El Centro Newsletter - Fall 2022

FALL 2022

Cover photo by Bill Johnson González

Detail from image at National Museum of Mexican Art

Letter from the Director

The Summer of 2022 was an extremely busy time for us at the Center for Latino Research. While the spring quarter was winding down, we were gearing up for a variety of new initiatives.

In June, with the help of Dr. Marisa Alicea, the CLR and LALS established a new External Advisory Board. The board, which will be meeting quarterly throughout the year, is made up of extraordinary DePaul alums who continue to embody the University’s mission in their current work In fact, some of our board members will be speaking about their commitment to “Living Justice” this year at the Dolores Huerta Heritage Event, organized by the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity.

In July, the Social Transformation Research Collaborative (STRC), co directed by CBD and CLR, hosted our inaugural Summer Institute. 26 newly admitted first year and transfer students were invited to participate in this program, during which they made friends with one another, met faculty, earned college credits, and were introduced to various DePaul resources.

In August, we collaborated with Dr. Karen Mary Davalos, Dr. Constance Cortez, and the National Museum of Mexican Art on a workshop for Illinois Educators interested in Latinx Art.

The workshop introduced participants to a new research portal, maas1848.unm.edu, which enables users to access digitized versions of Mexican American art from museums across the country Attendees also earned professional development credits

This fall, we are looking forward to a dazzling variety of events – so please check out all the flyers included in this issue! We’ll have readings by Erika Sánchez and Ada Limón; the inaugural STRC Symposium, “The Transformative Humanities”; visits by artists like Joiri Minaya (in conjunction with the DPAM’s exhibit A Natural Turn, curated by Ionit Behar); and a special symposium on Latinx Detective Fiction, honoring both the publication of a new issue of Diálogo, and the beginning of our celebration of the 25th anniversary of the journal.

Publishedby

TheCenterforLatinoResearchat

EditedandDesignedby AmandaMatthews,SaraLuz Torres,andLauraPachón

Bill Johnson González

PublicLatinxart,suchasthisimagepostedon18thStreetinPilsen,is

CLR ADVISORY COMMITTEE

MissionStatement

TheCenterforLatinoResearch(CLR)strivestoopenandsustaindialogueswhichfosterthe empowermentandadvancementofLatinxcommunities.Tothatend,theCLRcreateslearning opportunitiesforstudentsandsupportsscholarsintheirresearch,whileforgingcollaborative relationshipswithlocal,national,andinternationalresearchpartners.Wealsopublishanawardwinningscholarlyjournal,Diálogo,andsponsormanyactivitiesoncampus,includingfilmseriesand speakerseries.

Marisa Alicea, Professor School of Continuing and Professional Studies

Carolina Barrera Tobón, Assistant Professor Modern Languages

Jacqueline Lazú, Associate Professor Modern Languages

Maria de Moya, Associate Professor Public Relations & Advertising

Julie Moody-Freeman, Associate Professor African and Black Diaspora Studies

Elizabeth Ortiz, Vice President Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity

José Perales, Director of Operations Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity

Rose Spalding, Professor Political Science

Joe R. Tafoya, Assistant Professor Political Science

Ionit Behar, Associate Curator DePaul Art Museum

ANNOUNCEMENTS FACULTY AND STAFF

CAROLINA STENBERG

Dr. Sternberg recently submitted her book manuscript, Neoliberal Urban Governance. Spaces, Discourses and Culture in Buenos Aires and Chicago, for publication.

From a comparative perspective, her study examines how neoliberal urban governances in Chicago and Buenos Aires institutions, programs and procedures work to advance particular redevelopment agendas in a drive to transform previously disinvested and stigmatized neighborhoods. Central to her endeavor is a consideration of how governances in both cities deploy rhetoric to build acceptance, dissuade resistance, and normalize the commodification of the targeted areas. That rhetoric includes metaphors, common understandings, imagined spaces, and sanitary codes.

