SIMPOSIO 2024

The Race in Iberia Symposium brought together a diverse cohort of experts dedicated to antiracist scholarship, pedagogy, art, public writing, and activism within and beyond Spain and Portugal. This initiative was organized by the Iberian Studies section of the Spanish and Portuguese department at The Ohio State University in partnership with the academic collective TRECE (the Workshop on Race, Ethnicity, and Citizenship in Spain), a group that aims to promote the critical study of race in Spain beyond the framework of migration. This was TRECE’s second symposium; the first was held at Northwestern University in 2022. 

Founded on the premise that racial diversity is a permanent feature of contemporary Spanish society, TRECE is a scholarly network that aims to promote the critical study of race in Spain. In 2024, the scope of the TRECE symposium was expanded to include a comparative focus on Spain and Portugal, an effort that sought to broaden our understanding of racial processes in a larger Iberian context.

This event was made possible through the generous co-sponsorship of The Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences, The Instituto Camões, The OSU Department of Spanish and Portuguese, The OSU Office of Diversity and Inclusion, The OSU Department of Comparative Studies, The OSU Department of French and Italian, The OSU East Asian Studies Center, The OSU Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, The OSU Center for Latin American Studies, The OSU Center for Languages, Literatures and Cultures, and the OSU Office of International Affairs.

The symposium talks, round tables, and panels were free to members of the OSU community.

You can download the full symposium program below.

Paloma Chen

Paloma Chen is a Spanish poet, journalist, and creative producer. Her creative works include Invocación a las mayorías silenciosas (2021) and the YouTube testimonial series, Crecer en ‘un chino,’ and her journalistic publications have appeared in newspapers including El País and El Salto In 2021 she was awarded the II Premio Nacional de Poesía Viva.

Raquel Lima

Raquel Lima is a poet, art-educator, researcher and transdisciplinary artist based between Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe. She is known for her book Ingenuidade Inocência Ignorância and her role as co-founder of Pantalassa, PortugalSLAM – International Poetry and Performance Festival, the Antiracist Nucleus of Coimbra, Yanda Panafrikanu and UNA – União Negra das Artes (Black Union for the Arts).