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About CLACS
The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) serves students, faculty and scholars from across the University of Illinois campus, along with communities across Illinois and the Midwest, by promoting innovative research, specialist teaching, and public awareness of the Latin American and Caribbean region. CLACS is a designated National Resource Center for the 2022-2026 period, supported by the Department of Education under Title VI funding.
Professor Marc Hertzman Named 2026–2027 University Scholar
We would like to congratule Professor Marc Hertzman for being named a 2026-2027 University Scholar! The program honors excellent faculty and also grants $15,000 to each recipient for three years to enhance their research and academic careers.
“History professor Marc Hertzman specializes in the history of Brazil and Latin America with special interests in race, the African diaspora, culture, slavery and its legacies, labor and gender. Hertzman has additional affiliations at Illinois with the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the Unit for Criticism and Interpretative Theory, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies, the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies and as the director of graduate studies for the history department.
While his previous work focused on the 19th and 20th centuries, Hertzman’s current scholarship explores deeper into the past: the colonial era of Brazil. Specifically, he has examined the afterlives and cultural, spiritual, physical and monetary inheritances of Palmares, one of history’s largest and longest-standing fugitive slave settlements, and its iconic leader, Zumbi. His 2024 book, “After Palmares: Diaspora, Inheritance, and the Afterlives of Zumbi,” won the American Historical Association’s 2025 James. A Rawley Prize in Atlantic History and the Brazilian Studies Association’s 2026 Roberto Reis Book Award. Hertzman values the impact of public engagement and has shared his expertise in written pieces for New York Magazine and Time as well as appearances on Al-Jazeera to provide news analysis on Brazil.
Upcoming Events
COME LEARN QUECHUA! HAMUYCHIK RUNASIMI YACHARIKUQ!
Quechua is the most widely spoken Indigenous language in the Americas, with 8–9 million speakers across six Andean countries. Learning Quechua offers valuable insight into Indigenous heritage, Andean worldviews, and linguistic structure. It’s especially useful for researchers, educators, and professionals working in the region.
LEARN Q'ANJOB'AL WITH US! TITAN HAKUY Q'ANJOB'AL JETOQ!
Q’anjob’al is a living Maya language spoken in Guatemala and growing communities in the U.S. Studying it opens the door to understanding Mesoamerican Indigenous heritage, Maya worldviews, and cultural practices. It’s especially valuable for educators, researchers, and professionals working with Maya communities.
Q'anjob'al Language and the Community (Spring Last 395)
This course is an introduction to the Mayan language and community of Guatemala known as Q’anjob’al. It is designed to provide students with an overview of the Q’anjob’al speakers and their complex everyday sociocultural interactions.
Beginning Q'anjob'al II (LAST 445)
This course continues the development of basic speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills, with an emphasis on everyday communication and cultural context within Q’anjob’al–speaking communities.
Beginner Quechua II (QUEC 411)
Continuation of intensive course for beginner level Quechua. Expansion on developing basic listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Quechua. Emphasis on production and comprehension skills. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours
Que Pasa in Latin America? (LAST 170)
Introduction to Latin America offers an interdisciplinary introduction to the ways of life of Latin American peoples, their origins, historical legacies, and current cultural expressions.
Life in the Andes (LAST 210, CRN 72623)
An overview of contemporary Andean culture, as practiced by the people in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador.
Archaeology Field School in Peru (LAST 395)
This course is an archaeological field school where students will have the opportunity to engage in innovative original research at the archaeological site of Cerro Blanco, a Chancay Administrative Center located in central Peru.
Spatial theories from/with the Caribbean (ARCH 403)
THE CARIBBEAN has long been rendered peripheral in architectural history and theory. This seminar instead approaches it as an affective ground for rethinking space altogether.