Laura Helena Arraya Pareja

Laura Helena Arraya Pareja is a PhD candidate in Andean History at FLACSO Ecuador, where she is working on her dissertation “Cascos y relinchos urbanos: equinos y humanos en las formaciones de ciudades altoandinas (1840–1940).” Her research interests combine history with clinical psychology, and she has pursued master’s degrees in cultural studies, equine therapy, and communication for people with disabilities. Laura is currently working on environmental and animal history in the Andes during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Her research focuses on the interactions between humans and horses in urban and scientific contexts, exploring how these relationships formed everyday life and the production of scientific knowledge. 

 She was awarded a CAPES fellowship in Brazil and has received distinctions such as the Alberto Crespo Rodas Award for Academic Excellence and the Fortaleza Paceña Award. She has published numerous articles on water frontiers, mobility, workers’ theater, and anarchism, and  well as historical essays in the Bolivian press. She is currently developing the project “Horseshoes in Science: The Role of Equine Veterinary Medicine in Shaping Scientific and Military Thought in the Andes (19th Century)” as a predoctoral fellow in Department Artifacts, Action, Knowledge.

At the MPIWG, Laura is a "First Research Article" Fellow.