Latino Studies at the University of Puget Sound

political involvement in Latin America since as early as the 19th century. A key objective of Latina/o Studies is to integrate the body of knowledge pertaining to these immigrant populations into the United States’ understanding of itself. Latino Studies’ main task is to create conceptual tools for studying and comprehending the complexities and diversities of Latina/o communities, their histories and cultural formations; to educate the U.S. population at large about such experiences; and to create curricula that enable Latino and non-Latino students to know and transform their own realities here at home. Interdisciplinary by nature, Latina/o Studies’ concerns range from history to law, education, racial and ethnic configurations, border studies, sociology, linguistics, social and immigration policy, diaspora and gender studies, film, literature and the arts, economics, and among other areas, health and medicine. Furthermore, as the Latina/o population in the U.S. becomes ever more diverse –ranging from indigenous migrants who do not speak Spanish, to Garifuna communities in New York or Los Angeles who have never considered themselves to be “Belizean”, “Honduran”, or “Guatemalan” and rather identify as Garinagu –, Latina/o Studies aims to move beyond the nation as the sole unit of analysis. This field of study instead chooses to organize itself in terms of transnational themes from which it critically examines:

* Latina/o histories of colonization and neocolonialism
* Neoliberalism and globalization
* Labor
* Migrations and diasporas
* Processes of racialization in the U.S. and Latin America Identity formations
* Racisms
* Cultural productions and expressions
* Class and ethnic subordinations
* Gender and gendered subjectivities and sexualities


HOW IS LATINO STUDIES DIFFERENT FROM LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES?

“Latino” is a concept grounded and created in the United States. Latino Studies, in this respect, is clearly different from Latin American Studies in that it departs from a U.S. Latino configuration (the “over there” –Latin America– is clearly now here; this here is what mostly concerns Latino Studies). Its research agenda maintains the dynamics of this domestic configuration as its main point of departure and the main site from which to establish its linkages. Furthermore, from the moment of its inception –the Civil Rights era–, Latina/o Studies has distinguished itself from other area-study fields for its adherence to three theoretical and pragmatic ideals that characterize many Latina/o Studies programs to this day:

1. Reliance on a theoretical development that is not removed from the lived realities of communities and individuals
2. A commitment to uniting theory and practice
3. A sustained critique of more traditional scholarly endeavors which have often marginalized and/or obscured Latina/o histories, cultures, and realities


WHY MINOR IN LATINO STUDIES? The student of Latino Studies explores the historical, cultural, political, and socio-economic experiences of the largest minoritized ethnic group in the United States, Latinos. A key objective of Latina/o Studies is to integrate the body of knowledge pertaining to these populations into the United States’ understanding of itself. Taking an interdisciplinary methodology, the minor provides a comprehensive and in-depth approach to key issues, research, and cultural facets of the Latina/o experience. Students minoring in Latina/o Studies prepare themselves for graduate studies and careers in social and welfare policy, law, counseling, public policy, health care, education, advertising, journalism, and among other fields, education. General Requirements for the Minor

General university degree requirements stipulate that 1) three units of the minor be taken in residence at Puget Sound; 2) students earn a GPA of 2.0 in courses taken for the minor; and 3) all courses taken for a minor must be taken for graded credit. Any exceptions to these stipulations are indicated in the minor degree requirements listed below. Requirements for the Minor
1. Completion of a minimum of five units, to include:
a. LTS 200, Latina/o America: A Critical Introduction to Latino Studies (1 unit);
b. Three courses from the following list with at least two from LTS or SPAN (3 units);
AFAM 401, Narratives of Race
LTS 300, Latina/o Literatures: Transgressive, Disobedient Enunciations from Latina/o America
LTS 400, Special Topics in Latina/o Studies
PG 304, Race and American Politics
PG 346, Race in the American Political Imagination
SOAN 350, Border Crossings: Transnational Migration and Diaspora Studies
SPAN 212, Latin American Culture and Civilization
SPAN 300, Literature, Theory, and Practice (whenever the course includes significant Latina/o Studies content)
SPAN 303, Hispanic Short Story
SPAN 306, Latin American Film (whenever the course includes significant Latina/o Studies content)
SPAN 307, Latin American and Latino Theatre
SPAN 311, Migration Narratives
c. LTS 401, (a community-based learning capstone course to be developed and first offered Spring 2015) (1 unit)

2. Proficiency in Spanish at a level equivalent to passing SPAN 202.



*The Latino Studies Minor is now an official minor at our university. For more information, please contact Prof. Siu at [email protected] (Director). All students interested in minoring should meet with the program's director.