A photo of high school students visiting KU

Outreach in Our Community

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies serves KU and its surrounding community by organizing events and programs throughout the year. Some of our popular events include our Charla de Merienda series in partnership with Lawrence Talks! and the Commons, Día de los Muertos celebrations, the annual Waggoner Research Colloquium, and Graduate Research Symposium, all of which feature our diverse students, staff and faculty.

We work with other organizations around campus, such as the Hall Center for the Humanities, the Commons, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the Center for East Asian Studies, the Institute of Haitian Studies, the Kansas African Studies Center, the Latin American Student Union, the Latin American Graduate Organization, and many others. We frequently partner with regional higher education institutions like Donnelly College, Haskell Indian Nations University, Johnson County Community College and several others. These partnerships provide programming that showcases the vibrancy, diversity, and complexity of Latin American and Caribbean cultures and languages.

Huitzilopochtli Aztec Dancers with students from KU.

Huitzilopochtli Aztec Dancers with students from KU.

Charla de Merienda on the KU campus.

Charla de Merienda on the KU campus.

Student discussing a special art collection at the Spencer Museum of Art.

Student discussing a special art collection at the Spencer Museum of Art.

Events

A family gathers around a picnic table to pose for a photograph

Coming to the Heartland

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Photo of a Charla de Merienda hosted at The Commons.

Charla de Merienda

Bringing people together to examine topics of local and national interest.

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Charla de Merienda is a new collaborative series that carries forward the tradition of interdisciplinary discussion of research and current affairs in the Latin America and the Caribbean. Moderated by Lawrence Talks! Editor-in-chief, David Tamez, Charla de Merienda – now a podcast – models critical debate through dialogue between members of the academy and community. In collaboration, we bring people together to examine topics of national and local interest. Each discussion begins by examining facts to establish common ground, then guest speakers present prepared remarks (5-7 min), and a moderated community forum follows. It is our hope that this model will raise awareness of the issues concerning the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States and be of interest to: All Ages, Faculty, General Public, Graduate students, Researchers, Staff, Undergraduate Students. Find the Charla de Merienda podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Where to Listen

  • Find the Charla de Merienda podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Links

Attendees listen to a presentation at the Waggoner Research Colloquium

Waggoner Research Colloquium

Bringing people together to examine emerging research in Latin American and Caribbean Studies since 1992.

The Waggoner Research Colloquium is a hallmark of KU’s longstanding commitment to international education and its promotion of international awareness among students and faculty. Along with the presentation of scholarly work, the colloquium provides an opportunity for networking and meaningful exchange among scholars, students, and community members interested in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

This event celebrates and carries on the legacy left by George Waggoner, in whose honor this Colloquium was founded.  Dr. Waggoner was Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences from 1954 until 1975, when he became the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. During his tenure, Dr. Waggoner founded the College Honors Program and established educational ties with universities in the Caribbean and in Central and South America. He was presciently concerned with international programs and development and was instrumental in bringing to KU many of the Latin Americanists who have been instrumental in making our Area Studies Programs so distinguished. CLACS is currently one of 16 centers designated by the United States Department of Education as a National Resource Center in Latin American Studies, and is one of 15 Centers funded by the Tinker Foundation as part of the Tinker Field Research Collaborative.

Attendees listening to graduate student presentations.

Graduate Research Symposium

Bringing people together to learn about emerging graduate research in the field of Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

Every year CLACS hosts a Graduate Research Symposium for graduate students across the University of Kansas to present on topics in their fields. Presentations must be 5 minute (no longer), and can either be prerecorded PowerPoint or Zoom presentations. Presentations should cover the research question or creative challenge that they are investigating, its larger significance, and the conclusions or hypothesis about eventual conclusions that they have made – or a sample of their creative product.

Attendees listed to an author present.

Author Series

Bringing people together to learn about recent publications in the field of Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

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Coming Fall 2021, learn about recent publications in the field of Latin American and Caribbean Studies from faculty affiliated with CLACS.

Photo of día de los muertos dancer performing at a community celebration.

Día de los Muertos

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at KU invites the Lawrence and surrounding communities to join us on Día de los Muertos to celebrate in a safe, socially distanced walk through in South Park featuring: take home crafts for kids, pre-packaged goodies, and a community ofrenda.

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