ON THE COVER ON THE COVER ON THE COVER
Vampiros en El Norte by Isabel Cañas (2023)
We encourage you all to pick up one of these wonderful POC texts! Let’s learn, grow, and heal together.
- El equipo del CLR/LALS
Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice by Cristina Rivera Garza (2023)
Woman Without Shame: Poems by Sandra Cisneros (2022)
The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio (2020)
Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio (2024)
My Book of the Dead by Ana Castillo (2021)
Apostles of Change: Latino Radical Politics, Church Occupations, and the Fight to Save the Barrio by Felipe Hinojosa (2021)
The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself: Racial Myths and Our American Narratives by David Mura (2023)
A Cup of Water Under My Bed: A Memoir by Daisy Hernández (2014)
Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today’s Feminism by Daisy Hernández (Editor) & Bushra Rehman (Editor) (2002)
STATEMENT CLR MISSION
The Center for Latino Research (CLR) strives to open and sustain dialogues which foster the empowerment and advancement of Latinx communities. To that end, the CLR creates learning opportunities for students and supports scholars in their research, while forging collaborative relationships with local, national, and international research partners. We also publish an award-winning scholarly journal, Diálogo, and sponsor many activities on campus, including film series and speaker series.
ABOUT LATIN AMERICAN & LATINO STUDIES
The Department of Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) explores the myriad contributions of Latin Americans and Latinx people to the global community. The department’s programs emphasize the profound linkages that have emerged between Latin America and the United States, particularly through the construction of Latinx communities in the U.S. We also critically analyze the complex intersections with Indigenous, African, European, Semitic, Arab, and Asian communities throughout the Americas.
Edited and Designed by:
Gigi Lara Yamitza A. Yuivar Villarreal
Published by:
The Center for Latino Research and The Department of Latin American and Latino Studies at DePaul University
Letters from the CLR DIRECTOR & LALS CHAIR
Estimades Lectores,
As we begin a brand new school year, we are always excited to see familiar faces again and especially to welcome new members to our team. This fall, we are thrilled to have Emilio Díaz join us as our new LALS/CLR Department Assistant. Emilio is also pursuing a graduate degree in Digital Communication and Media Arts. When you get a chance, please come by our offices and help us welcome Emilio!
This autumn is packed with events at the CLR: We have partnered with local PBS station WTTW for a panel discussion and sneak-preview of their new documentary, The Young Lords of Lincoln Park on Oct. 3rd. The documentary features our colleague Jacqui Lazú and former STRC graduate fellow Paul Mireles.
Author Daisy Hernández will be giving two presentations on Oct. 8th -- an afternoon talk about her memoir A Cup of Water Under my Bed, and an evening talk about her pathbreaking feminist anthology Colonize This!, Finally, on Oct. 22nd, the Social Transformation Research Collaborative (STRC) will be hosting its third annual symposium on the theme, “Writing, Race, and Memory.” Our STRC faculty, postdoctoral, and student fellows will be joined at the day-long event by guest speakers Beverly Jenkins, Carole Bell, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, and David Mura.
While you enjoy Latine/x Heritage Month, please feel free to drop by our free weekly screenings of Latinx Film Classics (see the flyer in this issue for dates and times) – we’re showing everything from AbUSed: The Postville Raid to Zoot Suit! Enjoy your fall, and as always, don’t hesitate to let us know how the CLR can help you.
- Bill Johnson Gonzalez
Letter from the LALS Chair
Hola lectores,
As incoming chair of the Department for Latin American and Latino Studies, I am happy to welcome you to this new academic year. Carolina Sternberg, deserves our gratitude for her unwavering devotion to the department over the last six years and I look forward to building on her great work to enhance the department, grow our curriculum, and work with our colleagues to enrich students’ education at DePaul via our classes and programming.
In that regard I am happy welcome our new colleague, Miguel Angel Castañeda to our LALS family. As you will read in this issue, Miguel, an historian of student movements and scholar of relational Chicana/o studies, is teaching some of our core courses this year, and promises to engage with our students in innovative ways.
As chair, I also look forward to working more closely with the LALS/CLR external advisory board, so I am also glad to see one of board’s members, Marisol Morales, featured in this issue. As you will read, Marisol earned from bachelor’s at DePaul with a degree in Latin American and Latino Studies. It is so rewarding to see our graduates go on and do amazing things with their lives and return to DePaul to support our work!
¡Espero verlos en algunos de nuestros eventos este trimestre!
