Trinity University

Russell Guerrero '83
russell.guerrero@trinity.edu
210-999-8444
Oct. 31, 2011

Conference on Mesoamerica to be held at Trinity University

Researchers from across disciplines to take part in the free conference starting Nov. 4

SAN ANTONIO - Trinity University will host the 2^nd Annual South-Central Conference on Mesoamerica from Friday, Nov. 4, through Sunday, Nov. 6. The conference will include an array of presentations from several disciplines including art history, archeology, and ethnography by graduate students and senior researchers. The keynote lecture will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, at the San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 W. Jones Ave. The rest of the conference will take place at the Coates University Center Fiesta Room. The event is free and open to the public with walk-in registration provided.

Jennifer Mathews, professor of sociology and anthropology, is co-organizer of the conference with Dr. Thomas Guderjan, assistant professor of anthropology and program coordinator at the University of Texas at Tyler. Mathews said the highlight of the conference will be the keynote lecture by David Freidel, a world renowned professor of anthropology from Washington University at St. Louis.

Freidel's presentation, "Maya History and Archaeology, a Long Personal View," will provide an exciting overview of the last 30 years of Maya glyphic decipherment and recount the discoveries made about Pre-Columbian Maya history. This era of research has been a watershed time for Mesoamerican scholars. A reception will follow the lecture.

Another highlight of the conference will be the presentations made by scholars from various disciplines.

"We wanted to make a space where we have people from across disciplines talking with each other," said Mathews. "We will have art historians, archeologists and anthropologists - who all have common interests and whose research often overlaps - talking in one place. We all benefit from it."

Mathews added that the conference will be for both scholars and the public. "We feel very strongly that it is important for us to get our information out to the general public," said Mathews.

The South-Central Conference on Mesoamerica was created by Mathews, Jason Yaeger, associate professor of anthropology, and M. Kathryn Brown, assistant professor of anthropology, from the University of Texas at San Antonio. The mission of the regional conference is to be a venue for sharing of ideas from the large concentration of Mesoamerican scholars in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.

The 2^nd Annual Conference is sponsored by Trinity University's Mexico, Americas, and Spain (MAS) Program; Dr. Arturo Madrid, Murchison Distinguished professor; the department of sociology and anthropology; The Maya Research Program; Friends of Latin American Art; The San Antonio Museum of Art; Whole Earth Provisions; the University of Texas at Tyler; and Beta Analytic. 

For more information, visit http://www.southcentralmeso.org/schedule.html