Faculty and Graduate Students Lead Panels at National Conference and Receive Awards
By José Jacobo
We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Alain Lawo-Sukam, Coordinator of Africana Studies Program and Associate Professor, led a panel along with Alexa M. Hurtado, Caroline Ampiaw, Yaír André Cuenú-Mosquera, and Ivylove Cudjoe, Hispanic Studies graduate students in the Department of Global Languages and Cultures, during the 31st Annual National Association of African American Studies (NAAAS) & Affiliates National Conference on February 16-18, 2023, at the Sheraton Arlington Hotel in Arlington, Texas.
Ivylove Cudjoe
The panel focused on “Re-centering Blackness: Understanding Afro-Hispanic Experiences Through Africana Critical Theory”. Specifically, (1) Dr. Lawo-Sukam presented his research on “The Problematic of Afrocentricism and Afrocentricity in the Study of African-Hispanic Communities”, (2) Alexa M. Hurtado discussed her literary analysis on “La poesía afrocolombiana femenina y la reconstrucción del territorio en tiempos del Antropoceno”, (3) Caroline Ampiaw discussed her work on “Emotional Labor and Power in the United States”, (4) Yaír André Cuenú-Mosquera presented his research on “The Omission of Color in the Latinx Representation: Invisibility in Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse (2018)”, (5) and Ivylove Cudjoe gave a literary analytical talk on “Una descripción de ventajas del curanderismo y la medicina ortodoxa en Mal de amores de Ángeles Mastretta”.
Caroline Ampiaw discussed her work on emotional labor and Power in the United States.
For the originality and innovative aspects of her work, Ivylove Cudjoe was one of the three recipients of the Best Research Paper award in The Pansy E. Jacobs Jackson National Students Research Competition. To highlight the importance of this award, students’ papers were reviewed and recognized by a committee of several faculty researchers affiliated with NAAAS. Moreover, Ivylove Cudjoe received a cash award at the Closing & Award ceremony of the NAAAS conference. The competition is one of the features of NAAAS & Affiliates and was open to all disciplines of students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate studies.