Welcome to CLACS
* Bienvenido * Boas-vindas * Pasaykamuy *
The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) is an interdisciplinary unit within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences that brings together faculty and students who have a common interest in Latin America and the Caribbean.
CLACS is a National Resource Center in consortium with the University of Chicago Center for Latin American Studies funded by the U.S. Department of Education , through the Title VI program.
The Lemann Institute for Brazilian Studies has been launched in CLACS on October 15th, 2009. The University of Illinois received a major gift from Brazilian financier and entrepreneur Jorge Paulo Lemann to establish an Institute of Brazilian Studies. The purpose of the Institute is to:
Promote research on Brazil by members of the faculty; encourage collaborative research between U of I faculty and Brazilian colleagues; organize periodic conferences on Brazilian topics; promote instruction on Brazilian topics in various disciplines; promote the study of the Brazilian Portuguese language and literature; facilitate visits to Brazil by U of I students and faculty, and visits to the U of I by Brazilian scholars and students.
CLACS offers Master's and Bachelor's degrees as well as undergraduate and graduate minors, in Latin American Studies. The Center itself has also offered instruction in Quechua, the most widely-spoken Native American Language, for more than 20 years.
Among our many activities, we attract speakers and visiting scholars from Latin Americaand the Caribbean; organize cultural and educational activities; and sponsor travel and field research.
Through colleges and departments across the campus, we seek to support and enlarge an interdisciplinary faculty who maintain an active research agenda and teach courses on Latin American subjects. We support faculty and graduate student research , travel, and dissemination of research results.
We promote the presentation of Latin American art, literature, music, and scholarly research to the larger community through exhibits, performances, and lectures. We also assist the Latin American and Caribbean Library collection at the University Library in purchasing teaching and research materials.
Finally, we sponsor conferences, symposia, colloquia, the Latin American Film Festival and Outreach programs on current affairs and other matters of scholarly and general interest.
Photo Album
The new CLACS Photo Album, includes photos of our CLACS Receptions, Lecture Series, Spanish Time, Fairs, Conferences and more.