Tanias Islas

Assistant professor at McGill University

tania.islasweinstein@mcgill.ca

I earned my Ph.D. in Political Science from University of Chicago (United States of America) in 2019. I have been a professor at McGill University since 2020.

My research is dedicated to analyzing how art and aesthetics shape the way people experience the world as politically significant and get them to mobilize. I am currently finishing my book manuscript tentatively titled Between Evidence and Imagination: Art, Cultural Institutions, and Political Representation in Mexico, which analyzes the politics of the country’s cultural policies, institutions, and artistic practices in the wake of the country’s transition away from autocratic rule and in the shadow of its ongoing “war on drug-trafficking.” Drawing on over ten years of fieldwork, the book argues that art is a privileged site to study politics and can help shed light on how processes like democratic transitions and violent conflicts shape national imaginaries, forms of civic participation, and political speech.

I regularly teache courses on the politics of art, on qualitative and interpretive research methods, and on racism and anti-racism in Latin America.

Languages: English, Spanish