LT
CLR ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Marisa Alicea, Professor, Vincent DePaul Professor School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Carolina Barrera Tobón, Associate Professor Modern Languages
Ionit Behar, Curator | DePaul Art Museum
Martha Martinez-Firestone, Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Program | Sociology
Julie Moody-Freeman, Associate Professor, African and Black Diaspora Studies | Director, Center for Black Diaspora
Core Faculty
Jacqueline Lazú, Associate Professor, Vincent DePaul Professor | Modern Languages
Jesús Pando, Associate Professor, Chair Physics and Astrophysics, College of Science and Health
José Perales, Interim Vice President Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity
Carolina Sternberg, Associate Professor, Chair Latin American and Latino Studies
Joe R. Tafoya, Assistant Professor | Political Science
LALS FACULTY
Lourdes Torres, Vincent DePaul Professor, Chair Latin American and Latino Studies
Carolina Sternberg, Associate Professor Latin American and Latino Studies
Yoalli Rodriguez Aguilera, Assistant Professor Latin American and Latino Studies
Affiliated Faculty
Marisa Alicea, Professor, Vincent DePaul Professor School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Luisela Alvaray, Associate Professor Media and Cinema Studies
Glen Carman, Associate Professor Modern Languages
Delia Cosentino, Professor History of Art and Architecture
Rocío Ferreira, Associate Professor Modern Languages Department Chair, Women's and Gender Studies
Bill Johnson González, Associate Professor, English Director, Center for Latino Research
Jacqueline Lazú, Associate Professor, Vincent DePaul Professor Modern Languages
Jordan Levy, Assistant Professor Anthropology
Martha Martinez-Firestone, Associate Professor, Sociology Director, Undergraduate Sociology Program
Susana S. Martínez, Associate Professor, Modern Languages Director, Peace, Justice & Conflict Studies Program
Elizabeth Millán, Professor, Chair Philosophy
Jesse Mumm, Professional Lecturer Latin American and Latino Studies
Miguel Ángel Castañeda, Social Transformation Research Collaborative (STRC) Post-Doctoral Fellow | Latin American and Latino Studies
Juan Mora-Torres, Associate Professor History
Heather Montes-Ireland, Assistant Professor Women's and Gender Studies
Vincent Peña, Assistant Professor Journalism and Sports Communication, College of Communication
Xavier Perez, Assistant Professor Criminology
Monica Reyes, Assistant Professor Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse
Ana Schaposchnik, Associate Professor History
Jose Soltero, Professor Sociology
Sonia Soltero, Professor, Chair Leadership, Language and Curriculum, College of Communication
Rose J. Spalding, Professor, Vincent DePaul Professor Political Science
Joe R. Tafoya, Assistant Professor Political Science
XAVIER PEREZ
Faculty & Staff Announcements
In the Spring, Dr. Xavier Perez co-edited and authored a volume of Palgrave's Critical Policing Studies that explores the role of police in Latin America. The volume is titled “Police and State Crime in the Americas: Southern and Postcolonial Perspectives.” The text introduces a necessary “postcolonial” analysis of police in the Western world.
The following quote is an excerpt from the Abstract: “It seeks to understand the construction of marginality and the multiple and intersecting structures of colonial domination, before shining a light directly on the crimes of the state, in an attempt to hold criminal state organizations to account. It draws on interdisciplinary perspectives and methodologies that center marginalized and colonized experiences and allows for the development of counter-colonial knowledge.”
HEATHER MONTES-IRELAND
Dr Montes Ireland is happy to announce that she was awarded tenure and promotiontoAssociateProfessorasofJuly1,2024.
This summer, she presented her paper, "Reclaiming the Fragmented Self: Autohistoria-Teoría and Chicana/Latina Feminist Approaches to Self-writing," alongwithWRDcolleaguesatthe3rdConferenceonWritingthroughtheLifespan.
Her review essay on the films Entre Nos and Lucky as key cultural texts in Latina studies was published in issue 12.2 of the open-access journal, Films for the Feminist Classroom. This publication was supported by her 2022-23 CLR fellowship.
CAROLINA STERNBERG
Dr. Carolina Sternberg is thrilled to share her promotion to Full Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS). Additionally, she announces her departure as the chair of the LALS Department, noting the incredible journey it has been to lead this vibrant interdisciplinary department. She looks forward to continuing the good work with the LALS Department in the new chapter.
Faculty & Staff Announcements
YOALLI RODRIGUEZ AGUILERA
Dr. Yoalli Rodriguez Aguilera recently won the Center for Latino Research (CLR) fellowship for the autumn of 2024. During this time, they will focus on their first manuscript. The book will be tentatively titled Grieving Geographies, Mourning Waters: Race, Gender, and Environment on the Oaxacan Coast (under contract with University of Illinois Press), and it’s a monograph about a case of environmental racism, decolonial thinking, and anti-racism activism in Mexico. During the CLR-funded fellowship, Professor Rodriguez will do archival work at the General National Archives in Mexico City, researching the creation of National Parks in Mexico and maps of the region of Oaxaca.
Additionally, Dr. Rodriguez will present at the 2024 Tepoztlan Institute for the Transnational History of the Americas, where they will receive feedback on an upcoming book chapter about Settler Colonialism in Mexico
JOE TAFOYA
Dr. Joe Tafoya recently spoke with the Chicago Tribune to weigh in on issues with GOP strategies to court voters of color. With interests in Latino politics, immigration policy, American public opinion, and voter mobilization, Joe Tafoya joined DePaul experts to discuss the 2024 Election. He is currently researching how campaigns exclude would-be voters, being made “politically invisible" by modern electioneering.
