Center for Latino/a & Latin American Studies

The Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies congratulates 2025 CLLAS Graduate Research Grant recipient Giovanni Francischelli on accepting a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the Film Studies Department at Weber State University following the completion of his PhD in Communication and Media Studies at the University of Oregon.

During his time at the University of Oregon, Francischelli built an interdisciplinary body of work examining documentary film, media systems, platform governance, and digital political culture in Brazil and Latin America. His research and filmmaking explore how documentary media shapes public understanding, identity, and political discourse across digital platforms.

As part of the 2025 CLLAS Graduate Research Grant program, Francischelli presented his project, Documentary Films and the New Brazilian Right: How Online Documentaries Spread Misinformation and Cultural Wars on YouTube, which examined how documentary filmmaking has become a strategic tool within Brazil’s contemporary right-wing media ecosystem.

His research focused on Brasil Paralelo, a Brazilian media company that operates across YouTube, streaming platforms, podcasts, books, and online courses. Francischelli analyzed how the organization uses high-production-value documentary films, advertising infrastructure, and algorithmic visibility to shape political narratives around history, feminism, race, Indigenous rights, LGBTQIA+ communities, and environmental politics.

Using digital ethnography, YouTube Data Tools, and network visualization methods, Francischelli studied how YouTube recommendation systems reinforce ideological environments online. His findings suggested that right-wing YouTube ecosystems often function as highly interconnected and self-reinforcing networks that direct users toward increasingly similar content…

Read the rest of this story at cllas.uoregon.edu

FINAL WEEKEND OF LOS DREAMERS at UNIVERSITY OF OREGON!⁠
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Only three performances remain before Los Dreamers closes on June 7.⁠
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This moving and thought provoking production explores love, family, immigration, identity, and the borders that shape our lives. Written by Mónica Sánchez and directed by College of Arts and Sciences Theatre Arts Professor, Malek Najjar, Los Dreamers features a talented cast of University of Oregon students and alumni in a story that is both timely and deeply human.⁠
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Remaining performances:⁠
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• Friday, June 5 at 7:30 p.m.⁠
• Saturday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m.⁠
• Sunday, June 7 at 2:00 p.m.⁠
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Join us for the final weekend and experience this powerful production before the curtain falls.⁠
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Tickets available through the University Theatre Box Office.

TOMORROW! Latinx Studies & CLLAS Celebration⁠
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📅 Tuesday, May 19⁠
⏰ 4 PM–6 PM⁠
📍 McKenzie Sunken Courtyard (McKenzie Hall)⁠
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Join us tomorrow for the 2026 CLLAS & Latinx Studies Outstanding Undergraduate Awards Ceremony & Mixer! CLLAS and Latinx Studies invite you to a vibrant celebration honoring exceptional seniors and other undergraduate students who have completed outstanding coursework that sheds light on Latinx and Latin American issues around the world. Enjoy music, delicious food, and drinks while learning about their remarkable work. ⁠
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This free event is open to everyone – we look forward to celebrating with you!

Join CLLAS on Thursday, May 14, for a Lunch & Learn roundtable featuring new University of Oregon faculty whose work contributes to Latinx and Latin American studies across multiple disciplines.

We are excited to welcome:

Rutger Ceballos, Assistant Professor of Political Science
Arifa Raza, Assistant Professor of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies
Blanche Wright, Assistant Professor of Psychology

This roundtable will offer an opportunity to learn more about their research, teaching, and the valuable contributions they bring to UO in areas such as labor politics, immigration, racial justice, youth mental health, and Latinx and immigrant communities.

📅 Thursday, May 14
⏰ 12 PM to 1:15 PM
📍 Lyllye Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center
1870 East 15th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97403

Lunch will be provided. We hope to see you there!

Join CLLAS this Thursday, May 14, at the Black Cultural Center, for a Lunch & Learn with new Latinx Studies faculty, featuring Dr. Rutger Ceballos, Assistant Professor of Political Science at University of Oregon.

