The Latin American Studies Program hosted the annual Charles A. Hale Lecture, entitled "History's Autobiography” presented by Mauricio Tenorio-Trillo, on Thursday, September 18th, 2018, from 3:00 - 4:30pm, in the Old Capitol Museum Senate Chamber.

The meaning of “Latin America,” as an idea, has always existed in relation to a complex set of historical phenomena – racial, linguistic, political, economic. Tenorio-Trillo’s presentation locates the emergence of this concept in a way that illuminates just how freighted it is and why it has endured.

Mauricio Tenorio-Trillo is a Samuel N. Harper professor of history at the University of Chicago, where he is also the acting director for the Katz Center for Mexican Studies. His publications include “Latin America: The Allure and Power of an Idea” (University of Chicago Press, 2017) and “I Speak of the City: Mexico City at the Turn of the Twentieth Century” (University of Chicago Press, 2012). Having been the recipient of many honors and awards, he received the prestigious Humboldt Research Award in 2018.

The Charles A. Hale Lecture honors the memory of Professor Charles A. Hale (1930 - 2008), a specialist in Latin American liberalism and intellectual history. He was a distinguished scholar and faculty member at the University of Iowa from 1966 - 1997.

This event is sponsored by the the Latin American Studies Program (LASP), International Programs, the Department of History, and the Department of Spanish & Portuguese.