News & Events
May 23, 2025
UCSC Graduate Students Help Preserve Dolores Huerta’s Legacy Through Archival Fellowship
May 2, 2025
"The Humanities Institute and a grant from the Mellon Foundation “Expanding Latinx Studies at and beyond UC Santa Cruz” supported J. Ramos (Literature PhD student), Brittney Jimenez (LALS PhD student), and Stephanie Shugert Peña (LALS PhD student) with a fellowship for over 50 hours of archival training and travel to Bakersfield, California to participate in the Huerta Center Scholars Alternative Spring Break program at the Dolores Huerta Foundation."
New book explains the public health costs of prisons and policing
April 8, 2025
Assistant Professor Carlos Martinez's latest co-edited book explores the public health impacts of punitive policing, incarceration, and deportation policies and describes how the abolitionist health justice movement is working toward a new, more just vision of “safety” that protects, rather than harms, the health and wellbeing of our society’s most vulnerable people.
Rooted in community
February 21, 2025
Alumna Dora Maria Beyer (Merrill ’09, Latin American & Latino studies, politics) was recently named one of Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 for her work assisting low-income communities as director of community development with Excite Credit Union.
Professor Catherine S. Ramírez selected as a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar
February 20, 2025
Catherine S. Ramírez, a UC Santa Cruz professor and chair of the Latin American and Latino Studies Department, was one of 15 thought leaders selected from top universities across the country to become a 2025-2026 Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar.
Embedding equity in the financial sector
January 17, 2025
UC Santa Cruz alumna Alina I’vette Fernandez has built a career helping America’s largest banks operationalize their values and environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. Her work helps C-suite leaders understand the implications of their decisions for both employees and the communities they serve.
Recognizing outstanding faculty and staff in the Division of Social Sciences
October 8, 2024
Social Sciences Dean Katharyne Mitchell and award committee members recently announced the recipients of the 2024 Social Sciences Division faculty and staff awards, which are dedicated to honoring significant contributions to teaching, research excellence, and student support.
Social Sciences Division welcomes new faculty
October 7, 2024
UC Santa Cruz’s Social Sciences Division is welcoming 10 outstanding new faculty members this academic year.
LALS Alum Nik Altenberg in Santa Cruz Local: "Rats, high rents plague UC-owned Hilltop Apartments in Santa Cruz"
October 7, 2024
"Several tenants at the University of California-owned Hilltop Apartments on Western Drive in Santa Cruz said they have dealt with rats, raised rents, and questionable charges related to utilities and parking from a multinational property management company. "
LALS presence at the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) Conference in Bogota, Colombia, June 12-15, 2024
September 20, 2024
Faculty and doctoral students from the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) attended the LASA Conference themed "Reaction and Resistance: Imagining Possible Futures in the Americas."
New public archives will share wisdom, artifacts from Dolores Huerta’s lifetime of successful social change leadership
June 18, 2024
UC Santa Cruz received a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to help establish new public archives documenting the legacy of social justice activist Dolores Huerta, through a partnership with the Dolores Huerta Foundation. UCSC will hire a project archivist and two new postdoctoral scholars to support development of Huerta’s archives and to produce related research and education materials.
LALS student Sofia Trigueros Ufford among 2024 Norris Center Award Winners
June 18, 2024
LALS major Sofia Trigueros Ufford will use her Norris Center Undergraduate Award to help fund a trip to Costa Rica to continue her research on herpetology and create bilingual educational materials for elementary school students in Costa Rica.
The UCSC Arts Division presents Los Mejicas annual Spring show ‘Grupo Folklorico’
May 20, 2024
As one of the oldest organizations on campus, Los Mejicas has over half a century of bringing people together to celebrate their Mexican heritage. Their upcoming annual spring show, which marks the 52nd anniversary of the groups existence, celebrates traditional dance forms from six different regions in Mexico.
LALS Chair co-edits "The Border is the Crisis: Reflections on the Centenary of the Immigration Act of 1924"
May 18, 2024
"In this series commissioned by Catherine S. Ramírez and A. Naomi Paik, contributors examine the legacy of the Immigration Act of 1924 and the simultaneous launching of the Border Patrol, which, together, inaugurated the most restrictive era of US immigration history until our own."
