Pamela Sertzen
Assistant Professor and Coordinator
The Latino/Latina Studies minor (a.k.a. Latinx Studies) explores the experiences of peoples that trace their ancestry back to regions of the Americas (North and South) in what is now the United States and its territories. The minor focuses on studying people that were colonized by Spain and Portugal at some point, as well as indigenous peoples, mixed race (Afro) Mestizas/os, and people of African and European descent in the Americas. Latino and Latina are demographic and political labels created in the 1980s to help build nation-wide political power and unity amongst Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans living in the U.S., as well as the growing number of people immigrating from Central and South America, including the Dominican Republic. Latinx is a label that emerged more recently to question gender norms and labels in the field. The minor centers the experiences and voices of Latinos, Latinas, and Latinx people while exploring major historic and current events in the U.S. and Latin America. Because Latinx Studies is interdisciplinary and wide-ranging, students can take classes with CSCRE and affiliated faculty to learn about Latinx history, culture, art, theater, politics, and media. Students also learn about the European colonization of the Americas, U.S.-Latin American relations, American imperialism, Latin American immigration, social hierarchies, intersectionality, and how Latinx communities have reshaped the United States.
Student Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the long-term relationship between the U.S and Latin America, and how that has resulted in a long-standing and growing Latino/a/x presence in the U.S.
- Examine how social hierarchies intersectionally impact members of the Latinx community
- Critically review, critique, and write about Latino/Latina/Latinx Studies scholarship
- Express how Latinx individuals and communities have organized to resist, survive, and thrive.