Dr. Sternberg has also received the Wicklander Fellowship to work on a collaborative project called: “A feminist care ethics approach to building more inclusive and just cities in the Global South. The case of Buenos Aires’ unhoused population.” Drawing from a recent study on the mobilization of care during the apex of the pandemic in the city of Buenos Aires to assist the unhoused population, this study will expand this line of work and discuss the role of care ethics in creating inclusive spaces in the city through the experiences and practices of a collective of different organizations assisting the unhoused population during and after the COVID 19 pandemic.

BILL JOHNSON GONZÁLEZ

Last winter, Dr Johnson González taught a new course, ENG 272: Envisioning Civil Rights in U S Literature and Culture, which introduced students to the literature and photography of the Civil Rights Era The course was taught as part of a series of classes connected to the RiseUp! Project at DePaul.The final projects of students in ENG 272 contributed to an art exhibit currently being hosted online by the DePaul Art Museum. The exhibition, titled Demanding Change, Bearing Witness: Photographs from the Wilson Garling RiseUp! Collection, curated by Dr. Cheryl Bachand and students from her classes, uses images from the Wilson Garling Collection of photographs of social justice movements in U.S. history. https://www.demandingchangebearingwitness.com/

In June, Dr. Johnson González was also re appointed as Director of the Center for Latino Research As director, he edits Diálogo and is looking forward to celebrating the 25th anniversary of the journal throughout the year He is editing a forthcoming issue of Diálogo on the topic of Queer Latinx Studies

MELODDYE CARPIO RÍOS

Dr Carpio Rios (she/her/ella) is the Social Transformation Research Collaborative new post doctoral Fellow in Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies in the Latin American and Latino Studies Department Her forthcoming article on queer/marica Latin American cultural manifestations titled, “Poéticas de resistencia sudamarika,” will appear in La Palabra y el Hombre (Universidad Veracruzana). She is currently working on an article on Amazonian art.

IONIT BEHAR

Dr. Behar curated two parallel exhibitions currently open at the DePaul Art Museum: A Natural Turn: María Berrío, Joiri Minaya, Rosana Paulino, and Kelly Sinnapah Mary and Solo(s): Krista Franklin. In conjunction with these exhibitions, Behar planned a dozen public programs in collaboration with DePaul University's departments. Behar is also curating another exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center titled Nelly Agassi: No Limestone, No Marble, opening on September 24

JOE R. TAFOYA

Dr Tafoya published an article titled “Nationalism in the ‘Nation of Immigrants’: Race, Ethnicity, and National Attachment” in the The Forum: A Journal of Applied Research in Contemporary Politics His book chapter titled “The Politics of Marjiuana, Immigration, and Latinos” was also published in Stoneover: The Observed Lessons and Unanswered Questions of Cannabis Legalization.

LAURA PACHÒN

The Center for Latino Research and the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies would like to welcome our newest Graduate Editorial Assistant, Laura Pachón Though born in Bogotá, Colombia, Laura was raised in Miami, FL She graduated in 2021 from Rollins College and received her BA in International Relations with a minor in Latin American and Caribbean Studies She is currently pursuing her Master's of Science at DePaul University in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies. Prior to working at the CLR/LALS, Laura was a student fellow working with DePaul's Mellon Foundation funded collaborative, HumanitiesX. The collaborative joins faculty and students from DePaul University with community partners from Chicago area arts, cultural, and civic organizations.

Bienvenida Laura!

ARACELI GUACIN

Araceli is one of our Student Assistants here at the Center for Latino Research and the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies She is a senior majoring in Film and Television with a concentration in Creative Producing and while at DePaul has worked as a social media marketing intern for companies like Soapbox, Do312, and Laugh Factory. Besides her new role with our department Araceli has also been working at DePaul’s department of History of Art & Architecture as a student assistant as well as running her own pet sitting business on the side. She is passionate about aiding and sharing perspectives and stories that empower those disenfranchised.

Bienvenida Araceli!