Professor Carlos Martinez receives honorable mention for Yamashita Prize
May 3, 2024
Trained in public health and medical anthropology, Dr. Martinez’s research examines the health consequences and sociocultural implications of migrant policing, deportation, our fractured asylum system, environmental injustice, and the global War on Drugs. His primary research project has consisted of long-term ethnographic fieldwork examining how U.S. asylum deterrence and deportation policies have transformed the U.S.-Mexico borderland region into a zone of captivity for asylum seekers and Mexican deportees.
Three UC Santa Cruz faculty members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
April 26, 2024
Three professors at the University of California, Santa Cruz were elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies.
LALS Alum Nik Altenberg on lawsuit that forces ICE to release policy documents
February 15, 2024
Nik Altenberg (LALS '23) writes for KQED News: "Federal immigration authorities will soon be required to release a trove of documents that have until now been shielded from public view."
LALS Researcher Cinthya Martinez presents preview screening of "Ghosts of Adelanto & the Rise of Abolish ICE"
February 5, 2024
Preview screening February 20, 2024, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM @ Landmark's Del Mar Theater. Use headline link to RSVP.
LALS Graduate Student Edward Salazar Celis on colonial legacies and the Met Museum
February 2, 2024
"While containing fascinating objects from across the world that span seven centuries, the cultural institution reinforces the history of fashion as a linear, triumphalist European and colonial narrative."
LALS Professor examines how policy changes have "erected a bureaucratic wall against asylum seekers"
December 12, 2023
Latin American and Latino Studies Assistant Professor Carlos Martinez examines how US government "policies have produced deadly conditions for asylum seekers by calibrating time and space in such a way that increases their exposure and vulnerability to highly precarious environments and predatory bureaucracies."
LALS Professor Sylvanna Falcón addresses the ethics of mapping migrant violence
November 7, 2023
Falcón details how her Human Rights Investigations Lab team considered how to ethically, and visually, share their research of human rights violations with the public.
LALS Graduate Student selected for inaugural Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund
September 22, 2023
LALS PhD candidate Juan Carlos Dávila Santiago wins funding and other support for his documentary film, _When Reggaeton Was a Crime_, which examines how "policymakers targeted Reggaeton artists as part of an anti-crime initiative in Black Puerto Rican neighborhoods" by exploring the "experiences of the artists who influenced Bad Bunny."
LALS Professor interviewed about drug use and harm reduction for Univision 14
September 21, 2023
LALS Assistant Professor Carlos Martinez talks to Univision 14 about his work with SF AIDS Foundation and the National Harm Reduction Coalition examining the conditions, challenges, and barriers impacting Latino/x people who use drugs in San Francisco.
LALS Chair Catherine Ramírez interviewed in Smithsonian series on Latino Futurism
August 11, 2023
Professor Ramírez talks Latino Futurism in this series that presents "stories of Latino history, culture, and people at the heart of aviation and space"
LALS Professor calls out xenophobic and anti-immigrant reporting
July 22, 2023
Professor Carlos Martínez and co-author Laura Guzman explain: "The focus of this [San Francisco Chronicle] series feeds into a longstanding xenophobic and anti-immigrant tradition that has re-emerged with every new drug scare in the United States"
LALS Professor condemns Biden administration asylum reforms
July 21, 2023
"Rather than continuing to repudiate asylum seekers, the Biden administration can break with counterproductive and destructive asylum policies and rectify the harms they’ve produced," says LALS Assistant Professor Carlos Martinez.
LALS Chair Catherine Ramírez interviewed for the Misma Project
July 3, 2023
Professor Ramírez talks Latinxfuturism and redefining assimilation in this biweekly podcast on the US Latina experience.
LALS Professor interviewed for documentary: The Mapuche and the Myth of Chile
June 30, 2023
Professor Fernando Leiva contributed to this film by Sanjiev Johal that "examines how race and racism have shaped the myths used to forge the nation of Chile from the early 19th century to the present day."
