Women, Gender and Families: Latin American, Caribbean and Latinos Perspectives Worldwide
CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS
This event is organized by the Institute for the Study of Latin America and the Caribbean at the èAV.
DATE, TIME AND LOCATION
Date: Wednesday and Thursday, March 4 -5, 2026
Time: Wednesday 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Thursday 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: College of Education (EDU) - Teco Hall
4110 USF Apple Dr
Tampa, FL 33620
Registration
The interdisciplinary field of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) studies has witnessed
significant growth since the 1960s, not only within the U.S. but also on a global
scale. Stimulated by the forces of globalization, LAC studies have evolved and now
encompass new perspectives and topics.
March of 2026, ISLAC is holding its third Global Symposium, and this year’s focus
will be on Women, Gender and Families: Latin American, Caribbean and Latinos Perspectives Worldwide. The event aims to disseminate, exchange and showcase USF's research, teaching and
practices among academic peers, special guests and our local and global community.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Laura Oso Casas
University of La Coruña, Spain
Laura Oso is a professor (catedrática de universidad) in the Department of Sociology at the Universidade da Coruña. She was the coordinator of the Societies in Motion Research Team () from 2011-2024 and is deputy director at the Interuniversity Research Centre for Atlantic Cultural Landscapes, a unique, next-generation pioneering center for basic and applied research in the social and human sciences. She was vice-president for international affairs of the Spanish Federation of Sociology (FES) and was a member of the executive committee at the International Sociological Association (ISA) from 2018-2023. Currently, she is a member of the board of directors for the International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion network ().
Oso, who holds a PhD in Sociology from the Université de Paris I-Panthéon Sorbonne, focuses her research primarily on gender, migration and transnational families. In particular, she has studied the gendered insertion of Latin American migrants into the Spanish labor market (e.g., domestic service, sexual work, ethnic entrepreneurship, etc.) in relationship with transnational household dynamics. She has conducted extensive research about transnational families from the perspective of intergenerational strategies and trajectories for social mobility, and she has served as a consultant for a variety of international organizations (e.g., the OECD, European Union, UN-INSTRAW, etc.), doing research stays in the United States, France and Latin America (e.g., University of California, Berkeley, Université de Paris I-Panthéon Sorbonne, Université de Paris VII, Flacso Ecuador, Universidad de Buenos Aires).

Thais França
Lisbon University Institute, Portugal
Thais França is a researcher at the Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology Institute
of the Lisbon University Institute (CIES-Iscte, Iscte), and a visiting professor at
Brown University. Her research expertise focuses on migration, mobilities, gender,
social inequalities and decolonial studies. França coordinated the project “Inclusion+
Tackling the challenges of Erasmus+ mobility inclusion and diversity at higher education
level,” which was funded by Erasmus+.
França, who holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Coimbra, is a member of
the board of directors for the IMISCOE network and coordinates the education and social
inequalities standing committee. She serves on the editorial boards of two leading
academic journals: “Gender, Work & Organization” and “Comparative Migration Studies.”

Carmen Martínez Novo
Carmen Martinez Novo is Professor of Latin American studies and anthropology at the University of Florida and the editor in chief of “Latin American Research Review,” the journal of the Latin American Studies Association. She has a PhD in anthropology and a master’s degree in historical studies from the New School for Social Research. She is the author of “Undoing Multiculturalism: Resource Extraction and Indigenous Rights in Ecuador” (2021, University of Pittsburgh Press), “Who Defines Indigenous? Identities, Development, Intellectuals and the State in Northern Mexico” (2006, Rutgers University Press) and editor of “Repensando los movimientos indígenas,” (2009, FLACSO-Ecuador). She has co-edited journal issues and published numerous articles and book chapters on indigenous identities and politics in Mexico and Ecuador. She is currently working on a book manuscript on queer memory and cultural history in Córdoba, Spain during the Francoist dictatorship.
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
USF College of Arts & Sciences
PARKING
Parking is available in Lots 1, 7B or 7A. View our map.
For more information about parking options, please visit USF Parking Services.
QUESTIONS?
For reasonable requests and questions about the event, please contact CAS RSVP.
