The Latin American Studies program offers insight into Latin America’s vibrant ethnic and cultural diversity and deepens students’ understanding of the region’s historical and political relationship with the U.S., Europe and beyond. Our program helps students become informed global citizens by expanding their knowledge of this important region and by promoting cultural awareness as well as a critical international perspective.

The Latin American Studies minor engages students from a variety of majors (Anthropology, Biology, Business and Economics, Environmental Studies, Film Studies, History, Politics and International Relations, Spanish) with a particular interest in Latin America. Our program prepares students who intend to work in businesses or organizations with connections to Latin America or Latino/a communities as well as students who plan to pursue graduate degrees with an emphasis in this area. 

Spotlight on Recent Events

Wednesday Apr 24th, 2024

CoSA 2024: Celebration of Student Achievement

Every April, we reschedule classes for a day so every student can participate in the Celebration of Student Achievement (CoSA). The day is filled with talks, poster presentations, and performances from hundreds of students from every discipline, from first-year students to seniors.

Friday Mar 15th, 2024

Latin American Art Series: The Decolonial Turn in Latinx Art

Tatiana Reinoza will revisit Latin American theories of mestizaje and consider how they can shift in meaning for Latinx artists in the U.S. diaspora.

Thursday Sep 28th, 2023

Conversations About and Across Difference Lunch

Today’s Topic: “How can we honor and support Latinx and Afro-Latinx cultures without appropriation?”

Monday Apr 10th, 2023

An Absent Center, a Violent Border: Hollywood and the Idea of Mexico

A talk by Dr. Matthew Bush on US cinematographic imaginary on the US-Mexican border.

Tuesday Mar 21st, 2023

Rewritings in Contemporary Spanish American Fiction: New Ways of Approaching the Past

(and Building New Worlds for the Future) 
by Chilean author María José Navia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Tuesday Mar 14th, 2023

The First Ornithologist of the New World: Afro-Latino Santiago de Cárdenas and his Scientific-Literary Dialogue

Join the Modern Languages Department for a talk by Martina Thorne (Georgetown University).

Wednesday Sep 14th, 2022

The Fruits of Empire: Art, Food, and the Politics of Race in the Age of American Expansion

Dr. Shana Reisig Klein (Kent State University) will give a public talk based on her recently published monograph,The Fruits of Empire: Art, Food, and the Politics of Race in the Age of American Expansion (University of California Press, 2020), a history of American expansion through the lens of art and food. 

Wednesday Mar 23rd, 2022

Bisabuelo: Narrating Japanese Migration to Mexico

Jumko Ogata-Aguilar, an AfroJapanese Mexican and pocha writer, explores Japanese migration to Mexico through the lives of three men, including her great-grandfather.

Friday Dec 3rd, 2021

Hora de café

This event is geared towards learning about upcoming initiatives to support Latinx students at Ursinus. All are welcomed! Meets first Friday of every month.

Friday Nov 5th, 2021

Hora de café

This event is geared towards learning about upcoming initiatives to support Latinx students at Ursinus. All are welcomed! Meets first Friday of every month.

Thursday Oct 14th, 2021

History of the Incas and Indigenous Sovereignty: Two Cases in Colonial Peru, 1722-1758

A Baden lecture by Jose Eduardo Cornelio, Assistant Professor of Modern Languages

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