Debbie Sharnak's Avatar

Debbie Sharnak

@dsharnak.bsky.social

Historian studying Latin America, social movements, human rights, transitional justice, USFP, sports. Author: Of Light and Struggle (Penn 2023). Co-editor: Uruguay In Transnational Perspective (Routledge 2023)

467 Followers  |  607 Following  |  77 Posts  |  Joined: 04.04.2024
Posts Following

Posts by Debbie Sharnak (@dsharnak.bsky.social)

First female Sec Gen finally??

03.02.2026 13:52 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The NPR and Colorado stations that took Trump to court. β€œIt isn’t just an affront to localism. It’s an attempt to reengineer thought.”

I gave a second interview with the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) about why the right is attempting to shut down NPR and PBS, and how rural station closures will affect democratic discourse. Thanks to the excellent Lucy Schiller.

21.01.2026 15:27 β€” πŸ‘ 118    πŸ” 47    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 2
Preview
Chile’s Kast names Quiroz finance minister, taps Pinochet defenders for cabinet Chilean President-elect Jose Antonio Kast on Tuesday named economist Jorge Quiroz as finance minister, part of a cabinet that includes two lawyers who defended dictator Augusto Pinochet, a move that h...

Kast names worrisome cabinet members in Chile.. "Fernando Rabat, who defended Pinochet in an illicit funds case, will lead the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, which is still overseeing cases linked to the dictatorship." www.reuters.com/world/americ...

21.01.2026 15:34 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
CFP: Venezuelan Revolutions Series editor: Amanda C. Waterhouse, University of Notre Dame Β  Recent events in and around Venezuela demand more scholarly and public attention to the country’s history and relevant related t…

CFP on Venezuelan Revolutions: ageofrevolutions.com/2026/01/06/c...

06.01.2026 17:43 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

"But the attendant rehabilitation of one of the continent’s most infamous autocrats is a particularly agonizing setback in a country where many considered the long struggle for democracy to have been won."

18.12.2025 13:54 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

"Some might call his rise just one more alarming case of a worldwide trend toward nativist authoritarianism β€” and it is..."

18.12.2025 13:54 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Opinion | Pinochet Is Smiling in His Grave

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/o...

18.12.2025 13:53 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Our Phi Alpha Theta chapter made the main page of the national website. This is what β€œunlocking your historical potential” looks like…

06.11.2025 19:59 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Flyer for Renata Keller's talk about The Fate of the Americas at Rowan University on Oct 30 at 2pm

Flyer for Renata Keller's talk about The Fate of the Americas at Rowan University on Oct 30 at 2pm

Today at @rowanuniversity.bsky.social, come (lots of) rain or shine! @dsharnak.bsky.social just sent me some advance questions from her students and they are πŸ’―. So excited!!

30.10.2025 13:58 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The first chapter deals with McNamara and the success of this project in overseas arenas. I think you’ll love it!

27.10.2025 09:52 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

It was a pleasure to review Karen Robert's book, Driving Terror: Labor, Violence, and Justice in Cold War Argentina. It's a deep history of the Ford Falcon before, during, and after the nation's dictatorship. I highly recommend getting a copy! www.h-net.org/reviews/show... @h-diplo.bsky.social

26.10.2025 13:05 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

Take a read for yourself! (🧡/11) www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

21.10.2025 00:16 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

"Ultimately, the Friends’ innovation and legacy in human rights work are its protection-based advocacy and its coalitional politics that make it worth studying from the perspective of scholarship on transnational social movements."(🧡/10)

21.10.2025 00:16 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

As I write, "In the context of the explosion of grassroots human rights activity and work in the 1970s and 1980s, the Friends brief tenure and limited impact was not unusual. The more famous and long-lasting groups, such as Amnesty and eventually @hrw.org are the anomalies."(🧡/9)

21.10.2025 00:15 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

It's a hard searched for story of one of the many, smaller human rights groups that arose in response to the massive violations taking place during the period of Argentine state terror, albeit with a short lifespan. (🧡/8)

21.10.2025 00:15 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Protection-based advocacy: assessing the United States Friends of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo The article analyzes the formation and impact of the United States Friends of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a little-known but well-connected group of prominent Americans that operated during A...

