Latin American and Latino Studies is an interdisciplinary unit devoted to research, teaching, and community engagement on a variety of areas of study relating to Latinx and Latin American peoples.
LALS Keywords
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
Our research
LALS 101 Introduction to Latin American Studies*
Do you know how notions of clientelism, corporatism, and caudillismo can explain key features of Latin American society?
Can you explain how the cultural constructions of race, class, gender, and ethnicity enable systemic oppression in Latin America?
MW 10:00-10:50 AM Spring 2021
CRN 32897
* Offered fall and spring semesters
LALS 102 Introduction to Latino Studies*
What can you say about the impact that the growth of the Latinx population has on the economy, politics and culture(s) within the US?
Can you explain what is the idea of “Latinidad” and how it has evolved in different historical contexts?
MW 2:00-2:50 PM Spring 2021
CRN 33239
* Offered fall and spring semesters
LALS 103 Intro to Latino Urban Studies*
What do you know about the urban Latino immigrant experiences in the United States?
What can you say about the way in which migrant civic organizations and institutions address issues of civic engagement or social inequality among immigrant communities?
CRN 34441
* Offered in the fall only
LALS 109 Introduction to Latino Cultures
What are you able to tell about the expressive practices and cultural productions of Latinos in the United States?
Do you understand the role of narrative in Latinx cultural identity, the Latinx culture of everyday life, or Latinx handmade commercial and street graphics?
Can you explain the importance of corridos/ballads, proverbs, tales in our culture? What can you say about Latinos in cinema and theater, Latinx amateur sport history and fandom, or Latinx podcasts?
MW 11:00-11:50 AM Spring 2021
CRN 24630
LALS 391 Multiculturalism & Democracy: The Latino Experience
Can you break down the ways that Race and Ethnicity are marshaled to include or exclude people from exercising full citizenship in the US?
Can you participate in reasoned discussion about how a diversity of values and heterogeneous society like the United States can enhance the democratic experience?
Take this class to learn about these and other topics and debates pertaining to the Latino experience in the United States.
CRN 33052
Thursday 3:30 – 6:00 PM Spring 2021
Instructor: Mitzi Ramos (mramos8@uic.edu)
LALS 495 Latino/a Worker Rights in Transnational Perspective
Have you ever considered the interconnections between Living Wage Campaigns and #Fight for $15 Campaigns?
Do you know what wage theft is?
Can you identify best practices for migrant labor organizing?
T-R 11 AM-12:15 PM Spring 2021
Professor Xóchitl Bada (xbada@uic.edu)
Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change: Celebrating Diversity at UIC
LALS Alumni
Eliana Buenrrostro, Class of 2020
Accepted in the Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies, University of California, Riverside
Degree: M.A. in LALS
Jorge Mena, Class of 2016
Assistant Director at La Casa Cultural Latina, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree: M.A. in LALS
Mario Lucero, Class of 2013
Associate Director at UIC Rafael Cintron Ortiz Latino Cultural Center
Previously: Diversity and Inclusion Specialist at Fermilab
Degree: M.A. in LALS
Liliana Macías, Class of 2019
Chicago Learning Collaborative Manager at the Chicago History Museum
Degree: M.A. in LALS
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