��Vlog��ý Little Rock student researches the role of Argentinian films in LGBTQ rights

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 19:09:21 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student spent the summer at a prestigious study abroad program where he examined Argentina’s films to determine the role they play in citizens’ LGBTQ rights. Dylan Wright, a junior Spanish and political science double major from Little Rock, attended the School for International Training through the study abroad program, “Argentina: Human Rights and Social Media,” from March through June. “I didn’t want to just study Spanish,” Wright said. “I looked for programs that were taught in Spanish, and I was very interested in human rights. I found a program based in Buenos Aires that was taught in Spanish and studied human rights. It was really interesting to see Argentina’s human rights history up close.” The law regarding human rights in Argentina is unique since the country included several international human rights treaties into its constitution in 1994, which resulted in the importation of international law into the country’s legal system. “They are at the forefront of human rights in many areas. People talk about human rights there all the time; things that people in the U.S. would not realize they have human rights to. Even on the buses, there is a sticker on the bus outlining the human rights that pertain to transportation. Everyone has the right to health care. They don’t view it as a privilege. They view it as a fundamental right.” Wright completed his research paper this semester under the mentorship of Dr. Erin Finzer, associate professor of Spanish and associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. He plans to present the paper, “Framing LGBTQ Rights: Critical Film Perspectives in the Argentine Queer Community,” at a conference in the spring 2019 semester. Through the study of Argentine film, particularly the Latin American film movement known as Third Cinema, as well as through the concept of cultural agency, Wright worked to enhance and develop an understanding of the role that art and culture can play in advancing civil rights and social equality.

Dylan Wright (left) and a fellow student take a walk near a Mapuche organization’s headquarters in Bariloche, Argentina, a largely tourist town known for its Swiss colonial influence.

“Third Cinema developed in Argentina. The people who first coined the term were film directors from Argentina in 1968 and 1969,” Wright said. “After the dictatorship ended, there was a big call for cultural products that opposed the dictatorship. I looked at independent queer cinema in Argentina. It was interesting to look at how the directors implicitly took inspiration from Third Cinema’s tropes and styles. I interviewed one film director, one film historian, and an artistic director of a film festival that focuses on queer cinema.” In the spring 2019 semester, Wright will put his language skills to use in another international human rights project. He received a Signature Research Experience Award to work with Dr. Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm, associate professor in the School of Public Affairs, who is examining truth commissions in 11 Latin American countries, including Argentina, which were created to investigate human rights violations committed during military dictatorships or during civil wars in the region. “We are looking for the truth in what happened during the dictatorships in these 11 countries,” he said. “Since Eric does not speak Spanish, I will use textual analysis to see what language might have been more effective in these truth commission reports and what might have been copied from other reports.” Through the project, Wright will learn new research methodologies. Wright, who is currently taking a human rights course with Wiebelhaus-Brahm, is interested in how international law can be used to help people who have suffered human rights violations. “I am really interested in human rights in general,” Wright said. “Since I speak Spanish, it’s easier to focus on Latin American commissions. There is a push for truth there that isn’t in a lot of the rest of the world. I am interested in how international law can make tangible differences in people’s lives in a way that is not arcane.” After graduation from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 2019, Wright plans to attend a graduate program in law and public policy to eventually work in the field of civil and human rights. In the upper right photo, Dylan Wright overlooks Esquel in Argentina’s Chubut province, where he and fellow students learned about local organized resistance to large mines.

Signature Experience Award funds study of Argentina films and their role in LGBTQ rights

Jenny Lambert — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 17:30:12 +0000

Dylan Wright, a University of Arkansas at Little Rock Spanish and political science double major, is using his Signature Experience Award to examine Argentina’s films and determine the role they play in citizens’ LGBTQ rights. During the fall 2017 semester, Wright was one of 79 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students awarded $1,000 from the undergraduate research grant program. The funds were granted to students to assist in the purchase of materials for a one-semester project or experience in research or creative works. In addition, Wright was accepted into the School for International Training through the study abroad program – “Argentina: Human Rights and Social Media.” Since March, he has been roaming the countryside of Argentina, seeking to fill in the gaps of his project, “Framing LGBTQ Rights: Critical Film Perspectives in the Argentine Queer Community.” “I was drawn to my particular topic because film has always interested me as something more powerful than it is often given credit for,” Wright said. “I’m immensely interested in the ability of film as an artform and an often shared cultural experience to shape public perception surrounding various issues.” Through the study of Argentina and Latin America’s film and Third Cinema, a Latin American film movement, as well as through the concept of cultural agency, Wright will work to enhance and develop an understanding of the role that art and culture can play in advancing civil rights and social equality. “The rise of queer representation in film and television in the past few decades has been a major boon to self-acceptance within the LGBTQ community, so I wanted to explore the potential implications of deliberately political film to perhaps further shape external social perceptions of queer identities and lifestyles,” he said. Wright’s project is scheduled to conclude in June. He is currently composing his final research paper under the mentorship of Dr. Erin Finzer, assistant professor of Spanish and chair of the Department of World Languages. After graduation from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 2019, Wright plans to attend law and public policy school to eventually work in the field of civil and human rights. “I strongly believe in the potential of film as a tool to bring about changing public and cultural perceptions that could be instrumental in civil rights movements in the United States and abroad,” he said. Wright is grateful to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock for the opportunity to conduct research utilizing resources he would not otherwise have access to. “I believe the Signature Experience Awards program is a wonderful opportunity and a strong incentive for undergraduate students to begin research in whatever interests them, with less of the often overwhelming pressure of academic research funding,” he explained. “The award has allowed me to focus my research into a single area that consolidates many of my interests, and I’m excited about the opportunity to bring this research to an academic conference.”

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

����Vlog��ý Little Rock student researches the role of Argentinian films in LGBTQ rights

Signature Experience Award funds study of Argentina films and their role in LGBTQ rights

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock student researches the role of Argentinian films in LGBTQ rights