What came out of this journey is finally in published form and I'm thrilled to see this in print. "Protection-based advocacy: assessing the United States Friends of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo." (🧡/7) www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

21.10.2025 00:14 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

And we called archives we couldn't visit from all over the country and many were generous enough in the immediately post-Covid/archives reopening phase to send us scanned files as well. (🧡/6) {Shout out to amazing archivists--truly the best people!}

21.10.2025 00:14 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

we visited archives all over the northeast looking for needles in the haystacks. We researched any member of the group's personal papers, public documents, memoirs. We tried to interview any surviving members of the Friends- sometimes successful, sometimes in vain. (🧡/5)

21.10.2025 00:13 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

And after that, well, I knew I had to do more research on this group and see if anything was there. I invited that student to accompany me on the journey and learn about archival research. Over the next year and a half...(🧡/4)

21.10.2025 00:13 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

That summer, I was in the Ford Foundation archives at the Rockefeller Archive Center, doing research for an unrelated project, and found a series of documents about the group's founding! (🧡/3)

21.10.2025 00:12 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

After some more of my own searches, I still didn't find anything. The student went on to write a great capstone paper on the US government & the Madres, and I all but forgot about the group until...(🧡/2)

21.10.2025 00:12 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

In 2022, a student came to me asking about this group they had found mentioned in State Department documents called the United States Friends of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. I asked twitter for help and got no response. (🧡/1)

21.10.2025 00:12 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I can't get through "I Love You Forever" without weeping, which my daughters think is hysterical. Apparently though I am not the only one.

Also, Paperbag Princess is a mainstay in our house. I have gifted it to many a friend!

17.10.2025 17:15 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
What's new on nacla.org Don't miss the latest stories from NACLA!

Check out this week's newsletter for original reporting on Peru's uprising and a review of a book on Brazilian Jews. Read as well about U.S.-Venezuela tensions, Peru's new president, Milei's bailout, Guatemala's prisons, and more.

nacla.salsalabs.org/oct_17_25

17.10.2025 16:21 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

And even though my own current book project doesn't cover Brazil, I was fun to use some research from my own archival visits (the review starts with this survey from 1968).

17.10.2025 16:50 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Brazilian Belonging: Jewish Politics in Cold War Latin America (Review) Rom’s book is an archivally rich account of how Jewish individuals and institutions grappled with rapidly shifting politicsβ€”and state violenceβ€”before, during, and after the Cold War.

It was a pleasure to review this book, Brazilian Belonging, for NACLA nacla.org/brazilian-be...

17.10.2025 16:48 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Raqib Hameed Naik speaks at β€œVoices of Dissent” open forum Students and activists gathered at Rowan University this past Monday morning for Voices of Dissent, the latest one-day event of the College Freedom Forum (CFF), to confront one urgent issue: how autho...

It was an honor to be part of this great event here at Rowan! thewhitonline.com/84397/news/r... @hrf.org

09.10.2025 14:36 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Uruguay Diversity March puts new, left-wing government to the test President YamandΓΊ Orsi urged to deliver on promises to community

www.washingtonblade.com/2025/10/06/u...

07.10.2025 01:49 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Argentina's Milei suffers veto overrides again, a blow before consequential midterms Argentine lawmakers overturned on Thursday two vetoes by President Javier Milei, marking a setback for the libertarian leader ahead of key legislative elections that could shape the future of his economic reform agenda.

www.reuters.com/world/americ...

03.10.2025 01:11 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Jane Goodall, the celebrated primatologist and conservationist, has died Jane Goodall, the conservationist renowned for her groundbreaking chimpanzee field research and globe-spanning environmental advocacy, has died. She was 91.

apnews.com/article/jane...

02.10.2025 01:06 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0