BILL JOHNSON GONZALEZ
Bill Johnson González received a Mellon scholarship to attend the Dean's Forum at the annual Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) conference, which this year will be held in late October in Aurora, Colorado The conference brings together administrators to share information on innovative and creative practices that enhance Latinx student success
Also, in collaboration with Marcela Reales Visbal, Joanna Maravilla (Lewis University) and Myrna Garcia (Northwestern), Bill helped organize a one-day summer event for Illinois-based educators who are interested in Latinx Studies The ultimate goal of the collaborative is to write a proposal that will require that Latinx Studies will be incorporated into Illinois curricula for grades K-12
Faculty & Staff Announcements
MIGUEL ÁNGEL CASTAÑEDA
Dr. Miguel Castañeda recently joined DePaul as the Social Transformation Research Collaborative Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow in Comparative Race and Ethnicity Studies in the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies. His work has focused on how Mexican American youth, men, and women from immigrant and farmworker families, alongside Black, Filipina/o, and feminist students, have transformed universities in the United States. As a postdoctoral fellow, he will be writing about the Young Lords Organization and their relationship to the Chicana/o student movement.
In his new position, Dr. Castañeda participated in the STRC Summer Institute, where he attended the Pilsen walking tour and learned about Chicago's Chicana/o community. In a special session, Dr. Castañeda presented his research to students, which allowed him to interact with DePaul students before the school year began.
EMILIO DÍAZ
Emilio is the new Department Assistant for the Center for Latino Research and the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies. He was born in Lansing, Michigan but raised in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Emilio holds a bachelor's degree in Graphic Design and Digital Media from the Interamerican University of Puerto RicoAguadilla.
Last September, Emilio moved to Chicago to start his Master’s in Digital Communication and Media Arts at DePaul University and expects to finish his program in 2026. For five years he has hosted a podcast called Cannes I Kick It, diving into the world of film festivals which has been featured as one of Vulture.com’s “13 Best Film Podcasts, According to a Film Critic” in 2022. He hopes to use his time in academia to examine Film Festivals as centers of prestige, artistic socialization, and global politics.
LALS SPOTLIGHT: DR. MIGUEL ÁNGEL CASTAÑEDA
SELF-DETERMINATION AND STUDENT POWER
Interview Conducted by Yamitza Yuivar Villarreal
This past summer, Dr. Miguel Ángel Castañeda joined DePaul as the STRC Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow in Comparative Race and Ethnicity Studies in the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies. His research has focused on how Chicana/o student movements have transformed universities. We talked about how his personal experiences have shaped this work, his aspirations at DePaul, and the students' power to reveal contradictions in universities and reimagine higher education.
I was born in San Diego, California. My parents are Mexican and grew up on the Mexican side of the San Diego-Tijuana borderland, in Ensenada. My mom immigrated to San Diego in the mid-90s, she was part of this wave of migrants who left Mexico after the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA]. I was born in San Diego, moved to Ensenada, and then moved back to San Diego after NAFTA had essentially made life much more difficult for people in Mexico. Like so many other migrants, my mom crossed the border without any documentation, so I grew up in a mixed-status household with a single mom San Diego’s proximity to the border makes it hyper-policed in terms of migration and Border Patrol, so much of my life was shaped by that constant threat of deportation and family separation My mom was the first one in my family to migrate to the United States, so we didn't really have anyone else. I say all that not to be like ay, pobrecito yo, but because I saw my mom really hustle, work, and make it happen for herself and for me, and go through really hard things. That shapes how I look at the world and think about my work.
I grew up in Southeast San Diego, in Paradise Hills, which is a multiracial neighborhood. San Diego is pretty segregated, but this place was a mix of a lot of people of color. Going to school in that context also shaped how I write When I was a teenager, we moved to a different city called Chula Vista, very segregated in a very different way My high school was 90% Latino, most of them Mexican, some of them living in Tijuana who were crossing the border every day to come to school. It was a different experience with
Latinidad, much more heavily shaped by nation. All of these were highly underfunded public schools, so when I graduated high school, I wasn't prepared by counselors or my teachers to pursue higher education. I had to sort of figure that part out on my own. At first, I went to San Diego City College to pursue Chemistry. In the process of filling out my general education requirements, I took a Chicana/Chicano studies course that gave me a lot of tools to understand my experience, my family's immigration status, and how I was going to pay for my education I was paying out of pocket because, even though I had US citizenship, I thought that because my mom was undocumented, I was categorically excluded from financial aid The Chicana/Chicano Studies faculty really helped me navigate those things
You participated in a union of student employees. How did that experience influence your vision of higher education?
I was part of UAW 2865 when I was in graduate school at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), in the history department. UAW 2865 is the Academic Workers Union for all of the UC system. It allowed students to have the power to move the university to help them with certain things. The union gave us a vehicle to make education more accessible I was at UCSD for nine years, and within that period we went on three strikes, which got us gender-neutral bathrooms, better pay, and more childcare for those who are student parents All of those things are really important to making the university much more accessible to all. One of the inherent difficulties with student organizing is that
there is little institutional memory, a lot of organizations pop up and then students graduate and leave The union gives us a place to be, it holds the history of the students who have struggled That's why I talk about it as part of my history, although it happened much before I was there, because we continued, we built on the things that we had won before.
