Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies

09/10/2026

Can AI Improve Mental Health?

New research by LLILAS Faculty affiliates Manuela Angelucci (Department of Economics), Raissa Fabregas (LBJ School of Public Affairs), and Antonia Vazquez (UT Alumna) examines whether AI-powered mental health apps can improve wellbeing at scale.

Using evidence from a randomized evaluation in Mexico, the researchers found that the app improved mental health, daily functioning, and labor market outcomes, while also helping users experiencing severe psychological distress connect with formal care. Their findings highlight the potential of accessible, low-cost digital tools to expand mental health support in underserved communities

Evidence from a randomised evaluation in Mexico shows that an AI-powered mental health app can improve mental health, daily functioning, and labour market outcomes, while also helping users experiencing more severe psychological distress engage with formal care.

09/09/2026

Professor Sandro Sessarego Wins Major Grant to Document Palenquero Language

Learn more:

https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/llilas/news/sandro-sessarego-wins-major-grant-to-document-palenquero-language

College of Liberal Arts - University of Texas at Austin Department of Spanish and Portuguese at The University of Texas at Austin

09/08/2026

Three FACULTY CALLS have been extended:

• Publication Production Cost Award (2026–27): Sept. 11
• Tinker Visiting Professor Nomination (2027–28): Sept. 18
• Visiting Resource Professor Nomination (2027–28): Sept. 18

View Calls page: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/llilas/calls.html

09/08/2026

LLILAS Benson presenta eventos en homenaje a Ángel Rama

https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/llilas/news/llilas-benson-presenta-nbsp-eventos-en-homenaje-a-aacute-ngel-rama

Benson Latin American Collection Department of Spanish and Portuguese at The University of Texas at Austin

09/07/2026

We know coming to our side of campus can sometimes feel like an uphill battle, especially in the Texas heat! ☀️ But did you know you have two convenient options to come to LLILAS Benson?

A) UT Shuttle Route 640 (free with your UT EID)
Check out the shuttle stops and schedule. https://www.capmetro.org/ride/plan/schedmap?route=640

B) This new free transportation service that brings people from Garrison Hall to LBJ School Read below. ↓↓↓↓

Parking and Transportation Services created a new shuttle route that connects Garrison Hall to the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library. The route, added in August, provides consistent east to west transportation across the main campus as a part of the PTS Connect van shuttle service.

https://thedailytexan.com/2026/09/06/new-shuttle-route-connects-lbj-library-with-garrison-hall/

09/04/2026

Professor Carlos Ramos-Scharrón (LLILAS / Geography & the Environment) is part of a team that studies climate change and its effects in Puerto Rico, in association with the Caribbean Collective Action Network (CCAN), a branch of NOAA. The work of the team is featured in this Spanish-language piece in The Daily Texan.

Nota del editor: Algunas entrevistas para esta historia se realizaron en inglés y luego se tradujeron al español; su contenido ha permanecido inalterado. Investigadores de UT están estudiando cómo los huracanes y otros fenómenos meteorológicos extremos están transformando el paisaje y las com...

09/03/2026

Help us give the warmest welcome to our Fall Tinker Visiting Professor, Aldo Marchesi, Professor of History at the Universidad de la República in Uruguay and founder of the Institute for Research on Social Justice and Inequality, and to our new postdoctoral fellow, Alejandro I. Virué, a native of Argentina and a PhD graduate of Princeton University's Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

09/03/2026

A porcupine came to visit us on our side of campus!!
What name do you suggest for this little fellow?

09/02/2026

Congratulations to our alumnus, Douglas Mercado, on his appointment by Governor Abigail Spanberger to serve on Virginia’s Office of New Americans Advisory Board.

We are proud to see his leadership and dedication to supporting immigrant and refugee communities recognized at the state level.
https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2026/august-releases/name-1123036-en.html

09/02/2026

Les invitamos a nuestra nueva serie de charlas y talleres "El archivo como práctica: en homenaje a Ángel Rama- Reflexiones sobre el Archivo de Literatura Latinoamericana."

Esta serie tiene como eje una reflexión sobre el archivo de la literatura latinoamericana no como un depósito de textos, sino como un conjunto de operaciones críticas a través de las cuales se construye el sentido histórico de la literatura y la cultura latinoamericanas. Haciendo alusión al centenario del natalicio de Ángel Rama, una referencia esencial de la teoría y la crítica cultural latinoamericana, la serie comprende cuatro charlas y dos talleres sobre las formas en que el archivo articula la relación de la literatura con la cultura, la política y la sociedad.

Pasen a ver nuestro calendario para confirmar las fechas de cada evento:

https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/llilas/events/