The Teaching of Latino Studies
A conference supported by the ACM Faculty Career Enhancement (FaCE) Project.
April 17-18, 2009
Host: Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin, in collaboration with Cornell College and Lake Forest College
Organizers:
- Sylvia López, Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures, Beloit College (lopezs@beloit.edu)
- Gizella Meneses, Assistant Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures, Lake Forest College
- Marcela Ochoa-Shivapour, Associate Professor of Classical and Modern Languages, Cornell College
Conference Overview
The overall aim of the Teaching of Latino Studies Conference was to give participants the opportunity to discuss how their respective campuses are preparing for the growing pool of Latino/a applicants who can further diversify ACM campuses and to better educate through curricula their non-Latino student bodies about the largest and fastest growing minority group in the United States.
More specific goals of the workshop were to:
- discuss current course offerings in Latino Studies on ACM campuses;
- exchange and discuss reading lists, bibliographies, and syllabi;
- explore approaches to and best practices in teaching Latino studies;
- address needs of Latinos and non-Latinos who may enroll in these courses;
- investigate the intersection between Latino Studies, Latin American Studies, Ethnic Studies, and other programs;
- explore avenues for further collaboration; and
- explore avenues for co-authoring papers.
Demographic Background
The Pew Hispanic Center reports: "The Latino population, already the nation's largest minority group, will triple in size and will account for most of the nation's population growth from 2005 through 2050. Hispanics will make up 29% of the U.S. population in 2050, compared with 14% in 2005." ("U.S. Population Projections: 2005-2050." Pew Hispanic Center. http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=85)
Because of these changes in demographics, Latinos will comprise a growing percentage of students seeking admission into institutions of higher learning. In fact, the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education projects that between 2004-05 and 2014-15 the United States will see almost 207,000 more Hispanic high school graduates (an increase of 54 percent), but only about 12,000 more Black non-Hispanic graduates (an increase of 3 percent) and nearly 197,000 fewer White non-Hispanic graduates (a decline of 11 percent). (Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. “Knocking at the College Door. Projections of High School Graduates by State and Race/Ethnicity 1992-2022.” March 2008. http://www.wiche.edu/policy/Knocking/1992-2022/)
Conference Schedule and Program
Friday, April 17
The Latino Studies Conference began the evening of April 17 when participants worked together to answer a questionnaire and engage in a PowerPoint presentation by Sylvia López (Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures, Beloit College) on changing demographics in the United States as well as barriers to Latinos’ access to higher education and Latinos’ retention and persistence rates in colleges and universities.
After dinner participants and members of the Beloit College community viewed the film Voces chicaguences: Latinos in Chicago, a work in progress by Gizella Meneses (Assistant Professor of Spanish, Lake Forest College), in which she interviews 25 Latinos between the ages of 20 and 48 who grew up in the Chicago area but whose parents (im)migrated to the United States. Following the film participants gave feedback to Prof. Meneses and interacted with Beloit College Latina students who had agreed to respond to the film and share their personal views on self-identification, language use, and other issues pertinent to Latino/a identity.
Saturday, April 18
Titled Latino Studies: Challenges and Possibilities, the keynote address was delivered Saturday morning by Lourdes Torres (Ph.D., Vincent de Paul Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at DePaul University). The author of Puerto Rican Discourse and co-editor of Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism as well as Tortilleras: Hispanic and Latina Lesbian Expression, Prof. Torres spoke about the growing number of Latino Studies programs in U.S. universities, their interdisciplinary nature and the emerging field of queer latinidades. Discussion ensued about how to develop a Latino Studies program and where to locate it within the curriculum.
By midmorning various participants took turns discussing course syllabi and reading lists as a way to educate each other on what Latino Studies courses are taught on ACM campuses and as a segue as to how we can improve those courses and/or develop new ones. These resources are currently available on Beloit College’s Moodle site (contact Sylvia Lopez for more information).
Marcela Ocho-Shivapour (Associate Professor of Classical and Modern Languages, Cornell College) gave a presentation on best practices in teaching Latino Studies. She focused on instructional approaches and strategies that one can use to expose students to a variety of disciplinary lenses that focus on the condition and experiences of Latinos in the United States. We learned about political cartoons, films, and other resources that enhance the teaching and learning of Latino Studies.
Before our wrap up session in which we summarized the events of the day and discussed possibilities for collaboration and gathering again in two years, Mario Montaño (Associate Professor of Anthropology, Colorado College) led a discussion on how best to prepare students for entering Latino communities to carry out either service-learning or community-service projects.
Comments by Participants
Participants of the ACM Latino Studies Conference benefited in various ways from the conference.
- One participant reported that she “feel[s] a great deal less alone now that [she has] met colleagues at other ACM colleges” interested in Latino Studies. The conference allowed participants in the ACM interested in Latino Studies to develop a structure through which they can share resources and communicate about their conditions and needs particular to small liberal arts colleges.
- Another participant stated that “the workshop was extremely valuable, both in [terms of] curriculum and course development.” Hearing more experienced colleagues talk about their courses, participants expanding their repertoire of course offerings stated that they now feel better prepared to develop courses in Latino Studies.
- Having recently redesigned and renamed their American Cultural Studies Program so that it is now called Race and Ethnic Studies, participants from Colorado College expect to include a wide diversity of academic issues related to ethnic minorities in the United States and around the world. Grateful that the keynote speaker Professor Lourdes Torres provided a wealth of knowledge on cultural identity while focusing on Latinos/Latinas/Gays/Lesbians/Transgender, the Colorado College participants hope to invite her to their campus to assist with course development.
List of Participants by College
- Diane Lichtenstein, Professor of English, Beloit College
- Sylvia López, Professor of, Modern Languages and& Literatures, Beloit College
- Beatrice McKenzie, Assistant Professor of History, Beloit College
- Amy Saar, Assistant Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures, Beloit College
- Pablo Toral, Associate Professor of International Relations, Beloit College
- Oswaldo Voysest, Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures, Beloit College
- Adriana Estill, Associate Professor of English and American Studies, Carleton College
- Claudio Hidalgo, Adjunct Instructor in Spanish, Coe College
- Mario Montaño, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Colorado College
- Laura Padilla, Assistant Professor of English, Colorado College
- Marcela Ochoa-Shivapour, Associate Professor of Classical and Modern Languages, Cornell College
- Jessie Dixon, Associate Professor of Modern Languages, Knox College
- Gizella Meneses, Assistant Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures, Lake Forest College
- Galo Gonzalez, Professor of Hispanic Studies, Macalester College
- Heather Brady, Assistant Professor of Modern Foreign Languages, Monmouth College
- Shigeko Mato, Associate Professor of Modern Foreign Languages, Monmouth College
- Lourdes Torres, Vincent de Paul Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies, DePaul University
Many thanks to Sylvia López for this report on the Conference.
Posted May 5, 2009