[Sarah Vonck]

Sarah’s central argument for her Senior Independent Studies was examining how the lack of implementation of the Rights of Nature, as defined in the newly drafted Ecuadorian constitution, has caused backlash from the indigenous community in the country, and how this backlash has led to further mistreatment of the indigenous community at the hands of the Ecuadorian government (thesis provided by the author). She portrays Latin America (in her case, Ecuador) through capturing Ecuador’s polarized nature that draws a clear distinction between social minority groups such as indigenous group to the established state with abundant resources and power, and further addresses the political inequality between these two groups.

[Dylan Pederson]

Dylan’s focus was the study of racial inequality in Colombia. Several features included human rights catastrophe, para-militarism, and Afro-Colombian collective conditions. He portrays Latin America (in his case, Colombia) as forced displacement and tumultuous place with armed conflicts, presence of Leftist guerrillas and Right-Wing paramilitaries, and drug traffickers.