The team
ANNA GRIMALDI
My name is Anna Grimaldi and I'm one of the founders of Thinking Inside the Box. For me, this journey started in 2015, when I first started working with the archive of Latin American Political Pamphlets at Senate House Library. It was my first real encounter with material artefacts of the Latin America's Cold War, and it completely changed the way I understood what I had been studying for so long. As someone committed to creating and nurturing transformative learning experiences, I saw these archives as the perfect vehicle for students to connect with a past not so different to their own realities, and an opportunity to give them new meaning and power in the present..
Vinicius MARIANO De Carvalho
I was led inside the box by Anna Grimaldi, who began her research in the Latin American Political Pamphlets archive at the Senate House Library and introduced me to Julio Cazzasa.
From that first encounter with this fabulous material, I became convinced of the research and pedagogical potential of the boxes' contents. In addition, I was able to revisit a bit of my own history, as a Brazilian who had lived through many of the events documented in the archive.
Together, we began to think about the concepts and practices that led to what is now a consolidated project, defined by collaboration and the collective construction of knowledge and community.
In this project, I was able to see the fusion of what have always been my academic and pedagogical interests: Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Liberation Theology, the history of Latin America, music, art, and international relations.
Thinking Inside the Box is one of my best professional and personal achievements.
julio cazzasca
My journey with the Thinking Inside the Box project began in a very hands-on way, working alongside Anna Grimaldi, who was volunteering at the time, on the Latin American Political Pamphlets collection. I still remember the excitement of those early moments, exploring the material and uncovering its richness together. That curiosity naturally led us to organize the first seminar, where Vinicius de Carvalho joined us. It was during these discussions that Vinicius, Anna, and I began to see the true potential of the collection, and together we took the first steps in shaping the project. When Eleonora Natale joined the team, her energy and ideas added a new spark, and the project began to grow beyond our initial circle. Over time, more people and universities became involved, and watching the project evolve into such a collaborative, vibrant initiative has been deeply rewarding—a journey that continues to inspire me every day.
Eleonora Natale
I still remember my first encounter with Thinking Inside the Box. It was 2021, and I was searching for ways to address a challenge I often saw in my classroom: students seemed detached from the reality of international politics. They could analyse theories and memorise timelines, but the urgency – the human dimension – of those events felt distant. I wanted to help them connect with the political as something lived, contested and deeply relevant. As a Lecturer in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, my research explores how armed forces have shaped life in Latin America – from Cold War dictatorships to the present – and the everyday stories behind conflict, political violence and transitional justice. These are stories of power, oppression and hope, and I wanted students to feel their relevance beyond the textbook.
Thinking Inside the Box felt like the answer: transforming archives into spaces of encounter, where history becomes tangible and political questions come alive. For me, it’s about more than teaching history and research skills; it’s about mentoring with empathy and amplifying underrepresented voices. Together, we aim to create spaces where the past speaks to the present and students rediscover their stake in the political.