Spanish and Latin American Studies

Learn the world’s second most widely spoken language at the state's #1 university for Modern Languages*. Engage with the cultures and histories of more than 400 million people. Like a Gaudi mosaic, the Spanish-speaking world comprises a multitude of unique parts that come together to form a complex and inspiring whole.

Our work integrates language teaching and cultural research to offer a comprehensive understanding of the social contexts and uses of Spanish around the world. We investigate Spanish in its spoken, written, narrative, historical and contemporary modes.

*2024 QS World University Rankings by Subject

Our research

We are the leading institution for Latin American Studies research in Australia**. Our work regularly crosses disciplinary boundaries into areas that include sociology, anthropology and psychology and address issues relating to nationalism, identity, gender, politics, ethnicity, social movements, and migration among others. We proudly maintain strong connections to the Spanish and Latin American communities of Australia.

Our research areas include: 

• Critical discourse analysis of media and law
• Sociology of law and political cultures in Mexico
• Gender and sexuality in contemporary Latin American contexts
• Migration studies
• Politics of identity in Latin American statecraft
• Ethnicity and race in electoral politics
• Fiction of contemporary Spain and its role in navigating reality
• Themes of war, memory and trauma in Spain’s narrative
• Identity, memory and space in Spanish women’s writings
• Second language acquisition pedagogy
• Spanish and Latin American literature and film
• Islam, Europe and Spain
• Cultural dislocation in contemporary Europe.

Exchange

Our advanced exchange programs provide life-changing experiences in Spain and the Americas, where eligible students exercise their language skills and develop an understanding of cultural intricacies first hand.

Our people

**The Australian Research special report 2019–2020