The LLS Symposium, Colloquium Series, and Alumni Lecture Series are just three of the many ways that the Department engages the community with contemporary Latina/o Studies scholarship and creative work. Through these events we bring prominent Latina/Latino Studies scholars, artists, and writers to campus each year to present on their current projects. The lectures and symposia have focused on areas such as literature, performance art, film, social activism, history, and more.
The LLS symposium was inaugurated in April 2014 with the symposium titled "Vulnerable Bodies: Latino Health, Migration, and Security." The two-day event brought scholars from across the United States and Mexico to examine the combined impacts of immigration and security policies on the lives of Latin American immigrants. Since 2014 we have had two more symposia–"Being Brown, Being Down: Performances of Spic & Span" Symposium and "Death by Policing: Race, State Violence, and the Possibility of Justice" Symposium." The Being Brown Symposium in April 2016 pushed participants to consider how performance operates as a political force in the face of violence against queer and racial others. The Death By Policing Symposium in April 2018 focused on the notion of “death by policing,” that is, the idea that state-involved racialized deaths are a function of the way bodies of color are policed in American society. All of the symposia attracted diverse audiences of students, faculty and off-campus community members.
The Colloquium Series is a venue for Latina/Latino Studies postdoctoral fellows and faculty from outside the University of Illinois to share their scholarly work. And the newest LLS program, the Alumni Lecture Series, brings Latina/Latino alumni back to campus to talk about their current professional experiences.
All of these programs function as important forums for intellectual exchange on Latina/Latino issues.
See LLS calendar for upcoming lectures and events.
