2 minute read
The Latinamericanist | Fall 2022
A farewell Q&A with Joel Correia
In December, the Center says goodbye to Professor Joel Correia, who is departing for Colorado State University. Before his last day at UF, he shared about his Fulbright Scholar Flex award project, his new book, and his time at the Center.
Advertisement
Q: Dr. Correia, tell us about your Fulbright project.
A: I am conducting research on the construction of megainfrastructure projects in Paraguay’s Chaco, principally the new bioceanic highway. This part of Paraguay is rapidly changing as cattle ranching, land speculation, and soybean production expand. One goal of this research is to document the effects of these changes on different sectors of society while emphasizing the impacts on Indigenous and criollo wellbeing. I will continue this work in the second phase of the award in mid-2023.
Q: You also have a book project coming out soon, yes?
A: You are right! Disrupting the Patrón: Indigenous Land Rights and the Fight for Environmental Justice in Paraguay’s Chaco with be published open access by University of California Press in April 2023. Based on long-term collaborative research, the book follows three Enxet and Sanapaná Indigenous communities’ struggles for land rights and makes an intervention into debates about the dynamics of environmental justice, neoliberal multiculturalism, and Indigenous resurgence in Latin America’s forest frontiers.
Q: We’re sad to see you leave the Center. What’s next for you?
A: After four and a half wonderful years as a faculty member here, I will begin a new position as Assistant Professor in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at CSU. I am deeply grateful for my time at the Center and have been honored to work with our students, collaborate with faculty peers, and be a member of the TCD and MDP programs. At CSU, my research program will remain the same, and I will maintain projects in the Gran Chaco and Ecuadorian Amazon. I look forward to finding new ways to collaborate with the Center into the future and extend my thanks for the support over the years! Hasta el próximo! Abrazo fuerte!
