Research Contracts + Fellowships
Julián Esteban Torres López
• Books
• Articles in Peer-Reviewed Academic Journals
• Historical Art Exhibits
• University Graduate Fellowship x3
• Graduate Student International Research Mobility Award
• McNair Research Fellowship
• Hampton Research Endowment Fund x2
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council x2
• Martha Piper Fund
Julián Esteban Torres López has worked as a researcher on numerous projects since 2002. He has been awarded fellowships and grants to conduct research in the humanities and social sciences and has presented his findings at conferences and universities in the US and Canada, as well as provided live analysis on international media. He has also worked as a researcher in the private sector and on a range of social-political projects, which have taken him to Canada, the US, Ecuador, and Colombia.
Selection
Research Contributions to Published Works
Julián’s research contributions were used or led to the following publications:
Julián's book — Reporting on Colombia: Essays on Colombia’s History, Culture, Peoples, and Armed Conflict
• The majority of the research for this book was made possible by the individual research grants he was awarded (see next section).
James Rochlin, Editor — Profits, Security, and Human Rights in Developing Countries: Global Lessons from Canada's Extractive Sector in Colombia, (Routledge, 2017).
• Julián’s research for the grant on Canada, Human Rights, and Colombian Mining, awarded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, 2012-2015, helped secure $200,000 in funding that got this project off the ground, which ultimately led to this book.
"A Golden Opportunity Lost: Canada's Human Rights Impact Assessment and the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia"
• James Rochlin, Author — published in The International Journal of Human Rights, 18(4-5), July 2014, pp. 545-566.
"Colombia's New Left and the Challenges of Security"
• James Rochlin, Author — published in Latin American Perspectives, 39 (1), January 2012, pp. 10-27.
"Who Said the Cold War is Over? The Political Economy of Strategic Conflict Between Venezuela and Colombia"
• James Rochlin, Author — published in Third Word Quarterly, March 2011, pp. 237-260.
Community Mural Program
Legend captions for 1,000+ historical photographs used in nearly 150 graphically-designed community murals installed in 25 U.S. states, Community Mural Program, Wells Fargo, 2013-2015.
Julián was the lead historical researcher for these projects and partnered with historical societies (local, county, state, and national), libraries, and archives to (a) discover the stories that represented each specific community’s legacy, (b) acquire the images and documents to be used in the mural design, and (c) to be able to write the captions.
• The program's mission is to create unique, custom-designed, historical artwork that respects the community’s legacy, celebrates its diversity, and honors the past upon which the community was founded.
• Find a sample below of a legend with captions and design (by Anne Marie Lapitan) for a mural that commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. The mural and legend depict the struggles and triumphs in Montgomery on the road to racial equality, bringing pivotal moments in the Civil Rights Movement to life.
Legend_Montgomery_Civil-Rights-Mural
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Individual Research Grants (Principal Investigator)
"Colombia’s Incessant Armed Conflict"
• University Graduate Fellowship, University of British Columbia Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2013.
"Conflict Resolution in Colombia"
• University Graduate Fellowship, University of British Columbia Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2010-2011.
"Colombian Foreign Relations, Human Rights, Security, and Civil War"
• University Graduate Fellowship, University of British Columbia Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2009-2010.
"The Faces of Colombia’s Armed Conflict"
• Graduate Student International Research Mobility Award, University of British Columbia Faculty of Graduate Studies; Go Global: Int’l Learning Programs, 2009.
"Historical and Socio-Political Influences on the Poetry of Gil Scott-Heron and Saul Williams"
• McNair Research Fellowship, US Department of Education; University of New Hampshire McNair Scholars Program, 2002.
Selection
Research Contracts for Principal Investigator: Dr. James Rochlin
"'Orientalism' in the Andes: Construction of Arab, Chinese, and Russian Identities in Ecuador and Venezuela"
• Co-investigator, Hampton Research Endowment Fund, 2013.
"Human Security and the Colombia-Canada Free Trade Agreement"
• Co-investigator, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, 2012-2013.
"The Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement and Human Rights"
• Co-investigator, Hampton Research Endowment Fund, 2011.
"Petro Power in the Andes: The New Strategic Landscape in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia"
• Co-investigator, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, 2008-2010.
"Strengthening Local Capacity to Track Potential Environmental and Health Impacts of Petroleum Production"
Canadian-Ecuadorian research collaboration.
• Co-investigator, Martha Piper Fund, 2009.
pronounced
hoo-lyáhn
Julián Esteban Torres López (he/him/él) is a bilingual, Colombia-born storyteller, public scholar, and culture architect with Afro-Euro-Indigenous roots. Some of his other intersectional identities also inform his work, such as: atheist, multiply neurodivergent, formerly an undocumented immigrant, (non-visibly) disabled, chronic mental health conditions, Latine/o/x.
SERVICES
With over two decades’ experience in community development and advancing social justice on the ground and in academic, corporate, and nonprofit settings, Julián is available for consulting, public talks, keynotes, workshops, training, coaching, mentorship, and interviews.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Julián is also available to partner with others to advocate for and center, elevate, and amplify the voices, experiences, and concerns of survivors of oppressive systems and dominant cultures.
