As the successor organization to UConn’s former Institute of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies, El Instituto places Puerto Rico and its diaspora at the center of our teaching mission. We support both undergraduate and Masters level courses and programs of study.
The Institute of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies (IPRLS) was a multipurpose interdisciplinary research and teaching program with a comparative focus on the Puerto Rican, Mexican, and other Latin American origin populations in Connecticut, the northeast, and other regions of the continental United States, as well as in Puerto Rico.
Established in 1994, the Institute’s specific goals were: (1) to promote, sponsor, and promulgate the results of comparative, interdisciplinary research on Puerto Rican and other Latino peoples in the United States, emphasizing Connecticut and the northeastern region; (2) to develop and coordinate a multi- and inter- disciplinary academic program, including an undergraduate concentration (minor), as well as graduate courses, in the field of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies; (3) to promote a more culturally diverse and aware university environment through a colloquia and publications program addressing the diverse contributions of Puerto Ricans and other Latinos to U.S. history, society, and culture; (4) to provide institutional links among Puerto Ricans, other Latinos, and non-Latinos at this University and throughout the state of Connecticut on academic issues related to the Puerto Rican and Latino experience; (5) to produce, diffuse, and promote knowledge and information on public policy issues with special impacts on Puerto Ricans and Latinos; and (6) to foster ties between the University and the external Puerto Rican/Latino community by serving as a resource center for issues affecting that community.
We stand by these aims today. UConn is home to the Secretariat of the Puerto Rican Studies Association and El Instituto supports research on the politics, culture, history and society of the island and its diaspora. Connecticut’s storied place in the Puerto Rican diaspora and its vibrant Boricua communities of today are the cornerstones of our commitments to making diverse voices from the island heard at UConn and sponsoring research and information sharing aimed at preserving the Puerto Rican heritage and advancing Puerto Ricans’ well-being in Connecticut and nationwide.
We welcome students in pursuing coursework and research specific to Puerto Rican lives. The following Puerto Rico-relevant courses may be taken as part of UConn’s minor in Latina/o Studies or major in Latina/o and Latin American Studies:
• LLAS 1190 Introduction to Latin America and the Caribbean (Also offered as Hist 1600)
• LLAS 1190/W Introduction to Latin America and the Caribbean
• LLAS 2474 Economic development in Latin American and the Caribbean (Also offered as Econ 2474)
• LLAS 3029 The Caribbean (Also offered as Anth 3029)
• LLAS 3211 Puerto Rican/ Latino studies research
• LLAS 3241 Latin American Minorities in the United States
• LLAS 3265 Literature of Puerto Rico and the Spanish Caribbean
• LLAS 3270 Latino Political Behavior
• LLAS 3327 Power and health in Latin america and the Caribbean
• LLAS 3619/W History of the Caribbean (Also offered as Hist 3619/W)
• LLAS 3667 Puerto Rican politics and culture (Also offered as Pols 3667)
• HIST 3620 Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Spanish Caribbean (Also offered as AFRA 3620)
• Afra 3619 History of the Caribbean