Reflejos

Reflejos is a digital collection of academic reflections that CLAS assembles and distributes annually. Reflejos serves as a platform for CLAS students, alumni, visiting scholars, and faculty to share written work on themes relevant to Latin America and the Caribbean. Developed from — and contributing to — CLAS outreach, teaching, and research, Reflejos aims to enrich the community of Latin Americanists and researchers at Georgetown and beyond. 

Editorial Committee

• Molly Borowitz, Assistant Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
• Diana Kapiszewski, Associate Professor, Department of Government; Director, Center for Latin American Studies / School of Foreign Service
• Barbara Kotschwar, Adjunct Professor, Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy and Center for Latin American Studies / School of Foreign Service
• Bryan McCann, Professor, Department of History; Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs, College of Arts & Sciences
• Occasional “Guest Editors”
• Editorial Assistants
  • Patrick Clapsaddle, Fourth-year undergraduate, School of Foreign Service
  • Alondra Levya, First-year MA candidate, Center for Latin American Studies

Publication Timeline

• Oct. 14: Call for submissions issued
• Dec. 15: Submissions due
• Jan. 15: Call for identification of books published during previous calendar year
• Feb. 19: Editorial Committee feedback sent to those who submitted pieces
• March 1: Deadline for book list submissions
• March 16: Deadline for revised submissions
• March and April: Additional revisions, copyediting and layout
• May 1: PUBLISH 

Submission Types

• Research summaries: brief synopses of, for instance, recent research experiences or trips, initial findings from a new research project, or conclusions from a recently defended thesis.
• Informed commentary: brief discussions of contemporary political, economic, social, legal, or cultural dynamics in or relating to Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Each issue of Reflejos also includes a list of the books published by faculty affiliated with CLAS in the calendar year preceding the issue.

Submission Criteria

• Submissions are expected to be of the following lengths:
  • 2,000 – 3,000 words (for research summaries)
  • 1,000 – 1500 words (for informed commentary)
• Submissions may not be anonymous.
• Submissions may be written in English, Spanish, or Portuguese.
• Submissions should be written for a general audience and should limit the use of jargon and unfamiliar acronyms.
• Titles should be brief and informative.
• Images constitute an important element of Reflejos; please include with your submission one or more images relevant to your research.
  • We must have permission to share the images you submit.
  • We must have a textual description, a brief caption, and the artist or photographer’s name for each image or photo submitted.

Submission and Review Process

• Send submissions for Reflejos to CLAS Program Assistant and Reflejos Editorial Assistant Alondra Leyva (al1987@georgetown.edu) by December 1 with “Reflejos” in the subject line of your email.
  • Please indicate in the body of the email whether your submission is a research summary or informed commentary.
• Submitting a piece does not guarantee its publication. The editorial committee will review all submissions for quality and appropriateness for inclusion in Reflejos.
  • You will be advised of the status of your submission within six weeks of submission.
  • Acceptance may be conditional on requested revisions.
• A Reflejos Editorial Assistant member of the CLAS staff will copyedit all accepted submissions so published work consistently follows CLAS’s style guide.

Reflejos Research Prize

Each year CLAS, will award one “Reflejos Research Prize” recognizing the best research submission. In addition to the author receiving a small cash award, the winning piece will be mentioned in the Editorial Introduction to the Reflejos issue in which it appears, will have a related image on the first page of Reflejos, will be the first piece in the issue and may be extended to 5,000 words.

Book List Process

Each issue of Reflejos includes a list of the books that faculty affiliated with CLAS published in the calendar year preceding the issue. For AY 2024-2025, for instance, Reflejos listed books published in calendar year 2024.

Books that meet the following criteria are included on the list:

• Edited or co-edited volumes, sole-authored or co-authored books.
  • We unfortunately cannot include articles, book chapters, or any other type of publication.
• Focused in large part on Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Published by any press (academic, trade, etc.).
• Published in any language.
• Published in the U.S., Latin America or elsewhere.
• Published digitally and/or in paper format.

Early in the calendar year, CLAS distributes to CLAS-affiliated faculty a brief form requesting the information that we would like to include about each book so that we can feature, celebrate and promote this accomplishment in the upcoming issue of Reflejos.

We look forward to hearing from you and reading your work!  For more information or to ask questions, please contact CLAS Program Assistant and Reflejos Editorial Assistant Alondra Leyva (al1987@georgetown.edu).