STRC Update

The Social Transformation Research Collaborative hosted 24 incoming students to participate in the first iteration of the Summer Institute on July 24th 29th Dr Juan Mora Torres (History) and Dr Mónica Reyes (Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse) worked together to create an impactful, immersive curriculum following the theme of Influencers for Social and Racial Justice, which included readings, guest lectures, and field trips to places relevant to the history of the marginalization, endurance, and flourishing of communities of color in Chicago. Students learned about the different ways in which humanistic expressions have been used to survive and call out structural violence and explored how they can use the tools available to them today to envision, and work towards, a better future. We are excited to share that our students are working on creating an STRC student organization. Currently, we are planning The Transformative Humanities: A Symposium on Racial and Social Justice, which will take place on Thursday, October 20th and Friday, October 21st Our list of confirmed speakers includes Ramón A Gutiérrez, Duchess Harris, Diane C Fujino, and Robyn Rodríguez We will also hear from postdoctoral fellows Meloddye Carpio Ríos and Nino Rodríguez, as well as our faculty fellows, graduate student fellows, and Summer Institute participants Please stay tuned for further details

From the Program Coordinator, Alex Delgadillo

HEATHER MONTES IRELAND

Assistant Professor | Dept of Women’s and Gender Studies “Decoupling Work and Dignity in Latina Visual Culture”

My research examines an archive of films centering the lives and struggles of Latina mothers, who are often denied human dignity as a coercible, exploitable and cheap labor pool, to interrogate the instrumentalization of the gendered and racialized Latina body as a laboring body above all else This work seeks to illuminate the radically different conceptualizations of dignity explored within Latina cultural production which reaches far beyond U.S. work society’s conscriptions. In a comparative analysis of this archive of films and broader U S immigration and anti poverty policy, my works reveals how Latina mothers navigate a complex set of structural barriers as they seek their own imagined forms of dignity specifically more just, inhabitable worlds for themselves, their children, and their communities

ANA SCHAPOSCHNIK

Associate Professor | Dept of History

“DidtheHolyOfficeLeaveRoomforAgency?:TheTrialofFaithofFrancisco Vázquez(Lima,1600s)”

I plan to focus on the example of Francisco Vázquez He was as a merchant of Portuguese descent imprisoned in Lima in 1637 The Holy Office of the Inquisition accused him of being a Crypto Jewish heretic, a bigamist, and of hiding his true linage and his real profession At the end of his trial of faith Vázquez was given a second chance to reinsert himself into the community Interestingly, after the 1639 sentence, Francisco Vázquez appealed the trial as a whole, basing his appeal on issues of lineage instead of on religious practices. His argument for the appeal was that he was an Old Christian, and as such he was not connected to a network of Crypto Jewish heretics; for that reason, his appeal says, Francisco Vázquez did not deserve to go through a trial of faith

MONICA REYES

Assistant Professor | Dept of Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse

"Shelter Rhetorics: Storytelling within the U.S. Asylum Process”

I propose to expand a study I conducted within an emergency homeless shelter, where I investigated how people who are seeking asylum and those who work with them navigate the rhetorical pressures of having to write compelling asylum narratives required for legal permission to remain in the country. Through the shelter community’s own interviews, drawings, and photos, my book will demonstrate how liminal sites, like this shelter, provide opportunities for displaced communities to employ what I term shelter rhetorics, distinct shared rhetorical practices of daily life like silence and routine that both safeguard vulnerabilities and enact agency for individuals within precarious spaces By practicing shelter rhetorics, the shelter encourages clients to tell their unique stories in ways that help them move while simultaneously critiquing reductive dominant discourses about what it means to be an “asylum seeker”

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CLR FACULTY CFELLOW LR FACULTY FELLOW

Dr. Monica Reyes

Dr Monica Reyes is a wife, mother, volunteer, scholar, and educator Dr Reyes earned her PhD in English Studies with a concentration in Cultural Rhetorics from Old Dominion University She considers herself a cultural rhetorician, and as such, her research explores the transnational rhetorical power structures at work within cultures Additionally, she employs rhetorical ecology and Chicana feminism methodologies to help deconstruct and trace these rhetorical, networked connections on local, everyday, and material levels

INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY AMANDA MATTHEWS

Your fellowship project, "Shelter Rhetorics: Storytelling within the U.S. Asylum Process”, seems fascinating and relevant in today's climate. What influenced you to take on this project?

