchors her explorations of ancient Northern Maya Lowlanders through examinations of the burial population at Yaxuná, another ancient urban center located in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula and connected to Chichén Itzá by a causeway. The human remains unearthed during excavations provide valuable insight into everyday life, evolving social roles, collective identities, and manners of death experienced by Yucatec Maya. To reveal these mysteries, Tiesler combines several approaches, including bioarchaeology, mortuary archaeology, and artifact-based iconography. Her discussion will address the fate of individuals and neighborhoods, the regional trajectory that resulted in Yaxuná‘s rise, and then, ultimately, the city’s abandonment. She will conclude with thoughts on the advent of Chichén Itzá‘s political networks and what was perceived as a new cosmic era for the Maya.

During her career, Dr. Tiesler has conducted work on some 250 Maya burials. Her publications discuss living conditions and lifestyle among Maya social classes, social aspects of age and gender, physical appearance and body enhancement, violence, sacrifice, and ancestor veneration. Dr. Tiesler recently published her findings from Yaxuná in the book Before Kukulkán: Bioarchaeology of Maya Life, Death, and Identity at Classic Period Yaxuná (University of Arizona Press).

All conference events will be held at the San Antonio Museum of Art. The conference is free and open to the public.

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Registration for the 9th Annual South-Central Conference on Mesoamerica is now open. To register please fill out the registration form.

Schedule of Events

Friday, October 19
Keynote Address
Ancient Maya Life, Death, and Identities: A View from Yaxuná, Yucatan, Mexico
Dr. Vera Tiesler

Saturday, October 21
Screening of Out of the Maya Tombs
Panel Discussion lead by David Lebrun, Michelle Rich, and Jason Yaeger

Saturday October 20 – Sunday, October 21
Paper Presentations

CIPR talk series Critical Issues in Democratic Governance to host political scienctist Victor Menaldo

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Join the Center for Inter-American Policy and Research and the Stone Center for Latin American Studies in welcoming Dr. Victor Menaldo as part of the fall speaker series Critical Issues in Democratic Governance, on Friday, October 26, in 110A Jones Hall. Dr. Victor Menaldo will give a talk titled Authoritarianism and the Elite Origins of Democracy.

Victor Menaldo (Ph.D., Stanford University, 2009) is an associate professor of Political Science at University of Washington and an affiliated faculty of the Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences (CSSS), Near and Middle Eastern Studies, and the Center for Environmental Politics. Dr. Menaldo specializes in comparative politics and political economy. Menaldo’s research focuses on the political economy of taxation and redistribution, the political economy of regulation, the political economy of regime change, and the political economy of natural resources.

The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to cipr@tulane.edu.

Outgoing authoritarian rulers sometimes design democratic institutions in ways that preserve their political and economic advantages. For example, over two-thirds of countries that have transitioned to democracy since World War II have done so under constitutions written by the outgoing authoritarian regime. This lecture will examine the reasons behind this phenomenon, as well as how different types of political power and economic resources in a society following democratization. Not only do these disparate origins determines polities’ basic architecture, the rights of citizens, and how representative and inclusive the political system becomes, but also has a big impact on the size of future governments and their commitments to social justice and egalitarianism. Statistical analysis and case studies of Chile, Sweden, and several other countries show why some democratic transitions yield unequal political representation and rights for citizens.

Celebrate Caribbean culture and heritage during Caribbean Carnival of New Orleans

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Bayou Bacchanal, the original Caribbean Carnival of New Orleans, is back for its 16th annual celebration of Caribbean culture and heritage. Presented by Friends of Culture, Bayou Bacchanal will include two days of Caribbean cuisine, dance, music and celebration.

World Wide Dance
Beginning Friday, November 2 stop by the newly-opened, Algiers based, Haitian restaurant Rendezvous, for World Wide Dance. This late-night dance party begins at 10:00 p.m. and doesn’t end until the final dancer clears the floor. Enjoy live sets by locally and regionally based, Trinidadian DJ Phil and DJ Spice. Admission is $10 in advance and $12 at the door and includes access to the World Wide Dance celebration. A cash bar and bites from Rendezvous will be available for purchase.

