The Ph.D. Program in Latin American, Iberian and Latino Cultures at The Graduate Center, previously known as HLBLL, is committed to preparing students to become rigorous and creative scholars in a diverse spectrum of fields of inquiry on Latin American and Iberian cultures. LAILAC also offers an active program of academic, cultural, and literary activities, all located in the heart of Manhattan at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. As a part of the Graduate Center, a unique institution devoted primarily to doctoral studies and committed to excellence, diversity and innovative research, LAILAC participates in the Graduate Center’s mission of drawing upon and contributing “to the complex communities of New York City and beyond.”

PROGRAM

The Ph.D. Program in LAILAC offers courses and seminars in Iberian and Latin American cultural, linguistic, and literary studies.

In the cultural and literary studies track, courses and seminars deal with cultural and literary practices in historical and ideological contexts and with their circulation along national as well as Iberian, Latin American, transatlantic, and hemispheric networks. Critical theories relevant to the field are a major component of all courses and seminars. In addition, the program is committed to such fields as Latino studies, LGBT, media, philology and textual criticism, translation, visual culture, and women studies.

In the Hispanic linguistics track, courses and seminars focus on Spanish in cultural, political, and social context. They cover areas such as contact linguistics, language ideologies, the politics of language, and variationism, as well as Spanish grammar, lexis or phonology from functional perspectives. 

FACULTY

Our outstanding doctoral faculty consists of members who specialize in literary, language, and cultural studies from Iberian, Latin American, and transatlantic perspectives. Faculty members are well-respected in their fields, and have published books on subjects ranging from the politics of language representation, literary canon formation and Spanish visual culture to the interface of literature and photography, Quevedo and Golden Age satire. In addition to annual symposia and lecture series from visiting scholars and writers, internationally renowned academics from Europe and Latin America often conduct mini-seminars. 

EVENTS

LAILC has developed a network of international connections and agreements with foreign institutions that co-sponsor events such as seminars, lectures and symposia and that facilitate faculty and student exchanges. These include the Bernardo Atxaga Chair in Basque Literature and Linguistics (with the Etxepare Euskalinstitutua Institute) the Portuguese Culture Chair (with the Instituto Camões), the Xoan González Millán Center for Galician Studies (with Galicia’s Secretaría Xeral de Política Lingüística), the Mercè Rodoreda Chair (with the Institut Ramon Llull), and the Miguel Delibes Chair (with the Fundación Siglo and the Universidad de Valladolid). In recent years we have had the honor to host scholars such as Alberto Romero, Silvia Saitta, Diana Sorensen, Elvira Narvaja de Arnoux, Enric Bou, Anxo Lorenzo, Mauro Fernández, Henrique Monteagudo, Dolores Vilavedra, Ana Maria Martinho, José María Pozuelo Yvancos, Aurora Egido, José Carlos Mainer, Ricardo Senabre, and Claudio Guillén; and prominent writers such as Ray Loriga, Antonio Muñoz Molina, Luis Rafael Sánchez, Paloma Díaz Mas, Carmen Boullosa, Juan Villoro, Mempo Giardinelli, Antonio José Ponte, Leonardo Padura, Bernardo Atxaga, Kirmen Uribe, Teresa Moure, and Manuel Rivas. We also work with the Hispanic Society of America and the Fundación Duques de Soria to offer special seminars in text editing and plan future publication projects.