I am happy to report that Latino/a Studies has much to celebrate during the 2009-2010 academic year! The revised minor and the GIS are more focused on the social, cultural and historical realities facing Latinos/as residing in the United States as well as how such realities interface with those of Central and Latin America and the Hispanophone Caribbean. Both are structured with a core course that allows you to acquire a common vocabulary, toolbox, and exposure to different methodologies. The new minor and GIS will allow you to attend a variety of cultural phenomena as well as social and historical events in the Americas that inform the shaping of a pan-Latino identity and experience. Our minor will also prepare you for a program such as the Master of Arts, offered by Center of Latin American Studies, if you should choose to pursue graduate school.

Latino/a Studies will be offering a variety of stimulating and challenging coursework such as: Introduction to Latino/a Studies (CS 242), Latino/a Literature and Culture: African Diaspora and Latinidad (CS544/English 588), Natives & Newcomers: U.S. Immigration & Migration(History 322H), Chicana Feminism (WS 560), Introduction to Latin American Film (Spanish and Portuguese 380). We are offering our first gateway graduate level course to our Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization (GIS): Arts and Sciences 705: “Latinos in the Americas: Methods and Approaches” to be team taught by our Latino Studies faculty. Be sure to check out the course tab for a complete listing of quarterly course offerings.

Lastly, to inaugurate L.A.S.E.R (Latino & Latin American Studies space for Enrichment and Research) we will host National Book Award winning Chicano author Juan Felipe Herrera. In the spring we plan to hold our yearly Latino/a Studies awards forum to present: GALaS (or Graduate Achievement for Latino/a Studies Award) and ABUELo/aS (Award for Best Undergraduate Essay in Latino/a Studies Award).

For more information about the GIS, Minor or Latino/a Studies events please contact: aldama.1@osu.edu