Historian · Journalist · Speaker
Mila Burns is Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at Lehman College and of History at the Graduate Center, CUNY, where she is associate director of the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies (CLACLS). She is an author, journalist, and public speaker.
Speaking topics
Dictatorship across borders
Brazil’s role in the 1973 Chilean coup and what regional networks reveal about the South American Cold War.
Telenovelas and soft power
How Brazilian telenovelas reached Cuban living rooms, and what screens do to politics and everyday life.
Samba, gender and resistance
Dona Ivone Lara, Sorriso Negro, and Black women’s music in the last years of the Brazilian dictatorship.
The power of not knowing
Interdisciplinary thinking for students, educators and professionals, drawn from journalism and history.
Featured talk · TEDxCUNY
The Power of Not Knowing
A case for curiosity and interdisciplinary thinking, from the newsroom to the archive. Watched more than 25,000 times.
Books
Dictatorship across Borders
UNC Press, 2025
Dona Ivone Lara’s Sorriso Negro
Bloomsbury, 2019
Dona Ivone Lara: Sorriso Negro
Editora Cobogó, 2021
Nasci para Sonhar e Cantar
Editora Record, 2009
Speaking and public engagements
Invite Mila to speak
Keynotes, lectures, book talks and moderated conversations, in English, Portuguese and Spanish.
mila.burns@lehman.cuny.edu · Instagram and LinkedIn: @milaburns
