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Community Resources
We've put together a list of campus, local, and national resources on harassment and discrimination, immigration, and wellness to support our community.
- 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
- Richard Flores Jardines, a senior Latina/Latino studies and political science major with a minor in minoritarian aesthetics, received second place for an undergraduate research talk at the 2026 Illinois Summer Research Symposium (ISRS). Read full story
- An interdisciplinary group of faculty members, including faculty from the Department of Latina/Latino Studies, have received a grant from the Center for Advanced Study at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to study sanctuary spaces and borderlands. Their first event is on October 8. Read full story
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Why Study Latina/Latino Studies?
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Why Study Latina/Latino Studies?
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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.
Follow the Department of Latina/Latino Studies on social media for updates, photos, and more!
Upcoming events
Alumni Spotlight
Angelica Sanchez ’15 – Garden Educator and Community Engagement Associate
The Latinx/a/o Studies Department, that I once knew was revolutionary at the minimum and the reason for that was their mighty tenderness and willingness to support students at the student's convenience. They (Alicia Rodriquez, dear Laura, Professor Sandra Ruiz, and Professor Lisa Cacho) deeply believed in our success by any means necessary.
While organizing around Affordable Housing to working within the Cook County Forest Preserves, I have heard organizations speak to centering the most affected, but contrary to this belief many people/organizations misplace this understanding and struggle...
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.