Find your path in Latina/Latino Studies
- Education professor Rochelle Gutiérrez has been named to the National Academy of Education. A professor of curriculum and instruction and of mathematics education, Gutiérrez challenges deficit views of racial minority students and believes that teachers must have more than pedagogical or content knowledge to be successful. An Illinois faculty member since 1996, Gutiérrez also holds appointments in Latino/Latina Studies and the Carl R. Woese... Read full story LLS affiliate professor Rochelle Gutiérrez named to National Academy of Education
- As an oral historian, Illinois history professor, Yuridia “Yuri” Ramírez records the stories of people who have never been written about in history books. “These people have, in some ways, made the most impactful legacies in their communities, and people don’t know who they are,” Ramírez said. Through the ... Read full story Humanities Research Lab courses provide community based research education: Spotlight on LLS affiliate professor Yuridia Ramírez' oral history methods class
- 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... Read full story LLS and anthropology alumna Teresa Ramos named first secretary of Illinois Department of Early Childhood
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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.
Intro Latina/Latino Studies
Interdisciplinary introduction to the basis for a Latina/Latino ethnicity in the United States.
Race, Medicine, and Society
The idea of race has historically been central to how Western cultures conceptualize and think about human difference. This course examines the historical significance of race through one domain of knowledge: medicine.
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.
Mexican-American History
Examination of the history of Mexican Americans living within the United States from the Spanish Conquest to the twentieth century. Explores the process of migration, settlement, assimilation, and discrimination with emphasis on continuity and change in Mexican cultural development.
Latina/o Popular Culture
Provides an introduction to Latina/o popular culture in the United States. Specific modes of popular culture might include mass media, music, film, video, performance, and other expressive forms.
Chicana/Latina Autobiography, Memoir, Testimonio
Focuses on how Chicanas/Latinas describe their own experiences and how they both understand and negotiate their sense of self, and centers on the new crop of memoir and autobiography, as represented in the most recent texts by well-established Chicana writers, such as Sandra Cisneros, Gloria Anzaldúa and Ana Castillo.
Upcoming events
Alumni spotlight: Celina Villanueva, '08, Illinois State Senator
This past summer I was given the opportunity to interview LLS alum Celina Villanueva (BA, ’08, Latina/Latino studies) who represents Illinois' 12th District in the Illinois State Senate. Sen. Villanueva represents much of the southwest side of Chicago, including her home neighborhood of Little Village and other neighborhoods such as Pilsen, Bridgeport, and Brighton Park. She began attending U of I in 2003 and graduated in 2008 with a bachelor’s in Latina/o studies. After completing her bachelor’s degree, she went on to work for the Illinois Migrant Coucil and the Illinois Coalition...
Faculty spotlight: Gilberto Rosas
Gilberto Rosas's research interests include “the state,” racism and its broad complexities, critical ethnography, and experimental writing.