Independent of what the issue is, student protests expose contradictions, even when the university maintains different discourses of neutrality or even social justice.
You're starting your path as the STRC Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow in the Latin American and Latino Studies Department. What do you expect to achieve in this new position?
I'm really excited to be at DePaul doing this and to connect with the student body in Chicago I love California, but I'm also really liking Chicago so far Professionally, I want to continue turning my dissertation into a book manuscript that I can work on and publish in a few years, hopefully
A lot of my research is focused on MEChA [Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan] and the student movement Chicana at San Diego State University, but I want to bring my research here. The Young Lords have come up in some of the interviews that I've done. When I was applying to this postdoc, I saw that DePaul has a Young Lords archive at the Special Collections Library. That's another area that I want to explore, specifically, the Young Lords’ work at the 1969 Denver Youth Chicano Liberation Conference, which is a major conference in the Chicano movement, especially for a lot of the youth and students I’m interested because the Young Lords had more influence on the Chicano student movement at a moment in time when it was thought to be very Mexican-centric. So the presence of Puerto Ricans, especially the Young Lords who were also a sort of third-world revolutionary organization, really throws a wrench in that narrative.
What classes will you be teaching during the fall and winter terms?
In the fall, I'll be teaching “Struggle and Resistance in Latin America” and in the winter “Media and Cultural Studies Across the Americas.” My PhD and a lot of my teaching are very much centered on U.S. history, I've taught classes on the US-Mexico border, for example So, it will be a bit of a shift, but one that’s really exciting and will help me understand my work in a hemispheric context
In your dissertation, you examined how Mexican-American activists have tried to convert San Diego University from a White institution to a multiracial space. I imagine you heard there have been recent student protests, like the encampment at DePaul and other universities. What are your thoughts about how students can transform higher education?
My dissertation, on a second sub-ladder, is about student power. I was still writing while the encampments were breaking out, so it gave it a different sense and importance if you will, but also a lot more pressure to think about this question I think the encampments are already changing higher education because there is no way that, after what happened in the winter and the fall, institutions can go back to business as normal. I doubt that. Independent of what the issue is, student protests expose contradictions, even when the university maintains different discourses of neutrality or even social justice. Student protests force the university
Dr. Miguel Ángel Castañeda
to act in its actual interest and one thing that's fascinating about the encampments is how swift and decisive almost all universities have been in the way that they have essentially acted and repressed a lot of the student encampments Independent where one stands on the issue, one has to comment that the pressure and the heavy-handed nature of the university is really a problem
Columbia University is fascinating as an American historian. The same hall that was occupied and renamed during this most recent encampment as Hind’s Hall, in the protests against apartheid in South Africa, was taken over and renamed Mandela Hall. And also, during the 1960s protest against the war in Vietnam. Now, their first president of color has stepped down because of the contradictions that have been exposed and her inability to resolve both her identity as a woman of color and the demands of the student body. That's the student movement's power, to expose contradictions. Another thing happening at Columbia is a strike by all of the employees that make the university run The student protests will merge with the worker strikes, and it's gonna produce a very volatile dynamic The systems of higher education are just too wrapped up already in the process to really say that it's going to look the same. Now what that would look like in the end, that's a whole different question, but it'll be interesting to see how it plays out because we know what the response of the university is going to be.
You have talked about the concept of selfdetermination in connection with reimagining higher education. Can you tell us more about this term?
Self-determination is a term that is fought over and whose meaning depends on the context, who says it, time, and place In the 1960s, self-determination meant liberation, but there were many paths to that goal I try to say, “this is what self-determination is, its evolving nature, and what it means to different people.” What it meant to MEChA, to Chicanas, and its meaning in the relationship between university and community. From 1970 to about 1974 in the United States, it was the most intense in terms of the struggles for power by the Chicano students and Black Power movements. Self-determination for the Chicano student movement and MEChA, was
student power to control what the university and departments did and what it looked like. It was really trying to flip power dynamics so that those most affected by the universities’ decisions, students, were in control, and that to me is at the crux of what student power is, the ability to actually make decisions in the institution So for a sliver of time, that's what self-determination meant and its implications for higher education were really drastic So part of my research is tracing the evolution of student movements.
Why is it important for Latinx students and other marginalized groups to exercise selfdetermination in universities? How can transforming this space also alter society?
The university plays a really important role in our society in a lot of different ways, from producing systems of thought and validating certain ideas over others. In our current day in life, we think of the university as a sort of marginal and somewhat isolated institution But when you begin to understand that higher education is central to all things, from political discourses to the waging of war, you understand it in a very different light Because of that, struggles over the university and its priorities really affect other layers of society as well.
To continue your welcome to DePaul, what do you think about Chicago so far?
I really like Chicago so far. We moved to Pilsen, and it felt the most like home, like Southern California. The murals have a lot to do with it. One of the big achievements of the Chicano movement in San Diego is the Chicano Park which is full of murals and that to me is really representative of the Chicano movement and experience, and of Mexican American barrios It's really interesting to see in Pilsen how the murals are literally part of the community You're just walking down a place and all of a sudden there's this giant immigrant rights mural And that's been super cool But I'm also really excited to explore a much more diverse Latinidad that I know is here, like the historic Puerto Rican community. My wife is Chilena and she's connected with a whole range of people already. So that is something that I'm really excited to experience, to learn about, to write about.
