About Us

 

Meet the Director

 

PLEASE ACCEPT OUR WARM WELCOME to the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS) at The University of Texas at Austin. Our interdisciplinary program integrates more than 30 academic departments and over 170 faculty across the university, offering programs that lead to BA, MA, and PhD degrees, as well as a range of dual MA degree programs, including Community and Regional Planning, Law, the LBJ School of Public Affairs, Geography and the Environment, and Social Work. As a designated Title VI National Resource Center for Latin American studies and languages, we are supported by the U.S. Department of Education in providing training and public engagement programs in Latin American area studies and languages.

In 2011, LLILAS established a partnership with the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection, one of the world’s premiere repositories of Latin American and U.S. Latina/o materials. LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections, the partnership between LLILAS and the Benson, pairs the abundant scholarly resources of the collection with the teaching and research focus of the institute. The partnership has opened exciting new opportunities in the digital humanities, as well as meaningful collaborations with partners in Latin America, and holds the promise of becoming a model for the global public university of the twenty-first century.

Socially engaged scholarship is a core principle of our degree programs. We sponsor a wide array of scholarly programs throughout the academic year, including symposia, panels, lectures, faculty book talks, workshops, and the signature Lozano Long Conference, which draws international participants. LLILAS addresses current events of critical interest to the Latin Americanist and Latina/o communities via the foro urgente, a high-profile forum involving scholars and members of the community.

LLILAS Benson maintains one of world’s largest collections of digital assets on Latin American Studies, which includes unique archives in the areas of human rights, indigenous languages, and the first books published in the Americas. A growing emphasis on digital scholarship complements the analog resources of the library, the classroom, and the field. The use of these digital sources in teaching, research, and learning greatly expands our scholarly horizons, and their content reinforces the LLILAS commitment to socially engaged scholarship.

Through our programs, Latin Americanist faculty and students across campus have the opportunity for collaboration beyond the disciplinary bounds. Beginning in 2020, COVID-19 has brought awareness of the urgent need to think globally and conceive effective strategies to find concerted solutions, without neglecting the importance of specific regions. The pandemic has also taught us that academia cannot be isolated from civic life. This is exactly what LLILAS Benson has pursued throughout the years: meaningful engagements with the world at large by nurturing a deep connection of place. More than ever, we need to reassert the relevance of Latin American Studies to illuminate the role of Latin America in diversifying and expanding our comprehensive knowledge of science, history, and the arts.

As you peruse this website, please don’t hesitate to contact us directly if you have any questions.

With best wishes,

Adela Pineda Franco
Director, Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies
Lozano Long Professor of Latin American Literary and Cultural Studies