Latin America is a region that gives us numerous captivating topics to explore, with its distinctiveness in politics, economy, and ethnicity fascinating many. For members of the SNU community who are hoping to keep up with ongoing issues and research trends about Latin America, there is one great source of information. Look through the activities of the SNU Institute of Latin America Studies (SNUILAS) in detail, and you will be able to satisfy your appetite for knowledge about a continent located on the opposite side of the Earth.

The Role of SNUILAS

Founded in 1989, SNUILAS is a research institute specializing in interdisciplinary research on Latin America. Its role has expanded over the years, following the increasing importance of Latin America in Korean foreign policy. Through in-depth area studies, SNUILAS aims to develop effective policy suggestions that can contribute to closer cooperation with Latin American nations. SNUILAS hosts numerous guest lectures on particular research projects and various current issues in Latin American politics, economy, culture, and society. The institute also hosts several academic courses to provide students with a deeper understanding of Latin America.

Poster for the Lecture, “Out of Place: The Spatialization of the Eschaton”

SNUILAS-hosted Guest Lectures

The guest lectures hosted by the institute allow students and researchers alike to gain insight into recent research trends in Latin American studies. In addition to Korean scholars specializing in Latin American studies, SNUILAS invites Latin American scholars to introduce emerging fields of study that may also be of interest to Korean academia. One example is the lecture that took place on May 26, by professor Eduardo Viveiros de Castro of the Federal University of Rio De Janeiro (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro). Professor Castro’s lecture, titled “Out of Place: The Spatialization of the Eschaton,” based on his recent fieldwork in the Amazon region, provided the SNU community an opportunity to learn about how indigenous Amazonians view the world.

SNUILAS’s Journal, Revista Asiática de Estudios Iberoamericanos

Academic Journals Published by SNUILAS

Adding to the insightful guest lectures are numerous academic journals published by SNUILAS. These journals provide scholars from different disciplines with new research opportunities to investigate Latin America. One example is Revista Asiática de Estudios Iberoamericanos (“Asian Journal of Ibero-American Studies”), published three times a year.

SNUILAS’s Role in Operating the Latin American Studies Interdisciplinary Combined Minor

Another major role of SNUILAS is its devotion to the Latin American Studies interdisciplinary combined minor program. Hosted by the Department of Hispanic Language and Literature, the program’s aim is allowing students to have expert knowledge through interdisciplinary education provided by professors from diverse majors. Specifically, professors from the Department of Hispanic Language and Literature, the College of Social Sciences, and SNUILAS participate in providing classes related to Latin American area studies, and students taking part in the program should take seven of these classes to complete the program.

For the program, SNUILAS is in charge of the fundamentals. Professors from SNUILAS are responsible for teaching modern issues of Latin America, as well as basic research methodologies to study the area. These classes are indispensable for students participating in the interdisciplinary combined minor program, since students get to know the current state of Latin America and form their specific areas of interest through the lectures.

SNUILAS’s Projects for Years 2022-23

SNUILAS has been carrying out two major projects from July 2022. The first project is entitled “The Genealogy of Post-colonialism in Latin American Social Theory.” Colonialism has had a profound impact in shaping statehood in modern Latin America. Lately, the rights of the indigenous peoples of the continent have been a controversial issue in Latin America. In many states of Latin America, democracies and autocracies have alternated following political turmoil in the wake of their independence. This kind of disorder has led many Latin American scholars to believe that social theory must distance itself from colonial influence, and that Latin America must develop its own postcolonialist social theory. SNUILAS is currently working on archiving these postcolonialist theories produced by Latin American researchers over the past decades.

The second yearly project is named “Ethical Participation to Tackle the Crisis of Refugees: Child Refugees from Central America and Testimonial Literature.” Continuing economic poverty in Latin America has given rise to an increase in the number of refugees in the region. A key goal of this project is to find methods for resolving the crisis of people suffering from insecurity and economic vulnerability. The project places an emphasis on testimonial literature – archives of the experiences and perspectives of refugees themselves – as a significant part of their research and policy design. Currently, SNUILAS is conducting research on the experiences of child refugees from Central Latin America.

For more details about the SNU Institute of Latin America Studies, refer to the website (https://snuilas.snu.ac.kr).

Written by Seunghwan Oh, SNU English Editor, ascendhwan@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Professor Travis Smith, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, tlsmith@snu.ac.kr