Dr. Gio B’atz’ (Giovanni Batz) received his PhD in Social Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. He was a 2018-2019 Anne Ray Fellow at the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico where he began working on his book project, entitled “The Fourth Invasion: Decolonizing Histories, Megaprojects and Ixil Resistance in Guatemala”. The book is based on research conducted in Cotzal for the past nine years, where the arrival of megaprojects is referred to as the “new” or “fourth” invasion. B’atz’ will plans to complete his manuscript as a President's Postdoctoral Fellow in Department of Native American Studies, University of California, Davis. B’atz’ has also worked with Guatemalan-Maya youth in Los Angeles, as well as conducting research on migration of K’iche’-Maya from Almolonga, Quetzaltenango. He served as a tutor and facilitator at the Ixil University between 2013 and 2015. In 2016, he received a grant by the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission to raise awareness on the human rights situation.
Welcome Dr. Batz!