Spring 2025 Courses

LACS 10200 (ANTH 10200; CEGU 10200; CHST 10200; HIST 17910; RDIN 10200)
Diana Schwartz Francisco
T 2:00-4:50 PM

This course explores the city of Chicago’s Latin American and Caribbean roots by considering hemispheric connections, both in the city at large and at the University of Chicago. Students will analyze 1) the ways Latin(e/x) American actors have participated in and shaped Chicago’s political economy, 2) how Latine/xs on both sides of the US-Mexico border have impacted and been impacted by social thought at the University of Chicago, 3) the collection and display of Latin American material culture in several of the city’s museums, and 4) Latin(e/x) American civil and human rights activism in the city. The course will move through the city chronologically as well as geographically over the long twentieth century.

Some specific events and themes we will cover include: the Latin American & Caribbean presence at the 1893 Columbian Exposition and the 1933 Century of Progress; early 20th-century Mexican community development and organizing around South Chicago’s steel industry; the Chicago School of Sociology’s fascination with Mexican migrants and Chicago Anthropology’s enchantment with Mesoamerica and Indigenous modernity; the Field Museum and Newberry Libraries as sites of Latin American “collection”; the Chicago School of Economics’ exportation of neoliberal reforms in Chile during the 1970s; and broader Latine transnational and civil rights activism during the late 20th century including the Young Lords, Chilean exiles in the 1970s, and sanctuary politics.

LACS 10201 (ANTH 10201; CEGU 10201; CHST 10201; RDIN 10201)
René Flores
W 2:30-5:20 PM

Since the early 1900’s, thousands of Latin Americans have made Chicago their home. Today, approximately one-third of Chicagoans trace their roots to Latin America. These significant demographic flows raise critical questions: Why have Latin Americans moved to Chicago? How have they adapted to the city? How have they influenced it? This course will expose students to the latest social science research on contemporary immigration with a strong focus on Latinos in Chicago. We will explore its origins, adaptation patterns, and long-term effects on our city.

To explore the Latino experience in Chicago, the course will focus on three communities: Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Venezuelans. These three groups migrated to Chicago during distinct periods, with Mexicans arriving in the early 1900s, Puerto Ricans in the 1940s, and Venezuelans in 2023. This temporal variation will enable us to investigate how the evolving social, economic, and political conditions in Chicago have influenced immigrants' experiences.

The ongoing arrival of thousands of immigrants from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and other South American nations to Chicago since the summer of 2023 has heightened the urgency of addressing these issues. In recent months, Professor Flores has collaborated with various city and civic organizations to facilitate the settlement of these immigrants. He will utilize his experiences working with these groups to provide context to this ongoing crisis. Guest speakers, including immigrants, activists, and city officials, will be part of the class.

LACS 10202 (ANTH 10202; CEGU 10202; CHST 10202; LACS 10202; RDIN 10202)
Sergio Delgado Moya
Th 2:00-4:50 PM

This course is an overview of the Latinx arts in Chicago. It explores artworks and artmaking as documents and critical fictions created in response to the social realities of urban Latinx populations in the U.S. and in Chicago in particular. It challenges students to think about (Latinx) art and the humanities under two modalities: as privileged arenas for understanding experience and exploring the values that guide a society, and as economic engines and instruments of political intervention.

The course pursues these objectives though the study of the Latinx arts in Chicago, and through immersive engagements with local institutions where Latinx art operates (as historical object, as tool for social change, as fruit and seed of creative process, as instrument for economic development).

Using the work of Latinx artists, curators, filmmakers, and other cultural brokers based in Chicago, the course studies artworks in the context of the social realities that gave rise to these works.

LACS 12200 (PORT 12200)
Alan Parma
MWF 12:30-1:20 PM

This course is intended for speakers of Spanish to develop competence quickly in spoken and written Portuguese. In this intermediate-level course, students learn ways to apply their Spanish language skills to mastering Portuguese by concentrating on the similarities and differences between the two languages. Students with a placement of 20100 or higher in any of the other Romance Languages are eligible to take PORT 12200 for completion of the College Language Competency Requirement

LACS 14500 (PORT 14500)
Alan Parma
MWF 11:30-12:20 PM

LACS 16300 (HIST 16103; SOSC 26300; ANTH 23103, CRES 16103)

Section 1: TR 11:00 – 12:20PM with Brodwyn Fischer

Section 2: TR 2:00 – 3:20PM with Brodwyn Fischer

Section 3: TR 9:30 – 10:50PM with Diana Schwartz Francisco

Section 4: TR 9:30 – 10:50PM with Victoria Saramago

May be taken in sequence or individually. This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. Spring Quarter course, on the series of Latin American Civilization courses, focuses on the twentieth century, with special emphasis on the challenges of economic, political, and social development in the region.

LACS 16460 (ARTH 16460)
TBD
TBD

LACS 20310 (SPAN 20310)
Maria Lozada Cerna
MW 1:30-2:50 PM

LACS 20401 (KREY 20400; CHST 20400; RDIN 20410)
Gerdine Ulysse
W 4:30-6:20 PM

LACS 21001 (CHST 21001; CRES 21001; DEMS 21001; HIST 29304; HMRT 21001; LLSO 21001; SOSC 21001)
TBD
TBD

LACS 21100 (SPAN 21100)
TBD
MW 1:30-2:50 PM

LACS 21500 (PORT 21500)
Juliano Saccomani
MWF 11:30-12:20 PM

LACS 21900 (RDIN 21905; SPAN 21905)
Carlos Halaburda
TTh 11:30-12:20 PM

LACS 22005 (RDIN 22005; SPAN 22005)
Agnes Lugo-Ortiz
MW 3:00-4:20 PM

LACS 23525 (SPAN 23525)
Jean Vallejo Gonzalez
TTh 3:30-4:50 PM

LACS 25810/35810 (ARTH 25810/35810)
TBD
TBD

LACS 27025 (GNSE 23173; SPAN 27025)
Laura Colaneri
TTh 2:00-3:20 PM

LACS 27200 (PORT 27200)
Thomaz Amancio
TTh 12:30-1:50 PM

LACS 29299 (FREN 29301; KREY 29300)
Gerdine Ulysse
MW 3:00-4:20 PM

LACS 29700

Students and instructors can arrange a Reading and Research course in Latin American Studies when the material being studied goes beyond the scope of a particular course, when students are working on material not covered in an existing course or when students would like to receive academic credit for independent research.

LACS 29299
Diana Schwartz Francisco
F 9:30-12:20 PM

This second part of the BA Colloquium, which is led by the LACS BA Program Adviser, continues to assist students in formulating approaches to the BA capstone project and developing their research and writing skills, while providing a forum for group discussion and critiques.

Must be a 4th year major in Latin American Studies to enroll

LACS 29900

Independent study course intended to be used by 4th year BA students who are writing the BA thesis.

LACS 33710 (SPAN 33710)
Agnes Lugo-Ortiz
Th 2:00-4:50 PM

LACS 38810 (CMLT 38810; SPAN 38810)
Larissa Brewer-Garcia
T 9:30-12:20 PM

LACS 38810 (CEGU 45000; SPAN 45000)
TBD
T 12:30-3:20 PM

LACS 40100