Dr. Rutger Ceballos is an Assistant Professor of Political Science whose research explores the relationship between American political development, African American politics, and American political thought, focusing on the contestation over labor and land regimes in the context of the Civil War, Emancipation, and Reconstruction.

His current book project, Managing Emancipation: Land, Labor, and the Reconstruction of the American Racial Capitalist State, examines how complex interactions between federal officials and newly emancipated Black workers reshaped the American federal state and restructured racialized labor and land regimes. In addition to his work on Emancipation and Reconstruction, Rutger has studied the history of labor organizing in the Pacific Northwest, left-wing political movements in the early 20th century, and the political thought of Frederick Douglass.

This roundtable will also feature brief research showcases from Arifa Raza, Assistant Professor of Indigenous, Race and Ethnic Studies and Blanche Wright, Assistant Professor of Psychology. We look forward to seeing you there!

CLLAS is proud to celebrate Lynn Stephen, Founding Director of the Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies at University of Oregon, on her election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Stephen, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and professor of ethnic studies, was recognized for her decades of groundbreaking scholarship, advocacy, and community engaged research focused on Latinx, Indigenous, immigrant, and transborder communities. Her work has helped shape conversations around migration, human rights, social justice, and Latin American studies both nationally and internationally.

As a co-founder of CLLAS, Lynn Stephen helped build a lasting foundation for interdisciplinary Latinx and Latin American studies at the University of Oregon, creating opportunities for students, faculty, and community collaboration that continue to grow today.

Read more: https://cllas.uoregon.edu/lynn-stephen-cllas-co-founder-elected-to-the-american-academy-of-arts-and-sciences/

Join CLLAS on Thursday, May 14, for our Lunch & Learn with new Latinx Studies faculty, featuring Dr. Arifa Raza, Assistant Professor of Indigenous, Race and Ethnic Studies.

Dr. Raza's research examines the criminalization of immigrants through humanitarian laws, focusing on relief for victims of human trafficking and (im)migrant children. Her scholarship is grounded in her prior experience as a non-profit immigration attorney where she specialized in deportation defense and representation of detained individuals. Arifa is currently working on a book manuscript tentatively titled, Criminalization Through Protection: Central American Migrant Youth and the Politics of Childhood.

This roundtable will also feature Rutger Ceballos, Assistant Professor of Political Science, and Blanche Wright, Assistant Professor of Psychology.

Join CLLAS on Thursday, May 14, for our Lunch & Learn with new Latinx Studies faculty, featuring Dr. Blanche Wright, Assistant Professor of Psychology.

Dr. Wright is a licensed clinical psychologist whose work focuses on supporting the mental health needs of minoritized communities, as well as the systems and providers who serve them. With specialized training in public health and policy, her research works to close gaps between research, practice, and policy in pursuit of more equitable mental health care through community and school partnered research.

This roundtable will also feature Rutger Ceballos, Assistant Professor of Political Science, and Arifa Raza, Assistant Professor of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies.

📅 Thursday, May 14
⏰ 12 PM to 1:15 PM
📍 Lyllye Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center
1870 East 15th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97403

Lunch will be provided. Join us in welcoming these new faculty members to UO and learning more about their research, teaching, and contributions to Latinx and Latin American Studies.

Join CLLAS for a series of upcoming events celebrating community, research, and the end of the academic year.

May 14 | 12:00 to 1:15 PM
Lunch & Learn with New Latinx Studies Faculty
Black Cultural Center, 1870 East 15th Avenue
Meet new UO faculty Rutger Ceballos, Arifa Raza, and Blanche Wright and learn about their work in Latinx and Latin American studies. Lunch provided.

May 19 | 4:00 to 6:00 PM
CLLAS and Latinx Studies Celebration
McKenzie Sunken Courtyard (McKenzie Hall)
Celebrate outstanding seniors and undergraduate students and their work in Latinx and Latin American topics. Food, music, and drinks provided. Open to all!

June 1 | 12:00 to 1:30 PM
CLLAS Tamale Social
Knight Library Browsing Room
Connect with CLLAS faculty, students, and staff while enjoying tamales from Mami’s Mexican Grill. Vegan and vegetarian options available.

We hope to see you there!