STRC STRC
2024SUMMERINSTITUTERECAP
DayOne:ArchitectureTour
DayThree:SouthSide
In July, the STRC welcomed its third cohort of incoming firstyear and transfer students for the 2024 Summer Institute for New Students program! The theme for this year was “AntiRacism,Transformation,andHealingthroughtheHumanities,” and featured lectures by a wonderful team of DePaul faculty fromdifferentdepartmentsaswellasguidedtoursandguest speakersinPilsen,Bronzeville,andEnglewood.
DayTwo:Pilsen
DayFour:SistasintheVillage
MickeyRoland|Psychology|Classof2026
“DuringmytimeatSTRC,Iexperiencedaworldofcultureandlearnedaplethoraofthingsaboutmy owncommunityaswellasothercommunities.Throughthisprogram,Igottoexperienceandlearn abouttheculturesoftheareaandgainnewperspectives.
STRC was an amazing opportunity to connect with the culture around me and with myself and the communities I align myself with. It was a very holistic experience and I feel like I was able to work through and gain understanding on different parts of myself and how I interact with the world around me. I was also able to meet people that shared similar ideals and passions to me. Our similar need and hunger for justice connected us on levels that I felt are more than physical and closer to a calling we all have Despite our different backgrounds, upbringings and culture, this programallowedustocometogetherandfightoppression,makecallsforsocialchangeandlearn about each other and the way our cultures connect. STRC also emphasized that although we can strive to make change as individuals, doing it as a team is far more impactful. That as well as the many other meaningful messages that STRC taught me was the highlight of my summer and an amazingbeginningtomyjourneyatDePaul.”
Social Transformation Research Collaborative Updates
From Program Coordinator for the Social Transformation Research Collaborative, Alejandra Delgadillo
The Social Transformation Research Collaborative is delighted to share its 2024 fellowship cohorts!
2024 Professional Development Faculty Fellows:
Dr Kalyani Menon, Religious Studies
“Making Hindus Right: Hindu Supremacy in the Diaspora”
Dr Sanjukta Mukherjee, Women’s and Gender Studies
“Pedagogies of care: An oral history of service workers at DePaul University”
Dr. Carolina Sternberg, Latin American and Latino Studies
“Inclusiveness and Equity in Chicago? An Analysis of Lori Lightfoot’s and Brandon Johnson’s Rhetoric and Policies”
2024 Graduate Student Fellows:
Sophia Burns, Sustainable Urban Development
“Redlining, Redevelopment, and Resilience: Engaging Urban Policy History to Imagine an Equitable Sustainable Future in Atlantic City”
Claudia Cisneros Méndez, Women’s and Gender Studies
“Art and Culture as Resistance: Indigenous Communities Defying State Violence and Repression in Peru”
Samira Kassem, Sustainable Urban Development
“The Power to Move: A Comprehensive Analysis of Black Chicagoans’ Access to Public Transportation from 1915 to Present Day”
Elizabeth Wallace, Modern Languages
“With an Empathetic Lens: Understanding the Impacts of Forced Migration in Mexico through Film’s Storytelling”
2024 Undergraduate Student Fellows:
Abigail Flores, English, Latin American and Latino Studies
Naomi Love, Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies, African and Black Diaspora Studies
Sifa Muderhwa, International Studies
Chris Sifri, Sociology, The Art School
Aidan Tennant, Philosophy, Religious Studies, School of Public Service
Jo Trasowech, Criminology, International Studies
We are also thrilled to announce that Dr. Chernoh Sesay, Jr. (Religious Studies) led this year ’ s Undergraduate Student Fellowship. He taught a research methods course and mentored all six fellows through the end of the Fall quarter.
We hosted a Summer Kickoff on Tuesday, June 18th at 4pm in the Arts and Letters Patio to celebrate our 2024 fellowship cohorts and the start of our summer programming
Lastly, a reminder to save the date for our third annual symposium, scheduled for Tuesday, October 22, 2024. We will hear from our 2023-2024 faculty fellows, Rocío Ferreira, Juan Mora-Torres, María Ferrera, and Jacqui Lazú, as well as our student fellows from our 2024 cohort, mentioned above. Stay tuned for more updates!
For more information please contact
Coordinator Alex Delgadillo a delgadillo@depaul edu
STRC Annual Fall
WRITING, RACE, WRITING, RACE, AND MEMORY AND MEMORY
tuesday, October 22, 2024 | SAC 154
9:40am STRC 2024 Graduate Fellows
Sophia Burns Claudia C. Méndez
10:40am STRC Postdoctoral Fellows
Samira Kassem Elizabeth Wallace
Dr. Miguel Angel Castañeda
Dr. Taurean J. Webb
11:20am Keynote | On Romance: A Conversation with author Beverly Jenkins (Indigo, Forbidden) & Dr. Carole V. Bell
12:20pm STRC 2024 Undergraduate Fellows
Abigail Flores
Naomi Love
Sifa Muderhwa
Chris Sifri Aidan Tennant
Jo Trasowech
1:00pm 2:40pm Keynote | Author Karla Cornejo Villavicencio (Catalina, The Undocumented Americans)
STRC 2023-2024 Faculty Fellows
Dr. Rocío Ferreira Dr. Juan Mora-Torres
Dr. Maria Ferrera Dr. Jacqui Lazú
4:20pm
Keynote | Author David Mura
(The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself, A Stranger’s Journey)
Breakfast and lunch will be provided.
