John Mraz, “Reading Historical Photographs”
Monday, October 1, 4-6pm, Liu Institute, Multi-Purpose Room
Eli Bartra, “Representations of the Female Nude in Contemporary Mexican Visual Arts”
Tuesday, October 2, 12-2pm, Liu Institute, Multi-Purpose Room
John Mraz, “The Revolution is History: Filming the Past in Mexico and Cuba”
Tuesday, October 2, 4-6pm, Buchanan Tower 1197
This presentation will examine the representation of history and revolution in the cinema of Mexico and Cuba. It will focus on how that depiction varies in periods of effervescence and those of institutionalization.
Professor John Mraz is a research professor at the Instituto de Ciencias y Humanidades at Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. He is the author of numerous articles and books on Mexican and Cuban visual culture, photography and photojournalism, as well as a curator and an award-winner video producer. His most recent publications in English include Photographing the Mexican Revolution: Commitments, Testimonies, Icons (2012), Looking for Mexico: Modern Visual Culture and National Identity (2009) and Nacho López Mexican photographer (2003). He has been a distinguished fellow in numerous universities and research institutions. In 2012 Prof. Mraz was a fellow at Princeton’s Latin American Studies department.
Professor Eli Bartra is research professor at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana–Xochimilco. In the past she has been the chair of the Graduate program in Women’s Studies and the research chair for the “Women, Identity and Power” research cluster for the same University. She is the author and editor of numerous articles and books on Mexican Feminism, Popular Culture, Gender and Mexican Women’s art and film. She has participated in numerous national and international conferences and since 1976, when she cofounded the feminist newspaper La Revuelta, she continues to collaborate with various feminist publications. Her work has been translated to English and Portuguese. Her most recent publications include Women in Mexican Folk Art: Of Promises, Betrayals, Monsters and Celebrities (2011), Museo vivo: La creatividad femenina (2008), and Crafting Gender: Women and Folk Art in Latin America and the Caribbean (2003). She has been a visiting professor at many universities and research institutions including the Institute of Latin American Studies, University of London, Dartmouth College, Ochanomizu University (Tokyo) and Universidade Federal Fluminense (Niterói, Rio de Janeiro).