WSU Student Asked to Speak at International Conference at Princeton

PULLMAN, Wash. — The Latin American Jewish Studies Association invited Washington
State University student Claire Villalpando-Utgaard to speak at its annual research conference
this week at Princeton University.
Villalpando-Utgaard spoke March 15 on “The Construction of Adolf Eichmann and
Argentine National Identity: The Role of the Argentine Jewish Community,” a topic based on her
master’s thesis research.
Her paper examines the response by Argentine Jewish organizations to right-wing
propaganda following the 1960 capture of former Nazi Adolf Eichmann in Argentina. This
propaganda cast the Argentine Jews as ambiguous patriots at best and, at worst, subversive
troublemakers with ties to communism and Zionism. Villalpando-Utgaard’s research is based
mainly on Argentine resources including Jewish association publications, Argentine newspapers
and legislative debates.
“It is a real tribute to the quality of Claire’s research,” said John Kicza, a history professor at
WSU and Villalpando-Utgaard’s thesis director. “Master’s candidates are seldom chosen for
such high-level scholarly programs.”
This is the tenth year of the Latin American Jewish Studies Association’s international
research conference, which looks at historical, sociological, cultural and literary issues of Latin
American Jews.
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