The project was inspired by my time volunteering at a shelter within the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas (my hometown area!). This area is located on the national border where the majority of asylum claims are made and where many people seeking asylum wait to be heard As I volunteered at the shelter, I learned that a person is eligible to apply for asylum in the U.S. if they are able to effectively persuade the government in writing about the circumstances surrounding their escape from persecution in their home country. These narratives are vital as they open opportunities for work, education and a pathway to resettlement in the U.S. However, composing these stories is challenging because of cultural, linguistic and economic barriers which disproportionately affect women and families.

For example, recent policy revisions in the U S deem persecution based on gender based violence, like sex trafficking, outside the scope of asylum. Understanding the composing processes of asylum applicants through a rhetorical lens is significant because, to put it plainly, people seeking asylum are writing for their lives. The book explores how this one non profit rhetorically supports people as they are telling stories about their asylum experience and how life changing storytelling can be.

How does the work you do influence what or how you teach in the classroom?

The more I volunteered and designed community based research, I started looking for opportunities to include my students in community engaged assignments While I lived in south Texas, I taught at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Teaching in this geographical context gave me my first opportunity to design servicelearning courses that culminated in students

creating promotional materials for local agencies that work with displaced populations. I designed courses that address structural inequalities that people face. Now at DePaul, I continue to find ways to link the classroom and the community In a “Feminist Rhetorics” course I teach, my students have analyzed non profits which perpetuate reductive rhetoric about women’s issues. The class culminates in a proposal of advocacy initiatives that highlight the connections between women’s stories of oppression and larger systems and scales of historical, cultural, and material local and geo politics. Students in my graduate course, “Rhetorics of Displacement,” work to resist the xenophobic characterization of migrants as burdens on society. By virtually partnering with people who are seeking asylum, students will help them showcase their strengths and dreams through digital storytelling Such courses help train students to listen to people's stories with context, in order to find solutions to systemic oppression.

This term, we have all female identifying Fellows for the CLR Faculty Fellowship. What motivates you as a Latina in the field of education and research?

After high school, I didn't have a single professor that looked like me. When I was studying for my terminal degree, I read a statistic about how rare it was for Mexican American women to obtain a doctoral degree (less than 1% of those who obtain a bachelor's degree go on to a doctoral program). This terrified me. However, a fellow Latina that I volunteered alongside encouraged me one day to push through because our perspectives are valuable and necessary I'm also so motivated by my students! They have expressed how grateful they are to have my experience/ point of view in the classroom.

What's something you're currently reading and enjoying?

I'm currently reading The Rhetorics of US Immigration: Identity, Community, Otherness, edited by Johanna Hartelius. I also just finished The Nordic Theory of Everything by Anu Partanen And I'm always reading a cooking magazine or cookbook

I know you are still new to the city, what are your impressions of Chicago and DePaul so far?

Chicago is very special. It can be a harsh place; weather and socioeconomic challenges seem to have made Chicagoans tough! At the same time, they are some of the most warm and caring individuals I've ever met I'm also glad to be part of the ethnic and racial diversity of the area, and I love listening to so many languages when I simply go to the grocery store or ride the train.

by Ahtziri Alviso

Over the past three years, the CLR and LALS department have been working with Dr. Marisa Alicea to identify a small group of DePaul alumnae/i and community members who will serve our units as an External Advisory Board. This volunteer group will serve as advocates, advisors, and resources for CLR & LALS faculty and students. The group will meet quarterly to remain informed about CLR & LALS activities and to establish a plan to assist in our efforts. The board’s work is grounded on a common understanding of the importance of the opportunity to study and research Latin American and Latinx communities.

The inaugural meeting for the new CLR/LALS External Advisory Board was held on June 30th, 2022 Ahtziri Alviso ’22, a newly minted alumna herself, provides us with her narrative about the celebratory banquet that capped off the evening

My name is Ahtziri Alviso. I am a 2022 graduate of DePaul University and last year, I worked as the student assistant for the Latin American and Latino Studies Department (LALS) and the Center for Latino Research (CLR).

