Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies

The Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies (LALACS) Program at Gustavus gives students the opportunity to study the Americas across a wide spectrum of the humanities and the social sciences. Students learn about Latin American culture and history, study abroad, and serve others while preparing to work and live in our diverse global community. An interdisciplinary program that attracts many of the most engaged and fascinating students on campus, LALACS is growing!

Program Features

• LALACS students study abroad across Latin America: in Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Perú, Cuba, México, Venezuela, Ecuador, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and more.
• LALACS students have traveled to Petátlan, Mexico (sister city to Saint Peter) as members of a city-college delegation and on a Spring Break trip serving in clinics and hospitals.
• Saint Peter has a large Hispanic population, and LALACS students tutor in schools, translate at parent-teacher conferences, and participate in language-exchanges that deepen the bond between college and community.
• On campus, students lead student groups like OLAS or El Tintero, our new Spanish-language literary journal.
• LALACS students have organized a Brazilian carnival, participated in traditional celebrations of Day of the Dead, attended a Cuban film festival in the Twin Cities,and helped organize disaster relief for Haiti.

Because LALACS is an interdisciplinary program, students learn to make connections between disciplines, become more vibrant thinkers, and gain the deep cultural knowledge in demand by employers and graduate programs.