Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) is a vibrant interdisciplinary unit devoted to cutting-edge research, teaching, and community engagement focused on Latina/o and Latin American populations.
LALS Keywords Heading link
Transnationalism ÷ Migration ÷ Asylum ÷ Deportation ÷ Remittances
Chicana/Latina Feminist Thought ÷ Latina Popular Feminism(s) ÷ Latinx Soundscapes ÷ Intersectionality ÷ Precarity
Gender ÷ Women of Color Feminisms ÷ Latinx Youth Studies ÷ Education
Violence ÷ Displacement ÷ Criminal Governance
Poetry ÷ Poetic Writing ÷ Creative Human Expression
Latinx Health ÷ Sexuality ÷ Gender Equality
Political thought ÷ Diaspora ÷ Youth Political Engagement ÷ Democratization
Critical Thought ÷ Democracy ÷ The State ÷ Rhetorical Practices ÷ Indigeneity ÷ Environment ÷ Disaster Theory
Colonialism/Postcolonialism ÷ Native Methods ÷ Aztec Culture ÷ Nahuatl
News in LALS Heading link

LALS Fall 2022 Courses Heading link
Check out our Fall 2022 courses!
We are offering a number of exciting courses, including LALS 105 Intro to Nahua Studies. This is a brand new course taught by Prof. Cristían Roa. It surveys key aspects of Aztec (Nahua) society, culture, and language in the era before and during European colonization.
We also have a new faculty member, Prof. Barbara Sostaita, starting in the fall. She will be teaching LALS 286 Issues in Latino Identity, which will be focused on Latina/o religion, and LALS 385 Latino Social Movements in the United States, which will be focused on undocumented social movements.
LALS Events Heading link

Crossing Latinidades Initiative Heading link
The Crossing Latinidades Humanities Research Initiative ignites cross-institutional and cross-regional comparative research, training of doctoral students, and new scholarship in emerging areas of inquiry about Latinos. Funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the initiative serves as the anchor of the consortium of R1 Hispanic Serving Institutions at the University of Illinois at Chicago. LALS faculty Maria de los Angeles Torres and Amalia Pallares are co-principal investigators on the grant.
LALS Alumni Heading link

Eliana Buenrostro, Class of 2020
Ph.D. Student, Department of Ethnic Studies, University of California, Riverside
Degree: M.A. in LALS

Jorge Mena Robles, Class of 2016
Associate Director at UIC Rafael Cintron Ortiz Latino Cultural Center
Degree: M.A. in LALS

Mario Lucero, Class of 2013
Strategy Lead at The Nova Collective
Degree: M.A. in LALS

Liliana Macías, Class of 2019
Chicago Learning Collaborative Manager at the Chicago History Museum
Degree: M.A. in LALS
