1. An Institutional History of
the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
By Madeleine Jaekels
Research Questions
1.How did Latin American and Caribbean studies relate to US foreign policy?
2. How does the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies reflect trends in the field?
3. What are the future trends for Latin American and Caribbean studies?
Looking Ahead
  The future of Latin American and Caribbean Studies can be thought of in many contexts. The North-South Dialogue between diasporic Latinos and Latin Americans spurs new conversations. Globalization is bringing greater contact between peoples in the hemisphere. Finally, new diplomatic advances (e.g. US-Cuban relations) are forging new opportunities for area studies.
Latin American and Caribbean Studies remains a vibrant field of study and there are new directions yet to explore. There is still a priority need for less commonly taught languages (e.g. Portuguese). Interest in Indigeneity and indigenous languages is growing. The connection between US Latino studies and Latin American studies is growing much stronger and closer.  Latin American Studies is also evolving beyond the humanities and social sciences to include the sciences and various professionals schools. For example, new perspectives on environmentalism are becoming integrated into area studies.
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, the University of Texas at Austin
Research Methods
Research into the institutional history of UWM’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) was primarily done through the Archives Department at the Golda Meir Library, review of texts written by past and present associated faculty, bibliographic research on the history of Latin American Studies, and person to person interviews.
This research informed the Center’s 50th Anniversary celebration. An exhibit of the institutional history contextualized the center’s overall history, both in domestic and international circumstances. The research also demonstrated CLACS’s exemplary achievement of 50 continuous years of federal funding, one of the longest in the country.
Main Findings
The realized benefits of area studies allowed the Peace Corps training center to be opened on campus, one of only four in the nation at that time. This presence then opened the door for the establishment of the center, what former Chancellor J. Martin Klotsche called “one of the most significant developments in this university’s emergency as a major, national institution of higher learning.” (UWM Post Volume ).
Surveying the history of this center in comparison to parallel historical events has showed that many, if not most programs were directly affected by U.S.-foreign policy and international circumstances (e.g. Cold War). CLACS took these events as opportunities to better serve as an area studies center. CLACS is among an elite and select few centers to have the distinction of having 50 continuous years of Title VI funding as a National Resource Center.
Interviews with Latin Americanist academics around the U.S. reveal an overall sense that there is now greater dialogue between US Latino Studies and Latin American Studies. UWM is among an increasing number of campuses that integrate US Latino Studies and Latin American Studies in their academic programs, as exemplified by the Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Studies (LACUSL) major.
Original letter of intent for an Area Studies Center
1958--NDEA passes in Congress
1961—Peace Corps Act passes in Congress
1963—Peace Corps training facility opens at UWM
1973—UW-Madison/UW-Milwaukee Consortium begins
2015—US and Cuba resume diplomatic relations
1989—Berlin Wall Falls
1965
1970
1975
1990
1995
1955
1960
1980
1985
2000
2005
2010
2015
2000—Name change to Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
1986—Spanish for Spanish Teachers begins
1979– Latin American Film Series begins
2001– Graduate FLAS started
2010–Undergraduate FLAS Awarded; LACUSL Major started
1965—Center for Latin America at UWM Opens after applying for NDEA Title VI Funding
1977—LACS Certificate begins