History professor Stephen G. Rabe shared his expertise on U.S. and Latin American ties recently with Colombian students in a lecture series given in conjunction with the Fulbright Program.

Dr. Stephen Rabe

Dr. Stephen Rabe said one trip highlight was a lecture at the Academia Diplomática, where Colombians train for diplomatic service.

Over a period of 17 days, Rabe delivered 13 lectures on the history of inter-American relations and on topics in contemporary U.S. history. Rabe lectured at the Universidad Nacional of Colombia in Bogotá, the Universidad de Manizales in the nation’s coffee-growing region and the Universidad de los Andes, a private university in Bogotá. 

“The level of intellectual engagement was incredible,” Rabe said. “The students at the Universidad Nacional were remarkably devoted to their studies of U.S. relations with Latin America.”

Rabe consulted with graduate students on their master’s theses and PhD dissertations and gave several media interviews to journals and newspapers, including El Espectador, a leading Colombian newspaper.

The teaching and lecturing visit was held under the auspices of Colombia’s Fulbright Program.

The Fulbright Commission promotes international understanding through international education. 

“Colombia has one of the largest and most energetic Fulbright programs in the world, sending nearly 100 Colombians to study annually in the United States. Numerous scholars and students from the United States similarly take advantage of Colombia’s excellent educational facilities,” said Rabe.

Another highlight of the trip for Rabe was his lecture at the Academia Diplomática, which trains young Colombians for diplomatic service. Rabe spoke about the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. 

Colombian students listening to a lecture

“The level of intellectual engagement was incredible,” Rabe said of his Colombian students.

“I hope to return to Colombia to teach a course on inter-American relations at the Universidad Nacional.  Facilitating an exchange program between UTD and the Universidad de Manizales would be another goal,” Rabe added.

Rabe has previously worked for the State Department and Fulbright Commission. He has taught seminars on U.S. history over the past 10 years in Brasília and Recife, Brazil, in Buenos Aires and Rio Cuarto, Argentina and in Quito, Ecuador.  Many of his Latin American students have subsequently gone on to graduate study in the United States.

Rabe is an Ashbel Smith Professor at UT Dallas, where he has taught for 36 years. He has written or edited 10 books. Rabe has taught or lectured in 20 countries. He also has served as the Mary Ball Washington Professor of American History at the University College Dublin in Ireland and as the Fulbright Bicentennial Chair in American Studies at the University of Helsinki in Finland.