2012 Conference

20th Anniversary Conference, Oct. 24-28, 2012, University at Albany, State University of New York

During its 2012 biennial conference, PRSA celebrated the 20th Anniversary of its foundation in 1992. This has been a momentous occasion for our association and its members. During the conference, we had many opportunities to take stock of the evolution, both since the 1960s and in more recent years, of the study of Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico and the Diaspora in the United States, as well as for evaluating the efforts to strengthen and grow PRSA that have been put in place in recent years.

The organization of the 2012 Biennial Conference was in the hands of a remarkably able and experienced Local Organizing Committee (see the members’ list further below), led by PRSA co-founder and past-president Edna Acosta-Belén, one of the leading figures in the development of Puerto Rican Studies in the U.S. since the 1960s.

All events in the conference, from the keynote address to the plenary sessions and panels, took place on the central area of the SUNY-Albany campus, a constellation of adjacent buildings that represent a notable example of high-modernist, post-war architecture.

Coming Soon: Articles and Photos on PRSA’s 2012 Conference

Taking advantage of its active presence in the two leading social–media platforms, Facebook and Twitter, both PRSA and several of its members posted “live” during the 2012 conference several updates, commentary and photos. PRSA published photos and updates on its Facebook page, www.facebook.com/puertoricanstudies, as well as on its Twitter feed, @Boricua_Studies.

In fact, our 2012 conference marked the first time that a PRSA conference was officially reported on “live” on these social–media platforms, an approach that we are committed to continuing during our October 2013 symposium and 2014 biennial conference.

In the comings days and weeks, we will also publish articles and photos on our blog, “El Noticiero,” available on this website. Please subscribe to the blog’s RSS feed, to our Facebook Page and Twitter feed to receive notifications when we publish these articles and photos. We welcome the submission of articles on the conference by current PRSA members, too.

In the meantime, we encourage you to explore this section of our website dedicated to the 2012 Conference. It contains numerous documents and announcements regarding the conference, including a PDF copy of the Final Program, the original Call-for-Papers (both in English and Spanish), the announcements of the competitions for the 2012 PRSA “Frank Bonilla” Book Award and 2012 Ph.D. Dissertation Award, and much more. We will soon publish the citations read by Charles R. Venator–Santiago (University of Connecticut; the current Vice–President and incoming 2013–2014 PRSA President), as chair of the book award committee, as well as by Aldo Lauria–Santiago (Rutgers University), who chaired the dissertation award committee.

PRSA wishes to thank all the members of the University at Albany (SUNY) Local Organizing Committee (LOC), and especially its Chair, Prof. Edna Acosta–Belén, as well as to Marti Dense, Program Administrator of Cornell University’s Latino Studies Program, which hosts PRSA Secretariat, and all the members of PRSA’s Executive Council, for all the hard and effective work they did in planning and executing the organization of what was a very successful conference.

Many thanks also to all the invited speakers at PRSA–sponsored events, particularly to Dr. Arturo Madrid (Trinity University, Texas), for a terrific Keynote Address, to the participants in the very stimulating plenary sessions, to authors who participated in the two special events with writers from the Puerto Rican Diaspora, and to all those who presented papers, and served as panel chairs and discussants. You all helped PRSA greatly towards making this such a successful and rewarding conference.

PRSA 2012 Conference Hosting Committee, University at Albany SUNY:

  • Edna Acosta-Belén, Committee Chair – Distinguished Service Professor of Latin American, Caribbean, U.S. Latinoa and Women’s Studies at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY), and Director of the Center for Latino, Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CELAC).
  • Christine E. Bose - Professor of Stratification and Gender Studies in the Department of Sociology, SUNY, Albany.
  • Pedro Cabán - Professor of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACS), SUNY, Albany.
  • José E. Cruz - Associate Professor of Comparative Politics in the Department of Political Sciene, and Director of the New York Latino Research and Resources Network (NYLARNet), SUNY, Albany.
  • Tomás Urayoán Noel - Assistant Professor, English Department, SUNY, Albany.
  • Virginia Sánchez-Korrol - Professor Emerita of the Department of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies at Brooklyn College, City University of New York (CUNY), and Founding President of PRSA (1992-1994)
  • Aida Torres-Horwitt - Lecturer, Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, SUNY, Albany.
  • Carmen Pérez-Hogan (NYLARNet Board)
  • Librada Pimentel (LACS)
  • Jackie Hayes (NYLARNet and LACS Graduate Student)
  • Carmen Nieves (LACS Graduate Student)
  • Lissette Acosta (LACS Graduate Student)

Questions? Suggestions? Please use the “Contact Us” page.

Updated on February 21, 2013

 

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