In June, I had the amazing opportunity not only to assist with the creation and execution of the Inaugural CLR/LALS External Advisory Board Meeting, but also to participate in this event, which was held on June 30th, 2022. The event consisted of a banquet for alumnae/i who had been invited to

back to DePaul to serve as members of an new, external advisory board The alumnae/i were joined by DePaul faculty and students to celebrate the ongoing and increasing success of the Latinx community at DePaul. As a recent first generation Latina DePaul graduate, I felt it was incredible to see fellow alumnae/i with the same background as me and many of my peers, who were working as professionals and serving in the positions that we hope to hold in the near future all while proudly representing their Latinx heritage and culture

Alumnae/i were invited on a walking tour of DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus and then were treated to a private visit in the DePaul Art Museum’s collection of Latinx art After the inaugural board meeting, the alumnae/i, headed over to Cortelyou Commons for a banquet.

During dinner, twelve alumnae/i were formally welcomed to the advisory board. The event honored the alumnae/i’s current and past careers over drinks, dinner, music, and gift bag giveaways as a small token of appreciation. As part of the event, faculty, including Dean Guillermo Vásquez de Velasco and Associate Dean Jacqueline Lazú, were able to give a few remarks. They discussed the impact of the Latinx community on the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, as well as gave personal statements as participants in the Latinx community.

A wonderful aspect of this event that gave a very personal touch to the evening was that students including myself were able to give a few remarks about our own experiences as Latinx and/or first generation college students and graduates of DePaul. I discussed my struggle with imposter syndrome, and how more often than not I have felt like I was not qualified to be where I am, to have the opportunities I have had, or to hold the positions I have had. In my experience, the only position where I have truly felt a sense of belonging has been working for LALS and CLR as their student assistant

The biggest takeaway I wanted alumni, faculty, staff, and my fellow peers to take from my experience was for them to know how the LALS & CLR, its offices, classrooms, and faculty, create an environment of belonging and celebration of our heritage, cultures, and identities.

Throughout my college career, I have realized how departments like these are crucial to the development of young Latinx as students and as people. As many students like myself begin to realize that we belong and deserve to be in the positions we are in because we have earned them, LALS & CLR have become safe spaces for our stru

ggles and a supportive environment for our growth. Listening to everyone’s experiences and seeing fellow alumnae/i as first generation Latinx professionals working in positions that I hope to see myself in someday was very inspirational and motivational.

Throughout the event, I was able to reflect with the alumnae/i more on my role as a first generation Latina preparing to go into the working world, as well as how my background and experiences will play into my career. This experience created such a positive impact on me because it was an amazing sight to see so many people actively making an impact on the Latinx community. The future of the board is a bright one, as it consists of incredibly caring, and devoted alumnae/i who have the best interests at heart for the Latinx community at DePaul. I am so excited to see all of the amazing work this board will do.

PreviousCLR/LALSStudentAssistantAhtziriAlivso

Top Left: The Board holds its inaugural meeting at the DePaul Art Museum.

Top Right: Ahtziri Alviso '22 delivers remarks during the banquet at Cortelyou Commons

Above: Professors Carolina Barrera Tobón, Delia Cosentino, and Lourdes Torres at the Banquet

Above, right: Profs. Jacqui Lazú and Marisa Alicea with Board member Michelle Morales.

Right:Abigail Ares of the Development Office, LAS Dean Guillermo Vásquez de Velasco and Bill Johnson González

Maria G. Arias

Principal, Maria Arias Solutions

BA, Political Science, DePaul University, 1983

Leonard Dominguez

Secretary, Little Village Rotary Club of Chicago BA, Economics, DePaul University, 1967

Yvette Flores

Managing Partner/Director, Cardinal Green Investments LLC BA, Sociology, DePaul University, 1986

Marisol Morales

Executive Director, Carnegie Elective Classifications, American Council on Education BA, Latin American Latino Studies; MA/MS International Public Service Management, DePaul University, 1999

Michelle Morales

President, Woods Fund Chicago

BA, Latin American Studies, DePaul University, 1993

Maria Pesqueira

President, Healthy Communities Foundation BA, Latin American Studies, DePaul University, 1990

