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The Latinx Research Center (LRC) is a faculty-led research center offering support and collaboration to campus and other researchers focused on U.S. Latinx and hemispheric communities. The LRC is an internationally recognized hub for Latinx-focused research and partners broadly across campus, the state, the U.S., and the globe. Founded initially through state mandate in 1989, as the Center for Latino Policy Research (CLPR), the Center fostered social sciences-centered research, conferences, symposia, and white papers on Latinxs and education, the environment, Indigenous communities, migration, and technology.

Today, the LRC research portfolio has expanded to include the arts, education, gender, health, history, media, the sciences, and sexuality. Through our independent fundraising, the LRC provides full-time staff positions, post-doctoral opportunities, dissertation, and undergraduate research opportunities to outstanding research initiatives. The LRC showcases cutting-edge Latinx research by Berkeley's scholars through public programming. The LRC provides training to students in leadership skills, digital publications, podcast production, and other research opportunities across disciplines.

Spring 2026 Semester Events & Activities:

“A Handbook of Latinx Art (2025).” A New Book Presentation by Drs. Rocío Aranda-Alvarado & Deborah Cullen-Morales

Tuesday, Febrary 10, 2026 | 2-4pm

Join editors and authors Rocío Aranda-Alvarado and Deborah Cullen-Morales for a discussion of A Handbook of Latinx Art, a landmark anthology on U.S. Latinx art from the 1960s to the present. Drawing on artists’, critics’, and scholars’ voices, the collection explores overlooked histories, regional diversity, and the evolution of Latinx artistic practice. The book shows how Latinx art is reshaping narratives of American art history.

"Race-ing Past Latinx Studies? Curricular Gaps and Their Consequences across Hispanic-Serving Institutions."A Lectureby Dr. Nicholas Vargas

Thursday, March 5, 2026 | 12-2pm

Dr. Vargas will present his recent research findings examining curricular gaps in Latinx Studies across Hispanic Serving Institutions and their broader consequences, ethnoracial classification, racialization, and Latinx experiences in higher education. Dr. Vargas will reflect on how race data and curriculum shape equity, access, and academic pipelines.

"Queer P’urhépecha Histories & Performances Beyond Borders." A Lecture by Dr. Mario Alberto Gómez Zamora

Monday, March 16, 2026 | 4-6pm

Dr. Mario A. Gómez Zamora, an award-winning scholar of Native American and Indigenous Studies, explores queer P’urhépecha histories through creative and ethnographic work. This lecture will focus on “An Indigenous Woman Record: Recordando el Pasado de Mamá Lupe,” honoring his grandmother’s P’urhépecha legacy, and “Those who are like that,” an international ethnography examining queer belonging, gender performance, and ceremonial danzas within P’urhépecha communities in Michoacán and California.

“Decolonizing Sound, Spiritualities & Migration: Afro-Latinx and Caribbean Spaces Across the Diaspora.” A Lecture by Dr. Eva Silot Bravo

Friday, April 3, 2026 | 4-6pm

Dr. Silot Bravo will show that Afrodiasporic traditions and migrations are central to understanding the diversity of the Latinx and Caribbean diaspora. She explores Afro-Latinx and Caribbean sound, cultural, and spiritual practices as postcolonial strategies of memory, resistance, resilience, and healing.

"Weaving Dissent: A Presentation of the Wall of Tears (2025) Tapestry.” A Collective ProjectLed by Jean Pierre Larochette and Yael Lurie. Joined by Yadin Larochette and Jesús González

Thursday, April 23, 2026 | 4-6pm

How can tapestry bear witness to oppression, borders, and collective memory? Internationally recognized artist and master weaver, Jean Pierre Larochette, will speak on the history of dissent and weaving, the mechanics of weaving, and the conception of the collective tapestry project led by him and painter Yael Lurie. They will be joined in discussion by arts and heritage consultant Yadin Larochette, and the evening will close with poetry on themes of dissent and division by Berkeley's Poet Laureate Emeritus, Jesús González.

Faculty Mentored Research Fellowship (FMURF) Symposium

Monday, May 4, 2026 | 9-3pm

Twelve LRC FMURF teams of stellar faculty and their outstanding mentees will present the results of their year-long collaborations in Latinx and Hemispheric Studies across the humanities and social sciences. Join us in celebrating this last of five cohorts awarded funds to develop undergraduate researchers while supporting faculty mentors.

Listen to Our Podcasts:

In this episode, artist Amalia Mesa-Bains sits down with Prof. Laura E. Pérez to discuss the remarkable retrospective of her work, now a traveling exhibition being showcased in museums nationwide. Mesa-Bains reflects on seeing her decades-spanning art collection together for the first time, offering insights into her unique perspective on art.

Listen to the full episode on SoundCloud