LALS Professor highlights links between Zoot Suit Riots & attacks on LGBTQ+ people
June 15, 2023
Professor Catherine Ramírez links 1943 Zoot Suit Riots with 2023 Drag Show Bans: "Rigid gender norms based on clothing and appearance have made those who transgress them targets for rage and state-sanctioned violence."
LALS PhD Mauricio Ramírez shares his research on San Francisco's Central American murals
April 25, 2023
Dr. Mauricio Ramírez, a postdoctoral scholar in the UC Davis Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies, gives a talk about his ongoing research for a book on U.S.-Central American Murals of San Francisco
Extractivism and Society Research Cluster Launches Blog Series
January 3, 2023
"[A]t this historical juncture of profound geopolitical realignments, prolonged crises of global neoliberalism, and deepening socio-ecological catastrophes, producing knowledge to better understand and more effectively transform the world, is more necessary than ever."
LALS Chair Catherine Ramírez interviewed in "A guide to how words like Hispanic and Latinx came about"
October 18, 2022
"Although culturally diverse, Hispanics rallied in the 1960s for a unifying term that would grant them census representation and governmental support in education and health care," said Catherine S. Ramírez, chair of the Latin American and Latino Studies program at the University of California at Santa Cruz.
LALS Graduate Student Interviewed on Democracy Now!
September 20, 2022
Amy Goodman interviews LALS PhD candidate Juan Carlos Dávila who "describes how privatization of the island’s electrical grid coupled with a legacy of U.S. colonialism 'has really caused the crisis.'”
LALS student Tommy Alejandrez featured in FoxSports profile
November 29, 2021
Tommy Alejandrez's journey to studying Latin American and Latino Studies and Sociology at UCSC, and how a former NFL linebacker helped him get here.
Human Rights Investigations Lab alumni putting their skills to work
October 13, 2021
Four recent UCSC graduates are working for Washington, D.C.–based Media Matters for America (MMFA), a progressive nonprofit organization, checking false claims and fighting fake news in a high-profile setting.
Doctoral student analyzing Brazilian psychedelic religion of Santo Daime
October 7, 2021
Ana Flecha, PhD student in the Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) Department at UC Santa Cruz, analyzes the Brazilian “psychedelic religion” of the Santo Daime through the interdisciplinary perspective of dance studies
LALS Professor Fernando Leiva contributes to article on California's "Lithium Valley"
September 27, 2021
In search of ‘Lithium Valley’: why energy companies see riches in the California desert
Montserrat Lopez, LALS Lead Peer Advisor, wins Weiss Family Scholarship
June 3, 2021
Profile of LALS Lead Peer Advisor Montserrat Lopez
Audio: Catherine Ramírez on Missions, Monuments, Sites of Memory & Sites of Dispute
May 10, 2021
In this episode of The Cutting Edge, hear Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies Catherine Ramírez discuss her personal and academic reflections on Latinx contributions to conversations about monuments in the U.S., with a particular focus on Missions in California.
LALS Professor Catherine Ramírez on the Paradox of Assimilation
May 7, 2021
"Ramírez argues that we misunderstand assimilation when we narrate it as a story of adaptation and integration rather than a story of racial boundary drawing and exclusion."
LALS Graduate Student Co-Curates "CARAVANA" Exhibit
March 11, 2021
Josué Rojas, Fátima Ramírez, and LALS PhD Candidate Mauricio Ramírez curate "CARAVANA: Mobilizing Central American Art (1984-Present)"
Professor Catherine Ramírez Talks: Pachucas, Latinx Futurisms, Assimilation & Precarity
March 4, 2021
Professor Ramírez shares her inspirational journey, breaking away from home in LA to attend UC Berkeley as a first-gen Latina
LALS Professor Catherine Ramírez asks U.S. to do more for its essential caregivers
January 26, 2021
"Older Americans receive generous benefits, but the immigrants who support them receive little from the government."
Essential and Excluded: The Paradox of Assimilation in the United States
November 13, 2020
"Rather than ask, Who contributes to society, we can begin by asking, Who’s expected to contribute? Whose contribution is deemed valuable or legitimate? And whose contribution is essential?"