Edgar Ramirez

President/ CEO, Chicago Commons Association BA, Political Science/ Latin American Studies, DePaul University, 2000

Lou Sandoval

President/CEO, Halo Advisory Group BS, Biochemistry, DePaul University, 1988

Lucino Sotelo

Chief Digital Officer, Northern Trust Corporation BS, Accounting, DePaul University, 1993

by Yu Yu Zander

This summer, the STRC, co directed by Dr Julie Moody Freeman of the Center for Black Diaspora and Dr. Bill Johnson González (CLR), hosted the first annual Summer Institute for newly admitted and transfer students 26 students were admitted to attend a week long academic program from July 24 July 29th The STRC students lived together on campus and attended a daily class led by Dr Monica Reyes and Dr. Juan Mora Torres. The course included visits from nationally renowned scholars and artists, as well as two days of field trips into the city for students to become familiar with various Chicago neighborhoods. The course explored inequality in Chicago, and while students learned about physical and economic barriers that keep communities separated throughout the city, they also connected with community leaders and activists who are working to build solidarity across various racial and ethnic groups. Yu Yu Zander, one of the STRC students, shared her description of the week with us

Amidst field trips and lectures, students of the STRC (Social Transformation Research Collaborative) Summer Institute were bonded by education and newly found friendships. Over the course of five days, students were invited to move past the awe of the Loop and Lincoln Park and delve into the political, socioeconomic and racial divides that the city of Chicago delicately rests upon.

A mural walk in Pilsen led by Professor Juan Mora Torres, a luncheon in Ping Tom Memorial

Park with Rep. Aaron Ortiz, and a tour of the DuSable Museum were learning experiences that the select group of new DePaul scholars participated in. When students were not out and about, many brilliant speakers came to them; Rashad Shabazz discussed how his life experience influenced his book, Spatializing Blackness: Architectures of Confinement and Black Masculinity in Chicago; artist Tonika Lewis Johnson shared her Folded Map Project, and Maira Khwaja explained the work that

happens behind the scenes at the Invisible Institute.

In addition, staff from across DePaul visited the class to share the wealth of resources available to students These presentations included: The Office of Health and Wellness, The Office of Multicultural Student Success, The Career Center, Financial Aid Services, and many more.

Above: STRC students visit the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen. Dr. Mora Torres, one of the faculty co leads for the Summer Institute course, speaks in front of a mural by artist Mario Castillo

Left, top: Dr Monica Reyes, STRC Peer Mentor Rodrigo Malgarejo, and STRC student Gerardo Avila take a closer look at materials about Black veterans in Chicago's DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center

Left, bottom: DuSable Museum Docent Perry Diggs discusses the history of the 1919 Race Riot.

By the end of the week, students were well equipped with education and resources to tackle their first years at DePaul. Students from the Summer Institute benefited greatly from the program and are looking forward to sharing their experiences at the STRC Symposium in October and with a new cohort of students next summer

The STRC is a new intiative funded by a generous grant from the Mellon Foundation For more information, see: go.depaul.edu/strc

Top: Dr Monica Reyes, one of the Faculty Co-Leads for the Summer Institute course, poses near public art in Ping Tom park.

Near right, middle: Representative Aaron Ortiz speaks to STRC students during lunch at Ping Tom park.

Far right, middle: Dr. Julie MoodyFreeman, co-director of the STRC, talks with STRC student Jacinda.

Near right, bottom: Public mural on 18th St in Pilsen.

