Program Latinx, Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LLACS)

This program’s objective is to prepare intellectual leaders, foment future scholars, and the next generation of local and global citizens. Critical to the LLACS program is understanding how the Americas are connected by shared histories, cultures, political processes, economic currents, migration patterns, social practices and beliefs. Students in this program will develop critical analytic skills and explain how these dynamic processes manifest themselves in the fields of Anthropology, History, Language, Literature, Sociology, Philosophy, Political Science, and Religion. In this program students will demonstrate their understanding of these processes by writing reflection papers, essays, and research papers as well as presenting their research orally. Students will also reflect on these issues by participation in a Dialogue of Civilization. 

Why Latinx, Latin American and Caribbean Studies?

• The Americas and the Caribbean are one of the major epicenters of the modern experience, the place where the Native Peoples of the Western Hemisphere received the contributions of the African, Asian, and European diasporas.
• The Americans and Caribbean Studies is about people and a land with an incredible complex and rich history and culture: From the Haitian to the Cuban Revolutions, to the continuous resistance of the Mapuche and Aymaras; from laureate writers and Mayan poetry to soccer and mega rock & salsa stars.
• Vibrant, local, and global, the Caribbean and the Americas are ever expanding areas of cultural, social and economic change and innovation.
• Since Pre-Columbian times, the Caribbean and the Americas have been at the center of hemispheric movements and current, connected through migration, wars, colonization and trade.
• The US is the second largest Latin American country. By 2050 almost 30% of the population will be Latinx.
• The Latinx are the most influential segment in terms of economic impact in the US, representing a $1.5 trillion dollars consumer market (and counting).
• Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world, and Portuguese the sixth. The US is the country with the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world.
• Many fields of employment, including politics and diplomacy, US & international business, engineering, journalism, service industries, manufacturing, and the arts seek out candidates who possess a strong knowledge of and passion for Latin America.
• Students with knowledge of the Americas and the Caribbean are well-prepared to become effective global citizens, to function in a global environment, and be able to cope with the global impact of the many fast changes taking place in the US and worldwide.