Luz Adriana Giraldo Mueller

Graduate Teaching Assistant

Luz Adriana is a third-year Ph.D. student in History at George Mason University, focusing on Latin American History and Memory Studies. Her research interests cover Latin American History, Memory Studies, Human Rights, Peace Processes, Historical Narrative, and the representation of children and youth in historical contexts.

Her significant graduate project, "Leer para la Paz: narrativa histórica en la literatura infantil y juvenil de trauma en Colombia," examines Colombian children's literature and media about trauma within the context of armed conflict and peace education. This work earned Luz Adriana the 2021 Dean's Challenge Scholarship Award from the George Mason University College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Her dissertation research further explores how children's literature on trauma and war is used in memory transmission and historical education in Colombia, blending her expertise in children's historical narratives with contemporary Latin American issues.

Luz Adriana has also taught Latin American cultural studies and Spanish courses in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages at George Mason University, reflecting her deep engagement with the cultural and historical topics she studies.

In her broader academic and professional activities, Luz Adriana is involved in projects aimed at developing tools for constructing historical memory, focusing on its impact on public debate and scholarly contributions to affected communities. Her collaborations include work with Universidad de Antioquia, Deutsche Welle Akademie, Instituto Capaz, the Memory Studies Association, and the International Research Society for Children's Literature.

She previously served as Editor-in-Chief of the Hispanic Culture Review, George Mason University's bilingual journal. Also, she was part of the 2024 Program Team for the Latin American Studies Association Annual Congress in Bogotá, Colombia.

Selected Publications

Mueller, Luz Adriana. Leer para la paz: narrativa histórica en la literatura infantil y juvenil de trauma en Colombia, 2021.

Courses Taught

Western Civilization: HIST100 (TA)

Elementary Spanish: SPAN110

Intermediate Spanish: SPAN212 - Local and Global Contexts

Education

M.A. Foreign Languages - Spanish - George Mason University 2021

B.A. Foreign Languages - Spanish - George Mason University 2018

Minor in Latin American Studies - George mason University 2018

Recent Presentations

Leer para la paz: Narrativa histórica en la literatura infantil y juvenil de trauma en Colombia. MSA 8th Annual Conference: Meorias en Transito. July 2024.

Desde abajo y barrio adentro: Movimientos de base como respuesta a la represión social en Siloé. LASA2024 .Reacción y resistencia: Imaginar futuros posibles en las Américas. June 2024.

Leer para la paz: Narrativa histórica en la literatura infantil y juvenil de trauma en Colombia. LASA2023. América Latina y el Caribe: Pensar, Representar y Luchar por los Derechos. May 2023.

Reading for Peace: Children's Trauma Literature in the Context of the Colombian Armed Conflict. 25th Biennial Congress of the International Research Society for Children's Literature. Aesthetic and Pedagogic Entanglements: Fictions of (In)Justice and Conflict. October 2021.

Language contact: Mixtec and Spanish in Alfonso Cuarón's Roma (2018). Forging Linguistic Identities: Language in the Nation, the Region & the World. Towson University. March 2021.

In the Media

Peña Montoya, Pompilio. "La Escuela Colombiana No Aprovecha la Literatura Infantil Sobre el Conflicto Armado: Luz Adriana Giraldo" Hacemos Memoria, December 10, 2021. https://hacemosmemoria.org/2021/12/10/la-escuela-colombiana-no-aprovecha-la-literatura-infantil-sobre-el-conflicto-armado-luz-adriana-giraldo/.