George Mason University

Contemporary Latin America is the product of a long and turbulent history of conquest, resistance, and cultural mixing.  The result is a rich and unique amalgam of African, indigenous, and European cultures. Understanding these complex societies has never been more crucial than it is today.

Knowledge of Latin American history, culture, society, and politics has become indispensable for anyone who seeks to understand the contemporary United States and its place in the world.

The Latin American studies program offers a major and minor in Latin American studies.

Burt Introduces New Issue

Several participants in a recent international symposium publish analyses from the symposium in Global Studies Review. Sponsored by the Mason Transitional/Transnational Justice Working Group, the symposium theme was "Accountability after Mass Atrocity: Latin American and African Examples in Comparative Perspective." The introduction by Jo-Marie Burt, Public and International Affairs, gives context and connection to their articles. Read More >>

Greet's Book Published

On Thursday, December 10, 2009, Dr. Michele Greet’s latest book Beyond National Identity: Pictorial Indigenism as a Modernist Strategy in Andean Art will be launched at the Art Museum of the Americas. This book is being lauded as “an excellent contribution to the literature on Latin American art and culture." Read More >>

New Course Encourages Students to Think Critically about Language

Although English is the only language spoken in the majority of homes in the United States, almost 20 percent of the population five years and older speaks another language at home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But what are these languages and who speaks them? Is this similar to or different from other countries and other historical periods? How do multilinguals use the different languages they know, and how is their language use related to their identities? Read More >>