Contact a delgadillo@depaul edu for more information
PREVIEW & DISCUSSION OF
THE YOUNG LORDS OF LINCOLN PARK
A WTTW DOCUMENTARY COMMEMORATING THE LEGACY OF THE YOUNG LORDS IN CHICAGO
McGowan South 108
Join us for a behind-the-scenes preview & discussion of The Young Lords of Lincoln Park, a new 60-minute documentary that follows an activist group that evolved from a social club to a street gang to a political force, banding together with the Black Panthers and the Young Patriots as the Rainbow Coalition to wage war against what they called Mayor Daley’s “urban removal of the poor” and the area’s eventual gentrification. This program is one of eight new documentaries in WTTW’s CHICAGO STORIES series.
Featuring a panel discussion with:
Dr. Jacqueline Lazú (Department of Modern Languages)
Tania Lindsay (Producer of The Young Lords of Lincoln Park)
Paul Mireles (DePaul student and chairman of the Chicago Chapter of the New Era Young Lords)
Moderated by:
Dr. Bill Johnson González (English/Director of the Center of Latinx Research)
NEW ISSUE OF DIÁLOGO!
Latines Building A Sense of Place in the Chicago Area and the Midwest
Volume 25, Number 1 / Spring 2022
Guest Thematic Editors: Carolina Sternberg and Rocío Ferreira
Scan the QR code to check out the full tabe of contents!
LATINX STUDIES NOW!
A CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP FOR K-12 EDUCATORS EVENT RECAP
DR. JUAN MORA TORRES
Teaching the History of Chicagotitlán
SENADORA CELINA VILLANUEVA (D-12TH DISTRICT)
On the importance of Latinx studies in K-12 classrooms
DR
HEATHER
MONTES-IRELAND
Beyond Representation: Applying Latinx Cultural Studies to Teach Social Issues
On Thursday, August 8th, DePaul’s Center for Latino Research partnered with Dr Myrna García (Northwestern University) and Dr. Joanna Maravilla (Lewis University) to host a day-long curriculum development workshop for Chicago area K-12 educators. We welcomed 21 educators from the city and the suburban areas that range from early childhood to high school!
The workshop focused on Latinx Studies Today Presentation topics included the history of the Mexican community in Chicago, Latinx representation in US and Latin American film, and the importance of a Latinx Studies curriculum for K-12 classrooms
Our next step will be to work with Senator Celina Villanueva (D-12th District) and a group of core educators on a proposal for a Latinx Studies Curriculum in K-12 classrooms
The CLR is grateful to the Vincentian Endowment Fund, which generously supported this event and allowed us to provide stipends for the teachers’ participation.
Puntodevista COMING SOON . . .
ALATINXPODCASTATDEPAUL
The Center for Latino Research and the Latin American & Latino Studies Departmentareexcitedtoannounce Puntodevista,apodcastcreated byLatinxstudentsandstaffatDePaulUniversity.Thepodcastwillfeature conversations with scholars, writers, and community members about everything Latinx. We aim to foster a deeper understanding and appreciationofLatinxexperiencesatDePaul,inChicago,andbeyond.
Our first episode focused on the “Latino Vote” and the upcoming electionwillbeoutsoon!Staytunedformoreinformationinthecoming days.Wecannotwaittosharethiswithyouall!
