LASA/Oxfam America Martin Diskin Memorial Lectureship
About the lectureship
Dr. Martin Diskin was a vital member of the Latin American Studies Association and of Oxfam America. His passion towards the human rights movement and his guidance over grantmaking in Latin America proved to be invaluable. He was fervent about supporting justice and openly criticized the US foreign policy in Central America and Cuba. He demonstrated the value of being informed and strategic advocates. As Raymond Offenheiser remarked “his [was a] prophetic voice in a world so in need of courage and hopeful vision; his commitment to academic rigor in service of humanity.”
The Memorial Lectureship award is given to an outstanding individual who embodies Professor Martin Diskin’s commitment to the combination of activism and scholarship.
This distinguished lectureship was initially made possible by a generous contribution from Oxfam America, an organization committed to grassroots work and one with which Martin Diskin was closely associated.
Call for nominations
The LASA/Oxfam America Martin Diskin Memorial Lectureship is offered at each LASA International Congress to an outstanding individual who combines commitments to activism and scholarship.
Nominations, including self-nominations, are welcome only by LASA Members. A nomination should include a substantive nomination letter; and the nominee's current curriculum vitae, complete mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address. To nominate a candidate, submit these materials no later than October 4, 2024. The award will be announced at the LASA2025 Welcome Ceremony, and the awardee will be publicly honored. In addition, the awardee will present his/her research work in a special panel during the Congress.
Members of the 2025 Committee
Maite de Cea (chair)
Universidad Diego Portales
Rita Segato
Universidade de Brasilia
Cecilia Palmeiro
Universidad Nacional Tres de Febrero
Michael Lazzara
University of California, Davis
María del Rosario Castro Bernardini
Oxfam America
Lectureship history
2024
AWARDEES: Rita Segato (Universidad de Brasilia, Emerita) and Victor Manuel Negrete Barrera (Universidad del Sinú)
2023
AWARDEES: Anthony Bebbington (Clark University and Ford Foundation) and Jenny Pearce (London School of Economics)
2022
AWARDEES: Arturo Escobar (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and Aviva Chomsky (Salem State University)
2021
AWARDEE: Dolores Juliano Corregido (Independent Scholar)
2020
AWARDEE: Irma A. Velásquez Nimatuj (Stanford University)
2019
AWARDEE: José Alberto Idiáquez, SJ (President Universidad Centroamericana, Nicaragua)
2018
AWARDEE: Xavier Albó (CIPCA)
2017
AWARDEE: Daniel Mato (UNTREF-CONICET)
2016
AWARDEE: María Mercedes Olivera Bustamante (Centro de Estudios Superiores de México y Centroamérica)
2015
AWARDEE 1: Lynn Stephen (University of Oregon)
AWARDEE 2: Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui (Universidad Mayor de San Andrés)
2014
AWARDEE: Alberto Olvera (Universidad Veracruzana)
2013
AWARDEE: Stefano Varese (University of California/Davis)
2012
AWARDEE: Dr. Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey (Instituto de Estudios Comparados y Ciencias Penales)
Focus: Criminal Law Specialist, scholar, judge and litigator
2010
AWARDEE: Carlos Ivan Degregori Caso (Instituto de Estudios Peruanos)
2009
AWARDEE: Terry Karl (Stanford University)
2007
AWARDEE: Orlando Fals Borda
2006
AWARDEE: William Leogrande (American University)
2004
AWARDEE: Jonathan Fox (American University)
2003
AWARDEES: Rodolfo Stavenhagen (El Colegio de Mexico) and Rosalva Aida Hernández Castillo (Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social - Mexico)
2001
AWARDEE: Elizabeth Lira Kornfeld (Universidad Alberto Hurtado)
Focus: psycho-therapy/psychology; human rights activist
2000
AWARDEE: Gonzálo Sánchez Gómez (Universidad Nacional de Colombia)
Focus: political violence in Colombia
1998
AWARDEE: Ricardo Falla
Focus: the impact of military violence on Guatemalan indigenous communities