CLAS Tinker Fellow, Lisa, Dieckman, received funds to travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina where she collected first-hand knowledge from archives relating to the English-language newspaper, the Buenos Aires Herald. The Herald was the only English-language newspaper in Buenos Aires during the years of the military dictatorship (1976-1983) and was one of the only papers to publish reports on the human rights abuses by the military government. Lisa conducted nine formal interviews, had multiple informal conversations, gathered hundreds of articles from the archives of the National Library, and established ongoing contacts during fieldwork experience. Her Master's thesis will build on these materials, incorporating themes of memory, testimony, and history as they relate to the human rights legacy of the Buenos Aires Herald. Lisa is a second year graduate student in the Master's Degree in Latin American Studies program.

The Tinker Foundation’s Field Research Grants Program is designed to provide budding scholars with a first-hand experience of their region of study, regardless of academic discipline.  The grants provide graduate students with funds for travel to and within Latin America to conduct pre-dissertation research.  These awards allow students to acquire a comprehensive knowledge of language and culture, familiarize themselves with information sources relevant to their studies, conduct pilot studies and preliminary investigations, and develop contacts with scholars and institutions in their respective fields.

CLAS affiliates will be invited to attend "Tinker Talk" round table events throughout the year that feature the research progress of our Tinker Fellows.