LALS Professor Catherine Ramírez featured on NPR's Science Friday Book Club
October 19, 2020
How a Story About the Past Can Still be Science Fiction: "Conjuring an Alternate History of Colonization"
LALS Staff and Faculty Honored by Division of Social Sciences
October 9, 2020
LALS Graduate Program Coordinator Lorato Anderson Receives Outstanding Staff Achievement Award; Dr. Sylvanna Falcón Receives Golden Apple Award for Outstanding Teaching
Why We Need to Build Toward a Latinx Future
October 7, 2020
LALS Professor Catherine Ramírez Thinks Hispanic Heritage Month Should Not Just Celebrate the Past, but also Look to the Present and Future
Brava! for Women in the Arts presents La Mezcla in Pachuquísmo
October 7, 2019
Performance based on the book The Woman in the Zoot Suit by LALS Associate Professor Catherine Ramírez
Escuchar, Compartir, Communidad: The power of voice
March 1, 2019
A unique partnership trains young people from Watsonville in the broadcasting basics and helps them publish their podcasts
Adrian Félix interviewed by NBC
May 23, 2018
Assistant Professor Adrián Félix , "an expert on Politics of Mexico", on Mexican Presidential elections for NBC news.
Undergraduate Eric Medina wins $15,000 Strauss Scholarship to reinvigorate Oakes Garden
May 01, 2018
Eric Medina, a fourth year at UC Santa Cruz double majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology and Latin American and Latino studies, has received a $15,000 public service scholarship to reinvigorate the garden at Oakes College.
LALS Graduate Student Mauricio Ramirez
March 27, 2018
Mauricio Ramirez was featured on UCSC magazine for his work about public murals in San Francisco. “Public murals give a voice to the community, and in this sense, the community reclaims its public space.”
Contesting Displacement: Dispossession/Extraction/Gentrification
March 13, 2018
The Center of Emerging Worlds at University of California Santa Cruz presents a daylong symposium this coming April 13th, 2018
Professor Patricia Pinho on Voces Críticas
March 1, 2018
Associate Professor Patricia Pinho was interviewed by Sylvanna Falcón's popular show Voces Críticas, KZSC, about Brazil's current Political State of Affairs
Latin American and Latino studies professor Adrian Felix interviewed in Reuters
February 13, 2018
LALS professor Adrian Felix was interviewed for a story in Reuters about the institutional issues Mexicans voting from abroad–especially in the U.S.–must deal with to cast their ballot.
Latin American and Latino studies professor Adrian Felix interviewed in Reuters
January 19, 2018
LALS professor Adrian Felix was interviewed for a story in Reuters about the institutional issues Mexicans voting from abroad–especially in the U.S.–must deal with to cast their ballot.
Now Hiring: South Migration Professor
December 5, 2017
The Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz invites applications for a Professor (all levels) position focused on migration within the Global South.
American Anthropological Association to honor LALS Professor Patricia Zavella
November 21, 2017
The American Anthropological Association to honor the work of Latin American and Latino Studies professor Patricia Zavella at upcoming event
October 2, 2017
LALS grad student Juan Davila covers Trump's visit to Puerto Rico for Democracy Now
September 29, 2017
LALS professor Fernando Leiva will discuss Enrique’s Journey on November 5
September 27, 2017
On Sunday, November 5, Bookshop Santa Cruz will host a Community Read discussion led by Fernando Leiva, Associate Professor from the Latin American and Latino Studies Department, UCSC.
LALS statement in support of all undocumented students and families, including DREAMers/DACAmented/DACA recipients, and migrants
September 5, 2017
Tuning in to social justice
August 09, 2017
Professor turned radio show producer Sylvanna Falcón talks about the importance of public scholarship in the Trump era.
In memoriam: Dr. Walter "Wally" Goldfrank
July 20, 2017
In Their Words: Socorro Ramírez-Gamiño
June 15, 2017
Congratulations to Socorro Ramírez-Gamiño for receiving the 2017 Walsh Family Scholarship.
In Their Words: Eric Medina
June 15, 2017
Congratulations to Eric Medina for receiving the 2017 Walsh Family Scholarship.
Research Roundup: Winter 2017 Issue
April 04, 2017
Some of the diverse topics covered by faculty in the Social Sciences Division in Winter 2017 include predicting college success, models for sustainable development, the psychological impact of President Donald Trump, his proposed military budget, and more.