Bayou Bacchanal Parade and Party
After an evening of dancing and celebrating, rest up for the annual Bayou Bacchanal Parade on Saturday, November 3. Assembly begins at 11:00 a.m. and the parade takes off at noon from Harrah’s. Parade-goers are welcome to come dressed in traditional carnival attire while engaging, marching and dancing to the beats of Soca music along with Casa Samba throughout the French Quarter. The parade’s final destination will be at North Peters & Mandeville Street where the party will then transition to Crescent Park.

From 2:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. several Dancehall, Soca and Reggae performers will grace the Bayou Bacchanal stage for this daylong festival. Guests can expect live performances by local, national and international artists such as: Soca Artist Preacher, Pan Vibrations, Tigress of Trinidad & Tobago, and Mystic of Trinidad & Tobago.

Beats will be provided by DJ Spice and hosted by Lady Pepper. Authentic Caribbean foods, drinks and special merchandise will be available for purchase. Trini Lisa and Boswell’s will be among the official vendors for Bayou Bacchanal 2018. Fest-goers can expect Caribbean staples such as salt fish, curry goat and roti. Tropical drinks including ginger beer, passionfruit juice and Sorrel will also be available. Guests are also encouraged to dress in tradition Carnival attire for a chance to win a grand prize of $2000.

Admission to the Bayou Bacchanal fest is $15 in advance and $20 at the door. For more information on Bayou Bacchanal or Friend of Culture, visit their onsite information booth during the festival or click here.

Bayou Bacchanal Post Party
Closeout Bayou Bacchanal at Island Flavor Bar and Grill and enjoy tasty Caribbean bites, music and dancing. DJ Ray will be spinning beginning at 11:00 p.m. Celebrate the closing of Bayou Bacchanal with a bang!

Forging a New World: Books & Writing in Early Spanish America, 1492-1821

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On Wednesday, November 14, the Latin American Library at Tulane University will host Dr. Hortensia Calvo, Doris Stone Director of the Latin American Library, for a talk titled, Forging a New World: Books & Writing in Early Spanish America, 1492-1821.

This presentation is part of the Tulane University Women’s Association’s Jane and Herbert Longenecker Lecture Series. The event is dedicated to María García Daly.

La Hora del Cuento: Fall Bilingual Story Hour at the Pebbles Center

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This fall, join us for La hora del cuenta bilingual readings series at the Pebbles Centers of the New Orleans Public Libraries!

On the first and last Saturday of every month, we will read a bilingual book at the Algiers Regional Library and the Children’s Resource Center Library beginning on Saturday, August 25 until Saturday, December 29. Children and parents are welcome!

Story Hours Dates and Locations

Algiers Regional Branch
Saturday, September 1
10:30 AM

Saturday, October 6
10:30 AM

Saturday, November 3
10:30 AM

Saturday, December 1
10:30 AM

Children’s Resource Center Library
Saturday, August 25
10:30 AM

Saturday, September 22
10:30 AM

Saturday, October 27
10:30 AM

Saturday, November 24
10:30 AM

Saturday, December 29
10:30 AM

2019 Global Read Webinar Series: Diversity in Children's Literature for the classroom

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This spring, the World Area Book Awards (Américas Award, Africana Book Award, Middle East Book Award, South Asia Book Award, and the Freeman Book Award) will sponsor a free 60 minute webinar on a book recognized by one of the awards and facilitate a discussion with the author on how to incorporate the book into the classroom.

The 2019 Global Read Webinar Series will focus on the theme diversity in children’s literature. The webinar will be recorded and archived online and have accompanying curricula to correspond with the book.

Webinar Schedule

January
Middle East Book Award

February
Africana Book Award

March
Américas Book Award

April
Freeman Book Award

May
South Asia Book Award and picture books from all book awards