CENTERFORLATINO RESEARCH
2024-2025FACULTYFELLOWS
SYMONEJOHNSON
AssistantProfessor|African&BlackDiasporaStudies
"ReintegrationasaSacredPoliticalProject"
Pre-colonial African and Indigenous philosophies hold core beliefs about the continuities between the material and the immaterial qualities of nature and how they are mirrored in the body In a contemporary U S context which is historically founded on divisive ideologies and manufactured material scarcity for many, alternative healers of color consider: How can we adapt our traditional methods and tools for healing to reflect the truths of nature and the truths of our discontent as marginal subjects? “Reintegration As a Sacred Political Project”, supported by the Center for Latino Research, is an ethnographic project centering stories of Black, Latinx, and Asian acupuncturists, psychics, diviners, herbalists, reiki masters, counselors, designers, artists, and musicians working in New York City Our collective objectives healer and researcher, personal and political are to help restore wholeness to modern bodies fragmented by social division, poverty, and violence which alienateusfromeachotherandthelaboroflovingthatisoursacredduty
JORDANLEVY
AssistantProfessor|Anthropology
"ReadingthePoliticalLandscape:Resistance,State,andTransnationalMigrationinPost-Coup Honduras"
This CLR fellowship will support my book project, which examines the current exodus from Honduras as a form of resistance to state practices and governing policies since the June 2009 military coup The monograph I plan to write is based on qualitative data collected during ethnographic research in Honduras during the overthrow and aftermath of the coup; interviews with Honduran migrants to the U S ; and reflections on the shifting nature of Honduran asylum cases, for which I regularly serve as an expert witness The analysis put forth emphasizes how Hondurans attempt to change post-coup policies of governance within Honduras, while also reading political landscapes of uncertainty in Central America and the U S –forming strategies for migration and asylum abroad My aim is for the book to contribute to Political Anthropology, Latin American Studies,andLatinoStudies,whilealsoservingasaresourceformigrantrightsadvocacygroups
YOALLIRODRÍGUEZ-AGUILERA
AssistantProfessor|LatinAmericanandLatinoStudies
"AHistoryofAfro-IndigenousWomenAgainstEnvironmentalRacismontheCoastof Oaxaca,Mexico"
My project is the first one in Mexico to look at how environmental racism affects an Afro-Indigenous community It focuses on the efforts of women in the communities around the Chacahua Lagoons, on the Coast of Oaxaca, Mexico to protect and fix the water and land This research aims to fill a gap in understanding how gender, race, and the environment intersect in Mexico I want to study old documents about the Chacahua Lagoons, which became a National Park in 1938 I'll look at records and maps in Mexico City's National General Archive to see how the lagoons became a National Park and its repercussions in the Afro-Indigenous communities These documents will help me show how despite being declared a National Park, the lagoons are now polluted due to toxicity and pollution Studying this willhelpmeunderstandwhyAfro-Indigenouscommunitiesaretryingtocleanandfixthewaterasaform ofdefendingtheirancestralwaterandland.
2024 - 2025 CLR FACULTY FELLOWS SPOTLIGHT: DR. JORDAN LEVY
HONDURAN RESISTANCE AND MIGRATION
Interview conducted by Gigi Lara
Dr. Jordan Levy is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology. His research interests include state formation, political culture, and transnational migration in Honduras. His work addresses issues to do with neoliberal reforms to the K–12 education system in Honduras, the evolving culture of resistance since the 2009 military coup, and Hondurans’ experiences with migration. He has conducted fieldwork in Tegucigalpa, southern Honduras, and among Hondurans living in Washington State.
In addition to research and teaching, Dr Levy regularly serves as an expert witness on behalf of Hondurans who seek asylum abroad Through this applied scholarship, Dr Levy has worked with a range of immigrant rights organizations, immigration law firms, and law student asylum & human rights clinics We discussed his most recent project for the CLR Faculty Fellowship, which consists of a book about the situation in Honduras since the 2009 coup.
I'm a sociocultural anthropologist, which means that I study contemporary societies and cultures My area of expertise is Honduras I have been going there doing NGO work since before grad school and wanting to be an anthropologist. I was there during the military coup in 2009 when the president [Manuel Zelaya] was ousted. Since then, I've studied governance, political culture, and state formation processes and the various reasons why people flee the country, seek asylum abroad, and migrate abroad.
This will be my 10th year since graduating from my PhD. I had tenure at a university in Washington state but with the pandemic, a lot of programs were shut down Then I got a one-year job at the University of Connecticut and decided that wasn't really for me I'm used to working with smaller groups of students at a liberal arts college It's great to finally be able to find that at DePaul.
What are you hoping to achieve during your CLR faculty fellowship year?
I'm so excited about the CLR Fellowship. It's a great opportunity because there’s a lot of support for junior faculty. The fact that the Center for Latino Research exists, and the fact that the Migration Collaborative exists makes me feel like my areas of research are really desired and supported at DePaul.
My goal is to write a complete draft manuscript of my book It’s going to be about the events since the military coup in Honduras and the evolving culture of resistance among Hondurans who have become active in this movement to reform and improve their society. At the same time, my book will analyze why people, for various reasons, need to flee the country and seek asylum abroad. It will do this by drawing upon ethnographic research, and follow-up projects about what Honduran migrants do once they're in the US, which I have been doing in Washington state since 2018. Mainly with former students, Latinxidentified students, and Honduran-identified students, but also by myself last summer.
Dr. Jordan Levy
Given the current political moment, with migrants at the center of the electoral rhetoric, from your perspective, what is the best way to communicate and clarify the definition and status of asylum seekers for a general audience?
I think all U S voters would do well to have a crash course in asylum and in law. The politicians on all sides of the spectrum talk about this in rather strange ways. It's not illegal to apply for asylum. In fact, the US is bound by international law based on the UN Convention following World War II to have this process in place. It could be that the applicant is denied asylum, but they have every right, legally, to go to another country and apply for asylum. I think that often gets lost in some of the electoral rhetoric because asylum is –by definition– a legal process. This is in no way a loophole. There was a New York Times op-ed a while back that really angered me because it said something like how Biden is closing the “asylum loophole ” This is a legal process that is lengthy precisely because the US government doesn't hire as many immigration judges as they need to, based on the demand. And the demand, of course, is a function of violence and climate change, and a series of things already happening in other countries of the world. As someone who does expert witness work, I know that from the time the person applies to when they get their hearing, it's usually over two years. There's a series of standards that must be met just to be eligible, such as a Credible Fear Interview (screening), in which the U.S. government says, “Yes, this is a credible fear, and you're likely to get asylum,” and police background checks done in the U.S. and Central America.
