Polly Lauer

Polly Lauer is a doctoral candidate in modern Latin American History. She researches Indigenous media from the mid-twentieth century to the present. Her dissertation, “Struggling for Air: The Politics of Survival in a Maya K’iche’ Radio Station, 1959-2020,” examines the history of the oldest Maya K’iche’ radio station in Guatemala. This interdisciplinary project draws on media theory, Indigenous history, and agrarian studies. Her research has been supported by a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship, the Tinker Foundation, the MacMillan Center, and the Yale History Department. 

 

At Yale, Polly has coordinated the Program in Agrarian Studies, the Latin American History Speaker Series, the Approaches to Recent and Contemporary History Working Group, and the Latin American Studies Working Group. She has also served on departmental committees and is a member of a K’iche’ language conversation group. She graduated summa cum laude from William & Mary in 2017 with a B.A. in History and Latin American Studies.