Ruben Espinoza and Andres Arias featured in KION news
February 24, 2017
Ruben Espinoza and Andres Arias, student researchers working with Steve McKay, associate professor of sociology at UC Santa Cruz, were featured in KION news.
A statement from the Latin American and Latino Studies department against sexual violence
February 1, 2017
The faculty and staff of Latin American & Latino Studies unequivocally condemn sexual harassment and sexual violence.
Teach-in strengthens solidarity, activism
January 20, 2017
UC Santa Cruz faculty, students, staff, and community partners gathered at a campus-wide teach-in as part of a nationwide day of democratic education and action on Jan. 18.
Sylvanna Falcon featured in KSBW 8 news
January 18, 2017
Falcon discusses the Jan. 18 teach-in and other upcoming demonstrations happening in response to presidential inauguration on Friday.
Peggy Estrada featured in Education Week
November 16, 2016
A statement from the Latin American and Latino Studies department about the 2016 election results
November 9, 2016
In Their Words: Mireya Mateo
June 6, 2016
Mireya Mateo, a double major in the division's LALS and Anthropology Departments received the Dean’s and Chancellor’s awards for her research project titled “Untold Delivery Stories: Zapotec Women's Birthing Experiences in the Central Valley of Oaxaca.”
Student success, scholarship and social justice celebrated at Social Sciences Division annual awards ceremony
June 01, 2016
Research Roundup: Winter 2016 Issue
March 24, 2016
From biodiversity in California to power relations in Tanzania, faculty and researchers in the Division of Social Sciences published a wide range of issues and ideas in winter quarter.
Crossing borders
March 17, 2016
At UC Santa Cruz, the Latin American and Latino Studies Department is breaking boundaries and creating thought leaders
Arturo Arias: Indigeneities Resurgent: New/Old Ways of Knowing in Mesoamerican Indigenous Narratives
February 21, 2016
Arturo Arias: Indigeneities Resurgent: New/Old Ways of Knowing in Mesoamerican Indigenous Narratives
SJMA: Border Cantos
February 19, 2016
Border Cantos show, at the San Jose Museum of Art,from Feb 26 to July 31, 2016.
SJMA: Border Cantos
February 19, 2016
Border Cantos show, at the San Jose Museum of Art,from Feb 26 to July 31, 2016.
Viviana MacManus: "Ghosts of Another Era"
February 1, 2016
Viviana MacManus: "Ghosts of Another Era": Gender, Haunting and the Legacy of Women's Armed Resistance in Latin America, Thursday, February 25, 2016, 10:00am-12:00pm, Charles E. Merrill Lounge
Cuerpos a la Deriva
April 11, 2015
En esta presentación, Alberto Abreu Arce, ganador del Premio Casa de las Américas, ofrece una cartografía de lo que, sin lugar a dudas, constituyen dos de los debates intelectuales más candentes en la sociedad cubana de los últimos años: las nuevas dinámicas e imaginarios de la racialidad negra y del movimiento LGBTI. Esta charla se llevará a cabo en español el jueves, el 23 de abril, a las 5.00pm, en el Charles E. Merrill Lounge. March 10, 2015 By Lourdes Martínez-Echazábal, Chair, Latin American & Latino Studies
"Losing Sonia Sotomayor: On the Political Limits of Representative Latinidad"
February 20, 2015
This talk by Lázaro Lima explores the limits of Latino representative personhood at an historical juncture that exalts “possibility models” over legally mandated inclusion, “positive affirmation” over “affirmative action,” and what we stand to lose when we confuse symbolic inclusion with political enfranchisement and political power.
"Losing Sonia Sotomayor: On the Political Limits of Representative Latinidad"
February 20, 2015
This talk by Lázaro Lima explores the limits of Latino representative personhood at an historical juncture that exalts “possibility models” over legally mandated inclusion, “positive affirmation” over “affirmative action,” and what we stand to lose when we confuse symbolic inclusion with political enfranchisement and political power.
