About Us

The Katz Center for Mexican Studies promotes original research and informed international and interdisciplinary discussion on Mexican culture, history, arts, and politics. Its work seeks to engage and bring together the academic community of the University, the Mexican-origin populations in the city of Chicago, and our fellow scholars in Mexico and beyond. Founded in 2004, it is named in honor of the late Friedrich Katz, an eminent historian of Mexico and longtime professor at the University of Chicago. The Katz Center supports University-based research initiatives connected with Mexico’s cultural and political life; it fosters collaborations between University scholars and students and their counterparts in Mexico; it brings Mexican intellectuals, artists, journalists, and political leaders to speak at the University; and it seeks to build bridges to and shed light on the experiences of a growing Mexican Chicago. To these ends, the Katz Center organizes a wide array of seminars, lectures, workshops, and conferences, often in partnership with Chicago’s Center for Latin American Studies; it hosts visiting scholars and professors; and it publishes books related to its international conferences.