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Professor Gabriela G. Corona Valencia joins the Department of Latina/Latino Studies at the University of Illinois

This fall, the Department of Latina/Latino Studies welcomes assistant professor Gabriela G. Corona Valencia. Professor Corona Valencia was previously a Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Associate from 2023-2025. Her research interests include histories of eugenics, public health, medicine, reproductive justice politics, and education. Read a Q&A with her to learn more about her work. Read full story Professor Gabriela G. Corona Valencia joins the Department of Latina/Latino Studies at the University of Illinois
Latina/Latino studies professor elected to leadership positions with Latina/x/o Studies Association and Berkshire Conference of Women Historians

Professor Natalie Lira was recently elected to leadership positions within two professional associations, joining other Department of Latina/Latino Studies faculty who serve on professional associations in their fields. Read full story Latina/Latino studies professor elected to leadership positions with Latina/x/o Studies Association and Berkshire Conference of Women Historians
New Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Associates join the Department of Latina/Latino Studies

Saraí Blanco Martinez and Angie C. Bonilla joined the Department of Latina/Latino Studies this fall as the 2025-2026 Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Associates. Read full story New Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Associates join the Department of Latina/Latino Studies

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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/o Migration

Topics discussed include the history of international migration to the United States, the relationship between history and the contemporary context, the development of U.S. immigration policy, the incorporation of Latino immigrants in U.S. society, and immigrant and community responses to migration.

LLS 220

Intro to Latina/o Literature

Survey of literature by and about people of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and other Latina/o descent in the United States.

LLS 242

Race, Sex, and Deviance

Explores how racial stereotypes rely on sexual stereotypes by examining the intersections of ethnic studies, gender and women's studies, and queer studies. Interdisciplinary course that draws from critical legal studies, sociology, anthropology, literary criticism, and history.

LLS 465

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Alumni spotlight: Antonio Ortega ’14 – Instructional Technologist, School of Professional Studies, Northwestern University

Being a first-generation college student, I remember electing Latina/Latino Studies 100 as one of my initial courses during my first fall semester at the University of Illinois. I was so enthralled by what I was learning. The history of the Latino/Latina population in the United States. Subjects and topics that were never discussed in my elementary and high school history classes. The history of “mi gente.” I was so fascinated that I chose Latino/Latina Studies as my second major to go along with my History major. I became an elementary school teacher in the South side of Chicago and took...

Faculty spotlight: Aja Y. Martinez

Aja Y. Martinez' scholarship, published nationally and internationally, makes a compelling case for counterstory as methodology through the well-established framework of critical race theory (CRT).