About

Varayoq 2

I am a scholar with a wide range of research interests in Latin American history, including childhood and youth, the law, intellectual history, gender, slavery and ethnohistory. My original regional expertise was in the colonial Andes and Lima, Peru, but in recent years I have explored the history of Mexico City and Oaxaca, as well as Spanish history, especially the rural region around the city of Toledo. Current research projects are bringing me back to Lima and sending me off to the twentieth century, the history of medicine and ethics, the history of girlhood, and Latinx history.

Academic Positions

  • Professor of History (Fall 2018- present)
  • Associate Professor of History, Florida International University (2007-2018)
  • Associate Professor of History (2007); Assistant Professor of History, Emory University (2001-7)
  • Visiting Instructor of History, Duke University (Spring 2000)
  • Instructor of History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Spring 2000)

Education

  • Ph.D. in History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, December 2001
  • M.A. in History, University of Arizona, May 1995
  • B.A. in History, University of South Carolina, August 1992
* With this sculpture, “Tusuq,” Cuzco artist Edith Sánchez combines traditional European Catholic iconography of Mary– the kind you might find anywhere in the world and that is not particularly Andean– with important symbols from the Andes, including the raising of the vara, a native symbol of political authority (generally reserved for men) and the sash in red and white, Peru’s national colors. The name of the sculpture, “Varayoq,” is Quechua for the “bearer of the staff,” which refers to community civil authorities. There’s more here, of course, like the dance masks at the bottom, which are one of the artist’s signature subjects. Write me with your observations! Also check out photos of other of her works on her Facebook page.  Gracias a Edi por permitirme reproducir la imagen.