‘History in Dialogue’: LSE’s new colloquium connects historians across the UK, Chile and Colombia

Monday 26 October 2026

Three city skylines: at left, a dense city with mountains in the background; at top right, modern skyscrapers; at bottom right, a tall tower with a hazy cityscape. — ‘History in Dialogue’ maintains an ongoing and meaningful collaboration between LSE and top institutions in Latin America.

LSE has launched the ‘History in Dialogue’ Colloquium series, a knowledge exchange between colleagues from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC Chile) and Universidad de los Andes (Uniandes). Through the series, participants will explore how international perspectives can deepen an understanding of contemporary social, political and cultural challenges in International History.

Bringing together academics from the three institutions, this series was born out of the ‘Global Histories for a Global Future’ Conference, which took place in Santiago, Chile in April 2026 with LSE, UC Chile and Uniandes. Experts from across the universities convened to examine citizenship, democracy and power as important transnational concepts in historical contexts.

‘History in Dialogue’ serves as an extension of this engagement, platforming further discussions with student and faculty representatives from the institutions. The series will strategically explore themes that benefit from collaborative thinking. Reflecting on the collaboration, LSE’s Professor Tanya Harmer highlighted the importance of ‘thinking about global history together’ and the rich conversations that come from transnational discussion.

Professor Harmer is joined by Dr Anna Cant (LSE), Dr Claudio Rolle (UC Chile), Dr Sylvia Dümmer (UC Chile), Dr Fernando Purcell (UC Chile), Dr Catalina Muñoz Rojas (Uniandes) and Dr Constanza Castro (Uniandes) as the series convenors, forging a meaningful exchange between UK, Chilean and Colombian institutions on shared histories.

Dr Catalina Muñoz Rojas (Uniandes) believes that “the exchanges that the series facilitates can open opportunities for history faculty and students alike and enhance the impact of our work across borders.” The convenors hope this exchange paves the way for “new collaborative research projects, greater academic and graduate student mobility, and stronger, lasting connections between our institutions,” according to Dr Fernando Purcell Torretti (UC Chile).

Nine people standing together outdoors on a sidewalk near a building, posing for a group photo with trees in the background. — LSE colleagues were delighted to participate in the ‘Global Histories for a Global Future’ Conference in Chile this Spring 2026.

The series opened on Tuesday 20 October 2026 with a seminar examining trade and inequality in Africa and Latin America. It featured presentations by LSE’s Professor Leigh Gardner and Uniandes’ Professor James Torres. LSE’s Professor Leigh Gardner spoke on her research From the Outside In: US Trade within Colonial Africa, 1900-1938, and Professor Torres presented his research, Latin America and the Global Economy in the Nineteenth Century: The Roots of Modern Inequality? The presentations were followed by a conversation about the complexities of global trade relations.

‘History in Dialogue’ will include three more seminars, with each gathering platforming the scholarship of a different academic from the three institutions. The next session will take place on 24 November around the theme, Histories of technology and knowledge transfer from East to South, featuring Dr Diego Romero (UC Chile) and Thomas Mitchell (LSE). For more information, please reach out to Dr Anna Cant (a.cant1@lse.ac.uk) or Professor Tanya Harmer (t.harmer@lse.ac.uk) to added to the mailing list.

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Photo Credit: Tanya Harmer/LSE