Institute of Latin American Studies

Institute of Latin American Studies
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Name	Institute of Latin American Studies
Established	20th century
Type	Research institute
Location	London
Parent	School of Advanced Study

Institute of Latin American Studies is a scholarly research institute focused on the study of Latin America, the Caribbean, Iberia and Lusophone Africa. It supports interdisciplinary work across history, literature, anthropology, political studies and development studies while maintaining archival collections, seminar series and doctoral supervision.

History

Founded in the 20th century amid growth in area studies, the institute developed links with University of London, School of Advanced Study, British Museum, National Archives (United Kingdom), Royal Geographical Society, and the Economic and Social Research Council. Early collaborators included scholars associated with Goldsmiths, University of London, SOAS University of London, King's College London, University College London, and London School of Economics. The institute curated collections related to figures such as Simón Bolívar, José Martí, Getúlio Vargas, Eva Perón, Rubén Darío, and Joaquim Nabuco, and preserved documents tied to events like the Mexican Revolution, Cuban Revolution, Chilean coup d'état (1973), Nicaraguan Revolution, and Falklands War. Over decades it hosted visiting fellows from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Universidade de São Paulo, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, University of Buenos Aires, Universidad de Salamanca, Universidad de Chile, Universidad de Sevilla, and Universidad de Granada.

Organization and Governance

Governance structures aligned the institute with bodies such as the Arts and Humanities Research Council, British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, European Research Council, and Wellcome Trust. Administrative oversight involved committees drawing members from University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh, University of Manchester, and University of Warwick. Advisory boards included representatives linked to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Inter-American Development Bank, and cultural institutions like the British Council. The institute’s leadership worked with consortia such as the Modern Humanities Research Association, Royal Historical Society, Historical Association, and international networks including Latin American Studies Association, Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales, Asociación de Historiadores Latinoamericanos y del Caribe, and Caribbean Studies Association.

Academic Programs and Research

Research themes spanned work on colonialism and independence tied to Treaty of Tordesillas, Spanish colonization of the Americas, Portuguese Empire, Treaty of Utrecht, and postcolonial transitions such as the Spanish transition to democracy and the Carnation Revolution. Projects addressed political figures and movements including Hugo Chávez, Juan Perón, Lula da Silva, Michelle Bachelet, Augusto Pinochet, Porfirio Díaz, Fidel Castro, and Daniel Ortega, and engaged with labor and social movements like Zapatista Army of National Liberation, Montoneras, Cuban Five, and Madres de Plaza de Mayo. Area specialists pursued archival research on texts by Gabriel García Márquez, Pablo Neruda, Jorge Luis Borges, Octavio Paz, Isabel Allende, Mario Vargas Llosa, Carlos Fuentes, Clarice Lispector, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, and Alejo Carpentier. Methodological collaborations referenced museums and archives such as the Archivo General de la Nación (Argentina), Arquivo Nacional (Brazil), Archivo General de Indias, Biblioteca Nacional de España, and the Library of Congress. Doctoral supervision partnered with programs at University of York, University of Leeds, University of St Andrews, University of Bristol, and Queen Mary University of London.

Publications and Journals

The institute supported and contributed to journals and book series including collaborations with publishers and periodicals like Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan, Taylor & Francis, Journal of Latin American Studies, Bulletin of Latin American Research, Latin American Research Review (LARR), Hispanic American Historical Review, The Americas (journal), Revista de Indias, Anuario de Historia de América, Latin American Politics and Society, and Bulletin of Spanish Studies. It facilitated monographs on topics related to treaties such as the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and biographies of figures like Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín published by academic presses and featured in bibliographies alongside works from Cambridge Latin American Studies and Cambridge Companions.

Partnerships and Outreach

Outreach programs engaged cultural institutions and diplomatic missions such as the Brazilian Embassy in London, Mexican Embassy, London, Argentine Embassy, London, Spanish Embassy, London, Portuguese Embassy, London, Alliance française, Goethe-Institut, Instituto Cervantes, and Fundação Getulio Vargas. Public seminars involved partnerships with the Tate Modern, Victoria and Albert Museum, Royal Opera House, Southbank Centre, British Library, and international networks including UNESCO and Organisation of American States. Collaborative research projects linked the institute to funding and operational partners like World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations Development Programme, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and Pan American Health Organization.

Notable Scholars and Alumni

Affiliated and visiting scholars included historians, anthropologists, and literary critics connected with names such as Eric Hobsbawm, John Hemming, C.L.R. James, Terence Ranger, Anthony Giddens, Stuart Hall, Edmund Leach, Mary Beard, Norman Lewis (author), Derek Walcott, Edward Said, Roger Chartier, Jacques Le Goff, Geoffrey Parker, Peter Burke, and Iain Chambers. Latin American specialists included Roberto Schwarz, Néstor García Canclini, Enrique Dussel, Gilberto Freyre, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Aníbal Quijano, Raúl Prebisch, Ariel Dorfman, José Enrique Rodó, Ruth Benedict (anthropologist), Claude Lévi-Strauss, Victor Turner, Jane Goodall, and Noam Chomsky as interlocutors in seminars. Alumni went on to roles at Universidade de São Paulo, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, The World Bank, United Nations, European Commission, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for International Development (United Kingdom), BBC, The Guardian, and municipal and national governments across Latin America and Europe.

Category:Research institutes in the United Kingdom Category:Latin American studies