Dr. Mariana Katz

Biography

Mariana Katz is a historian of modern Latin America, specializing in nineteenth-century Paraguay and the broader Río de la Plata region. Her research and teaching interests encompass the histories of labor, slavery, indigeneity, and popular politics in Latin America. Originally from Argentina, she began her academic journey at the University of Buenos Aires and went on to earn her PhD in History from Columbia University in 2025. Her work has been supported by organizations such as the Social Science Research Council, the New York Public Library, and Yale University’s Beinecke Library. Katz is currently working on a book, tentatively titled 'Labor State: Unfree Workers Making Paraguay’s Republic (1811-1864),' which examines the role of labor coercion in the formation of new republics, with a focus on Paraguay—a state that mobilized unfree labor to an unparalleled extent in Latin America. This project blends social and political history and investigates the lives, labor, and actions of enslaved individuals, tributaries, convicts, soldiers, and drafted peasants who contributed to the Paraguayan republic. Katz's research reveals how workers leveraged their positions within the state's labor force to challenge authorities and secure resources. Overall, 'Labor State' argues that labor coercion is not merely a relic of the colonial past but a tool for capital accumulation and central to the establishment of sovereign polities in post-independence Latin America. Additionally, she is developing a separate research project on the history of political movements led by indigenous Guaraní people in the borderlands of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.

Research Interests

Experience