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Professor Mirelsie Velázquez elected to leadership of Puerto Rican Studies Association

She'll serve as vice president from 2027-28, before serving as president in 2029-30. She currently serves on the executive committee of the association as an at-large representative. Read full story
Isabel Molina Guzmán and Angharad N. Valdivia awarded National Communication Association Charles H. Woolbert Research Award

Professors Isabel Molina-Guzmán and Angharad N. Valdivia have been awarded the Charles H. Woolbert Research Award from the National Communication Association for their article "Brain, Brow, and Booty: Latina Iconicity in U.S. Popular Culture". Read full story
Community organizing facilitates healing for Latina/o communities, study finds

A new study co-authored by Saraí Blanco Martinez found that participating in community organizing can increase civic agency and promote healing for Latina/o communities. Read full story

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Why Study Latina/Latino Studies?

Professor Mirelsie Velázquez shares the value of the major, favorite spots in Champaign-Urbana, and why the Latina/Latino studies department is the best kept secret on campus in an interview with the College of LAS.

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Highlighted Courses

Intro Latina/Latino Studies

Interdisciplinary introduction to the basis for a Latina/Latino ethnicity in the United States.

LLS 100

Latina/os on the Bronze Screen

Critical, historical, and theoretical exploration of Latina/o representations in U.S. film from the 1900s to the present. Examination of cinematic representations as well as the social, political, and cultural context in which those representations are produced.

LLS 250

Latinas/os & Public Policy

Examines the effectiveness of current U.S. public policies in addressing the social, economic, and political problems affecting Latina/o individuals and communities. Specifically, it evaluates current policy in the areas of public assistance, fair housing, criminal justice, immigration enforcement, and reproductive health.

LLS 368

Race, Medicine, and Society

Examine the historical significance of race through medicine. Specifically, it will be concerned with "race" as a central category in the medical construction and management of individuals and populations. Case studies might focus on colonial medicine, race and public health, sexuality and reproduction, global health disparities, and genetics and genomics.

LLS 479

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Alumni Spotlight

LLS and anthropology alumna Teresa Ramos, (BA, ’04; MA, ’08; PhD, ’12), first secretary of the Illinois Department of Early Childhood

LLS and anthropology alumna Teresa Ramos (BA, ’04; MA, ’08; PhD, ’12; anthropology with a minor in Latina/Latino studies) has been named the first secretary of the Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC). Ramos is currently the first assistant deputy governor for education in Governor JB Pritzker’s office. Pending state Senate approval, Ramos will begin her new role in January and the department will be fully operational by the summer of 2026. The department combines programs currently overseen by several other state agencies including oversight and funding of preschool programs and...

Faculty Spotlight

Elena Guzman

Elena Guzman is an Afro-Boricua documentary filmmaker, educator, and anthropologist. She is currently writing her book manuscript tentatively titled, "Chimera Geographies: Spiritual Borderland Performances of the Afro-Caribbean," which focuses on the way Black women and non-binary people throughout the African diaspora use ritual performance in African diaspora religions.

Department of Latina/Latino Studies