Far right, bottom: STRC Peer Leader Amanda Matthews poses with Summer Institute students, clockwise l-r: Marjorie, Kyli, Gerardo, Jess, Alana, Socrates, Anjelica, Ana, Vincent, and Megan.

by Sara Luz Torres

On Saturday, August thirteenth, the Center for Latino Research, with the co sponsorship of the National Museum of Mexican Art, had the fantastic opportunity to host a K 16 Educators' Workshop on Mexican American Art Educators from across Chicagoland came together to learn about a new digital portal that aggregates Mexican American art from 1848 to the present day (http://maas1848.unm.edu). The portal enables users to access thousands of full color digital versions of artworks drawn from the collections of renowned institutions such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston Dr Constance Cortez, a professor in Chicana/o Art History at the University of

Texas, Rio Grande Valley, and Dr Karen Mary Davalos, a Chicano and Latino Studies professor at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, are the co leaders and developers of the MAAS1848 project They were assisted in planning the workshop by Dr. Joanna V. Maravilla, a professor at Lewis University, and Dr. Myrna García, a professor at Northwestern University. Dr. Maravilla and Dr. García, who work regularly with educators, helped to identify and recruit participants for the workshop, focusing on outstanding teachers who serve local Latinx communities and who are interested in incorporating Latinx art into their syllabi The Chicago area educators who attended the workshop came from a range of fields, from art

to dual language teaching, social work, and even math. As it turned out, some of the educators were DePaul alumni who were returning to campus for the first time after several years Two current DePaul undergraduates, Emily Mayo and Serenity de Oca, both of whom are potentially interested in teaching careers, also attended.

The workshop presentations began by asking participants to consider contemporary Mexican American art in Chicago, but also emphasized how most Mexican American artwork is not usually recorded, properly credited, or made digitally accessible The MAAS1848 database was created to combat this inequity. As Dr. Cortez and Dr. Davalos began to guide educators through the database, participants learned how to search not only for works by individual artists, but also for other materials such as protest flyers, public murals, and contemporary protest art. Dr. Cortez demonstrated how to use the database for a course that traced continuities between Pre Columbian and Colonial art and Chicano/a art Dr Davalos suggested how to create a lesson plan showcasing the visual art of the Chicano Movement. After lunch, participants were asked

to consider how to apply the database in their own educational settings. Answers were wide ranging, but the discussion concluded that incorporating more art into academic environments is crucial in creating an inviting space for young Latinxs and can alter how detached students approach a space.

The last event of the workshop took place at the DePaul Art Museum (DPAM), where the director of DPAM, Laura Caroline de Lara, provided attendees with a private tour of works from the museum’s collection of Latinx art. De Lara encouraged teachers to consider bringing their classes to DPAM for field trips. It was an impactful experience to go from researching contemporary Mexican American art to experiencing it in person.

As the Department Assistant for the Center for Latino Research and The Department of Latin American and Latino Studies, I have found organizing events for students, staff/faculty, and community members to be the most rewarding, and am happy to have helped organize this event I am thankful to have witnessed a palpable appreciation for Latinx art by all participants by the end of the evening.

Dr. Karen Mary Davalos

Dr. Constance Cortez

Past EventsSpring 2022

26TH ANNUAL LATINX GRADUATION

Thursday, May 26

Organized by the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, the 26th Latinx Graduation was a successful event celebrating students' accomplishments in person for the first time since 2019. Pictured from left to right: Amanda Matthews, El Centro's Graduate Editorial Assistant. She graduated with her M.A. in Writing and Publishing. Sara Luz Torres, Department Assistant for the Center for Latino Research and The Department of Latin American and Latino Studies, graduated with her B.S. in Communication and Media. Ahtziri Alviso, Student Assistant for the Center for Latino Research and The Department of Latin American and Latino Studies, graduated with her B A in International Studies and Spanish

A SONG FOR CESAR: DOCUMENTARY SCREENING & PANEL DISCUSSION

Wednesday, May 4 & 5

With the Center for Religion, Culture, & Community and OIDE, CLR co sponsored A Song for Cesar, a documentary exploring the socially engaged music and art of the United Farm Workers Movement. Following the screening on Thursday, May 5 (Cinco de Mayo) a virtual panel discussion on the use of the arts to promote social justice was held where Dolores Huerta and the filmmakers spoke.

Contact Us

Bill Johnson González Director bjohns58@depaul.edu

Sara Luz Torres Department Assistant storre38@depaul.edu

Laura Pachón Graduate Editorial Assistant lpachon@depaul.edu

Amanda Matthews

Previous Graduate Editorial Assistant

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