Mission and Vision

The mission of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) is to foster greater knowledge, teaching, and research on the history, peoples, environment, languages, and contemporary problems of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Center accomplishes these goals through promoting flexible, multidisciplinary undergraduate studies on the region and helping to provide an expanding range of offerings at the graduate level; conference, grant, and curricular development support for faculty research and teaching; and a full schedule of lectures, events, and films to complement a wide range of academic interests, faculty and student initiatives, and internal and external university affiliations. As a leading center for Latin America and the Caribbean studies with a growing national and international reputation, CLACS encourages vigorous and comprehensive dialogue on key political, economic, and cultural matters related to scholarship and policy concerns regarding Latin America and the Caribbean at all levels of the university and beyond. Brown faculty-student collaboration in all aspects of Latin America and the Caribbean is a hallmark of the Center's activities. In 2006, CLACS was designated as one of 18 Title VI National Resource Centers for Latin American Studies by the U.S. Department of Education.

 

The Center

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) facilitates the study of Latin America from a multidisciplinary perspective.  The undergraduate concentration was first approved in 1973 and was later incorporated into the Center for Latin American Studies (eventually renamed CLACS) after its establishment in November of 1984.

In August 2006, the Center received a U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant to establish an Undergraduate National Resource Center.  The grant awarded the center a total of $214,000 per year over four years. These funds have been used to finance various CLACS programs and initiatives, ranging from new language instruction to increased resources for course development, as well as financial support for faculty attending conferences and conducting research in Latin America. These funds also support the Center's ongoing development of outreach programs in Latin American communitites throughout southern New England, including public schools, businesses, and other constituencies.

Center activities and projects include:

  • The CLACS Lecture Series, in which invited scholars present current research on Latin America
  • Student and Faculty Conferences such as "Changes in the Andes" and, most recently, "Violence in Mexico"
  • The CLACS Film Series, through which the Center offers a wide variety of recent films from Latin America
  • Faculty Colloquia, in which Brown faculty members present their current research on Latin America
  • Dissertation Fellowships offered to graduate students doing work on Latin America
  • Educational Outreach, including sponsorship of MESOLORE, an interactive CD-based educational program on the major civilizations of Mesoamerica, and collaboration with the Watson Institute's CHOICES program, which develops educational materials with a focus on Latin America
  • Support for Visiting Faculty and Scholars who teach courses on Latin America and continue their research while at CLACS