The UGA Latin American & Caribbean Studies Institute (LACSI) of the Franklin College of Arts & Sciences brings Latin American and the Caribbean to campus and the community by sponsoring educational activities, artistic performances, interdisciplinary research, instruction, and public service projects, in coordination with Latin Americanists from UGA, other universities, the community at large, and abroad.

LACSI is a UGA-wide institute that sponsors and promotes initiatives from Arts and Sciences, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Business, Education, Veterinary Medicine, Law, Social Work, Pharmacy, Journalism, Forest Resources, and Family and Consumer Sciences. In coordination with the Office of International Education, there is a long history of collaborative programs with regional institutions and others in almost every Latin American country. It includes nearly 200 UGA faculty members from numerous departmental units on campus; representatives of the three student associations from the region (i.e., Hispanic, Brazilian, and Caribbean), graduate students from the region, and community members (i.e., business owners, social service organizations, and members of the general public interested in Latin American, Caribbean or Latino issues.

In summer 2006, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved an undergraduate major in Latin American & Caribbean Studies (LACS). Since then, over 30 students have declared the major. In spring 2007, 5 students from our first cohort graduated with the LACS degree.

The new LACS major provides UGA students with a scholastically sound understanding of the languages, societies, cultures, politics, economies, history, geography and ecology of the region and its peoples. LACS majors are required to demonstrate high-level proficiency in one of the major languages of the region and an introduction to one other regional language. Students are strongly encouraged to complement formal course work with a study-abroad experience in accredited Latin American universities.

Students also have the option of completing double majors (e.g. LACS and International Affairs, LACS and International Business, LACS and History, LACS and Spanish or Romance Languages) and those in the professional schools who wish to gain some level of competence in Latin American languages/culture but find it difficult to complete the full set of required courses for the major have the opportunity of completing a LACS certificate. A LACS minor is currently in development with a graduate certificate a distinct possibility in the near future.

For more information about LACSI visit our website at http://www.lacsi.uga.edu. Also, if you wish to join our listserv, please contact LACSI assistant director Paul Duncan: . With over 400 members, the LACSI listserv is the largest of its kind in Georgia focused on news and events related to Latin America & the Caribbean or Latinos in the Southeast.

Tags: Teaching, Latino