04/27/2010

The University of Iowa will host an international symposium on Bolivia’s historic Constituent Assembly of 2006-07. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in Room 2520D, University Capitol Centre from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 1, and from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, May 2.

Bolivia’s indigenous and social movements have captured worldwide attention. A constituent assembly to re-write the constitution and “refound” the nation was a key demand of those movements. The symposium will explore the relationship between the assembly and wider efforts to overcome legacies of political exclusion.

“Perspectives on the Constituent Assembly and the Refoundation of Bolivia” is co-organized by Laura Gotkowitz (history, UI), and Rossana Barragán (history, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés). Participants include Bolivia’s Minister of Autonomies Carlos Romero; Congressional Deputy Marcela Revollo; human rights activist Loyola Guzmán; Director of Fundación Tierra Gonzalo Colque; anthropologists Salvador Schavelzon and Pamela Calla; and historian James Dunkerley.

A Major Projects Grant from UI International Programs, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Perry A. and Helen Judy Bond Fund for Interdisciplinary Interaction, the Department of History and the Latin American Studies Program sponsor the symposium.

Visit http://international.uiowa.edu/centers/lasp/default.asp [1] or contact Heidi Vekemans, heidi-vekemans@uiowa.edu [2] or 319-335-3862.