Julie Gibbings

Position title: Dana-Allen Dissertation Fellow (2011-2012)

Address:
History, UW-Madison

Portrait image of Julie Gibbings in front of a book shelf

“AnotherRace More Worthy of the Present”: History, Race and Nation in Alta Verapaz,Guatemala, c.1860-1960

This study reveals how elites — whether German, Ladino (non-indigenous), or Maya — looked to European history for emulation, yet were also forced to respond to popular pressures from below. These dialogues produced creative interpretations of race, progress and citizenship that challenged European historicism, defined by the idea that modernity began first in Europe and then travelled elsewhere. Maya hereditary elites, for example, negotiated the conflicting demands of liberal individualism and their communal reciprocal obligations by forging a world view that was progressive and liberal, and yet critical of European individualism and exploitation. By bridging Latin American history and postcolonial studies, I seek to critically dialogue with scholars of European empire, for whom Latin America has often been of less immediate interest.

Julie Gibbings, a Dana-Allen Disseration Fellow, is a Ph.D. Candidate in Latin American History at UW-Madison. Her research explores themes of race, nation and postcolonialism in modern Latin American. Gibbings has a chapter in Negotiating Identities in Latin America, and a book review in Revista de Historia Iberoamericana. She received a B.A. in International Studies and an M.A. in History from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Among her honors and awards are an Andrew W. Mellon dissertation writing fellowship, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Fellowship, Humanities and Fine Arts Thesis Award (MA & PhD), Vilas International Travel Award, and Helen Firstbrook Franklin Fellowship.