Independent research with a faculty member working on Latina/o Studies can count toward your minor!
If you have a taken a Latina/o Studies class and you loved the subject matter and enjoyed working with the professor, you can offer to collaborate with them as a research assistant (you can also approach a professor in whose research you are interested, even if you haven’t taken a course with them). To count toward your minor, the research should contain at least a third of work on Latina/o Studies (it is your responsibility to check this will be the case with the faculty member and confirm with the Latina/o Studies Faculty Director that this is the case).
Doing independent research with a faculty member is a great way to deepen your professional relationship with the faculty member, get to know better this area of research, and earn credit for the minor.
The professors below have expressed an interest in working with students, so feel free to contact them if their areas of research appeal to you:
Ashley Perez (Comparative Studies): Latino/a Literature, Youth Culture and Literacy Practices.
Nancy Mendoza (Social Work): Adult Development and Aging, Cultural Competence, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.
Jeff Cohen (Anthropology): Migration, Immigration, Food studies, and Latinos in the US.
Pat Enciso (Department of Teaching and Learning): Language, Education, and Society; Multicultural and Equity Studies in Education, Community Literacies.
Inés Valdez (Political Science): Immigration Enforcement and Immigrant Activism, Racial Capitalism, Transnationalism.
You can find the full list of Latina/o Studies-affiliated faculty here.
