Center for Latin American & Latino Studies

Questions?

  • Latin American/Latino Studies
    202-885-6178
    Fax: 202-885-6430
    clals@american.edu
    4545 42nd Street, Room 308

    Armstrong, Ashlee B
    Program Coordinator

Mailing Address
  • Nicaraguan woman walking on a dusty road

    Development & Inequality

    CLALS supports research identifying strategies of economic development that address the grave inequalities present in Latin American societies and experienced by Latino populations in the U.S. (Photo by Bill Gentile)

  • Parade of people participating in a cultural event in Nicaragua

    Culture & Creativity

    Explores the dynamic dimensions of cultural expression, production and consumption throughout Latin America and within Latino communities (Photo by Bill Gentile)

  • Picture of a women's rights march in El Salvador.

    Democracy & Justice

    CLALS fosters research facilitating the full incorporation of Latino populations into American democracy and illuminating strategies for enhancing the quality of democracy in contemporary Latin America. (Photo by Bill Gentile)

  • Young girl washes clothing in a lake in Nicaragua

    Health, Environment & Society

    Environmental change disproportionately affects low-income populations in Latin America, as well as underserved U.S. Latino populations. CLALS provides a forum for scholars and practitioners to consider hemispheric responses. (Photo by Bill Gentile)

  • Nicaraguan man walking with sun setting behind mountains in the background

    Hemispheric Relations

    CLALS examines intersections and flows of people, products and ideas across borders, and analyzes shifting relationships among Latin American nations and with their neighbor to the north. (Photo by Bill Gentile)

About Us

Advancing the frontiers of knowledge about Latinos in the United States and about all aspects of Latin American affairs is a core objective of the Center. Our faculty are at the forefront of scholarly efforts to understand economic development, democratic governance, cultural diversity and change, peace and diplomacy, health, education and environmental well-being. We have launched clusters of Center-sponsored research in each of these domains, incorporating into our projects intellectuals based outside American University, as well as our own faculty, staff and students.

CLALS News

CLALS is pleased to announce the release of its first white paper, one in a series produced for the multi-year project of research and structured dialogue on religion and violence in Latin America.

Authored by Steven Dudley, co-director of InSight Crime with reporting by Oscar Martínez of El Faro, the paper examines the role of the Catholic Church in the March 2012 truce brokered between rival gangs in El Salvador. Click here to read The El Salvador Gang Truce and the Church: What was the role of the Catholic Church? white paper.

See the May 12, 2013 public statement in Spanish by the Catholic Conference of Bishops questioning the truce, and InSight Crime's ongoing analysis.

 



CLALS in the News

CAS Professor Adrienne Pine has received a Fulbright to carry out her research project entitled "Nursing, Health and Democracy in Honduras." The project examines the health impacts of the 2009 U.S.-supported coup in Honduras and explores the ways in which Honduran nurses have responded to state-sponsored violence and the neoliberal restructuring of health care.

More


AU News

The exhibit "Painting Borges: Art Interpreting Literature" is on display at the Katzen AU Museum through May 26. The exhibit is sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and Religion.

More


Grant Highlights

CLALS will administer a 2013 grant competition for graduate students to conduct field research in Latin America with renewed support from the Tinker Foundation.

The Ford Foundation has provided generous support to continue research on and disseminate the results of the Reconfiguration of Elites and Political Power in Central America.

The Open Society Foundations have awarded grants totaling $150,000 to the Center in support of InSight Crime, the AULA blog, and research carried out by CLALS Research Fellows.

More