About CLAS
Established in 1968 to coordinate University interests in research and teaching on Latin America, the University of Chicago Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) has evolved to become a locus for intellectual exchange and innovation in Latin American studies. The Center organizes and supports various activities that contribute to the richness of Latin American Studies at the University of Chicago and promote public understanding of Latin America. The Center:
- Administers interdisciplinary Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degree programs in Latin American Studies and a joint MA in Latin American Studies/Masters of Business Administration with the Graduate School of Business;
- Coordinates academic workshops, seminars, and conferences;
- Hosts Visiting Professors and Visiting Scholars;
- Provides financial and organizational support for preliminary student field research, library acquisitions, and the teaching of less-commonly taught languages of the region; and
- Organizes outreach events that enhance public understanding of the region.
Distinguished faculty at the University of Chicago have earned recognition for bringing particular thematic programs of study to prominence. The study of Mexico has a venerable history at the University of Chicago, with particular emphasis on the Mexican Revolution; the social study of migration and transnationalism; the political economy of agriculture; democratic consolidation; and election fraud. The study of Caribbean cultures emphasizes Afro-Cuban religious formations, the uneven integration of Afro-Caribbean populations into the world economy, and cultural production and the formation of modern socio-political identities in 19th- and 20th-century Cuba.
For more than 75 years, University of Chicago linguistic anthropologists have led the scholarly study of Latin American indigenous languages, particularly Mesoamerican indigenous languages. University of Chicago scholars are also leaders in the development of instructional resources in Yucatec Maya, K'iche' Maya, N'ahuatl, and Aymara. Faculty from multiple disciplines research and teach on Latina/o studies, with particular emphasis on literary and cultural history, colonial social history, gender and family relations, and Mexican migration to the US. Collaboration between the Center for Latin American Studies and the Human Rights Program sustains research into the relationships between development, migration, and human rights in Latin America, particularly in Mexico and Central America.
The Center facilitates innovative research in Latin American Studies by University of Chicago faculty and graduate students. CLAS sponsors several faculty-led academic conferences each year, bringing scholars from around the world to examine particular issues. The Center also supports graduate student-organized workshops for critical inquiry into pressing issues in Latin American Studies from various disciplinary and professional perspectives, as well as a Brown Bag Colloquium for informal discussions on preliminary results from student and faculty research.
The Center works closely with several of the Graduate Workshops in the Humanities and Social Sciences sponsored by The Council on Advanced Studies. The aim of these workshops is to bring together faculty and graduate students from the University of Chicago and elsewhere in an effort to create scholarly dialogue and to foster exchange of ideas. The workshops are a hallmark of the University of Chicago's interdisciplinary tradition. The Center works directly with the Latin American History Workshop and the Workshop on Latin American Cultures by providing space for their meetings, publicity, and supplementary funding.
In consortium with the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Center for Latin American Studies has been awarded a National Resource Center grant from the United States Department of Education consistently since 1976. This funding provides a wide range of support, including Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships for graduate study.
The Center administers a Tinker Visiting Professorship that complements the traditional strengths of University of Chicago faculty. Through the Tinker Visiting Professorship, CLAS annually brings three or more prominent professors, practitioners, activists, and/or journalists from Latin America and Iberia for brief research and teaching residencies. Tinker Visiting Professors significantly enrich academic life and often develop lasting relationships with faculty and students.
CLAS awards grants to graduate students in support of preliminary field research for site assessment, data collection, archival research, and to establish professional and institutional contacts. The Center also awards summer and academic year fellowships to graduate students for intensive study of the region's less commonly taught languages.
The Center organizes public education outreach programs aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of Latin America. The Center develops teacher training programs for K-12 school teachers, often in partnership with other Chicago-area cultural organizations. Our Latin American Briefing Series brings academic and policy experts and influential business and political leaders together at the University of Chicago to address important contemporary issues in Latin America.
Through our various programs, the Center sponsors activities that contribute to the richness of Latin American Studies on the University of Chicago campus and beyond.
