You are warmly invited to the second of this year's School of Modern Languages and Cultures' Lectures, taking place on Wednesday, 19 November, at 3.30 pm in the James Watt Building, room 361. 
Dr Soledad Montañez will present her research on 'Devolved Invisibility: Latin Americans in Scotland'. This is Soledad's abstract: 

This paper seeks to address the research gap concerning Latin American communities in Scotland by focusing on the experiences and sense of identity of first-generation Latin American migrants who have arrived and settled in Scotland in the twenty-first century. It examines the experiences and stories of Latin American migrants in Scotland and how they navigate their identities within a devolved UK nation. It explores their cultural histories and heritages in the context of both Scottish society and the broader landscapes of the United Kingdom and Europe.
By drawing on the metaphor of the Walking Palm tree (Socratea exorrhiza), this paper argues that being Latin American in Scotland involves a conscious and dynamic process of identity formation, or what Spivak calls ‘strategic essentialism’ (1990). Much like the tree, which is believed to shift its roots in search of more stable ground, Latin Americans in Scotland navigate a continual repositioning of cultural and ethnic belonging. 
Despite a national discourse that promotes the welcoming of migrants, this discourse often situates them in a state of ongoing de-rooting. While acknowledging the limitations of generalising across such a diverse group, the findings suggest that a collective Latin American identity is frequently constructed as a political strategy for visibility and solidarity—though this can come at the cost of flattening internal differences and, at times, reinforcing the very stereotypes the community seeks to resist.

We hope to see many of you there. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Dr Claudia Dellacasa (claudia.dellacasa@glasgow.ac.uk).