LALS UC President's Postodoctoral Symposium 2015
January 1, 2015
LALS 2015 UC President's Postoctoral Symposium 2015 begins this January 14th
LALS UC President's Postodoctoral Symposium 2015
January 1, 2015
LALS 2015 UC President's Postoctoral Symposium 2015 begins this January 14th
Arlene Davila speaks at LALS' PhD Program Launch
November 7, 2014
Arlene Davila, Professor of Anthropology, Social and Cultural Analysis, at New York University recently delivered the first lecture in the Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) Distinguished Lecture Series. “Locating Neoliberalism in Time, Space and Latino/Latin America”
American Studies Association honors UCSC Professor Rosa Linda Fregoso
October 31, 2014
American Studies Association honors UCSC Latin American and Latino Studies Professor Rosa Linda Fregoso
Professor Rosa-Linda Fregoso Awarded Angela Y. Davis Prize
October 30, 2014
Latin American and Latino Studies Professor Rosa-Linda Fregoso is the 2014 Angela Y. Davis Prize Winner
LALS 14-15 Distinguished Speaker Series
September 26, 2014
Arlene Davila is opens 2014-2015 LALS-CLRC Dinstinguished Speaker Series
Peggy Estrada 1.6 million 4 year research project
September 1, 2014
LALS Researcher Peggy Estrada was featured on Stanford University Graduate School of Education’s Digital Initiatives Newsletter
LALS Assistant Professor Adrian Félix on CCREC
June 30, 2014
Adrian Félix was featured in the Center for Collaborative Research for an Equitable California Newsletter
LALS students receive Deans' and Chancellor's Awards 2014
June 15, 2014
LALS students Nicholas Bendinelli and Kimberly Pistilli are amongst the 2014 Deans' and Chancellor's 2014 Award recipients!
Xochitl Chavez: UC President's Postdoctoral Fellow for 2014
May 1, 2014
LALS Designated Emphasis student Dr. Xochitl Chávez has been selected as a University of California President's Postdoctoral Fellow for 2014!
Cecilia Menjívar: "The Reconfiguration of Immigrant Latino Families in Light of the Current Immigration Regime"
April 29, 2014
Don't miss this great event. More info on the link below.
Catherine Ramirez: Bridging the Gap Between UCSC and Downtown
March 7, 2014
Latin American and Latino Studies Associate Professor and Chicano Latino Reearch Center Director Catherine Ramirez will be speaking at the Nickelodeon Theater Downtown Santa Cruz.
Prof. Arredondo appointed to the (OAH) Distinguished Lectureship Program
February 20, 2014
Sandra Alvarez - Assistant Professor at Chapman University
February 14, 2014
LALS Designated Emphasis student accepted a tenure-track position
Professor Rosa-Linda Fregoso "Stice Feminist Scholar of Justice"
February 14, 2014
Latin American and Latino Studies Professor Rosa-Linda Fregoso will speak at the University of Washington
Professor Rosa-Linda Fregoso "Stice Feminist Scholar of Justice"
February 14, 2014
Latin American and Latino Studies Professor Rosa-Linda Fregoso will speak at the University of Washington
LALS Professor Patricia Zavella at Research Frontiers Day
October 28, 2013
Maestra - A Documentary by Catherine Murphy
October 1, 2013
Cuba, 1961: 250,000 volunteers taught 700,000 people to read and write in one year. 100,000 of the teachers were under 18 years old. Over half were women. Maestra explores this amazing story.
LALS - Distinguished Speaker Series
October 1, 2013
Professor Angharad N. Valdivia: "Implicit Utopias and Ambiguous Ethnics: New Directions in Latina/o and Latin American Studies"
Terry Freitas Café honors memory of inspirational young alumnus
October 05, 2012
Café Revolucion has been rededicated as the Terry Freitas Café, commemorating a UCSC grad who died while in service to an indigenous people.
In Memoriam: Memorial service for Eugene Cota-Robles, October 7
October 05, 2012
A memorial service for former Crown College provost Eugene Cota-Robles has been scheduled for Sunday, October 7, at 1:30 p.m. at the Crown-Merrill Cultural Center.
Online Voter Registration at UCSC - Students
October 01, 2012
Register before the deadline (October 22) and vote on November 6th.