The assumption these are people who are somehow criminals or are going through some kind of loophole is objectively wrong There's a series of opinions that could be voiced How do we improve this system? How can it be made more efficient? What is the ideal number [of migrants] that the U.S. should take in? What are the criteria? But that is not talked about in the mainstream media. The whole process is talked about in a way that doesn't reflect knowledge on how it actually works. And frankly, because most US-born people don't ever have to deal with immigration, they don't know about it because they don't have to.
Where are the migrant communities that you study housed? Do you see any parallels with the current migrant mission/crisis in Chicago?
Overall, my research isn't on the specifics of the municipal government or housing My research focuses on Tacoma, WA, and other smaller towns between Tacoma and Seattle. There's a growing Central American community and for the most part, people are housed. In Western Washington, most of the people I interviewed found community in churches that gave services in Spanish and that tried to help migrants find a job and housing. The whole idea of sanctuary has a long tradition with churches saying, “We're going to provide a place for people. We're going to make this a space where the government or ICE can't come in here.” I think a parallel with Chicago is that we see nongovernmental entities step in to do what they can, whether they're activist groups, migrant rights advocacy groups, or church based
For me and in the book that I'm writing, I'm going to try to push back on the rhetoric of a “migration crisis”, because I think it's better phrased as a (fabricated) crisis for migrants. The U.S. is creating this moment of crisis by saying “ no more migrants”, but the numbers aren't super extraordinary. Honduras is a country of 10 million people, and there have always been people coming and leaving the country. And yes, there are these moments of extreme violence where people are now fleeing. There's a certain exodus, but the “crisis” is made by the receiving countries –by not adequately dealing with it.
Your previous research focused on resistance and neoliberalism in Honduras after the 2009 coup. Can you tell us about your main takeaways from this project? Do you see any parallels in these patterns in the US?
Absolutely. We live in this neoliberal moment where government services that were previously provided by the state –whether we're talking about healthcare, education, infrastructure, or basic utilities– are becoming less provided by the government, and more privatized.
In the case of Honduras, my research was focused on the K-12 education system. After the military coup that illegally ousted the democraticallyelected progressive president, we see this resurgence of neoliberal policies. So, schools throughout the country, that were previously funded by the Ministry of Education, in Tegucigalpa, got their budgets slashed.
The research focuses on how teachers saw connections between the military coup, neoliberal policies, and this eroding of the social contract between people and the government The Honduran state has always paid for education, and now they're saying “ go find your own way of dealing with this.” Teachers reluctantly had to go about asking rich people for money. At the same time, they had to ask parents to pay tuition and fees where they didn't have to before. In the context of poverty, that meant that many families wouldn't be able to send their kids to school, and a lot of kids dropped out of school. Teachers correctly predicted this was going to create more social problems, such as gang violence, school dropouts, and many young people not having any opportunities after they graduated, if they even graduated from high school.
At the same time, the research is about how Hondurans are organizing and resisting these kinds of policies Teachers are often leaders in the communities where they work They're public intellectuals who will rally people up around a certain cause, organize marches and protests, and educate the population about how they ought to think about current events in the country, making the kind of connections that aren't always obvious. Lots of these policies continue presently, even with Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, a progressive female President, who inherited the country after 13 years of dictatorship. You can't expect any administration to change the country overnight. I get asked a lot about this sort of thing, by the Department of Homeland Security (who are the prosecuting attorneys for ICE) They say, “Honduras now has a progressive government Can't people just go back?” And the answer is no, because of gang violence, gender-based violence, the erosion of Indigenous rights, and the erosion of worker’s
rights. All these issues still exist. Police, military, and government corruption are endemic because of these broader structural processes that were put in place largely because of the military coup.
What will eventually happen is we will look back and say: there is no more public education system in Honduras. That's a parallel with the U.S. in that the levels of government funding for education are dwindling Yet, there's money for ICE, Border Patrol, military, and police Similarly, Honduras has the largest armed forces in Central America It doesn't make sense because there is no civil or regional war going on There's this bloated budget for the military. Even with a portion of that, they could fund education with no problem. It's not a question of there not being money, it's a question of priority. Any budget reflects priorities and values.
What has your experience been teaching at DePaul? How has it been different from previous institutions where you have taught?
What’s different about DePaul is that my students are very well-informed. They’re very politically aware and aware of social injustices, global issues, and potential solutions, or at least steps in the right direction They know what needs to happen to, for example, end a war or genocide They know who's to blame for certain policies And in many ways, they're informing me of the specifics Sometimes I feel like, well, who's in charge in this classroom? –because every day I learn so much from my students, that I come out of every class just really energized. It’s a pleasure to teach and to work with students who are so informed on global issues.
To finalize, what has your vibe been this summer? Is there a particular song or artist or playlist that you've had on repeat?
I've got a five-year-old, so we listen to a lot of Pinkfong in my house. A lot of Baby Shark. What about myself? Probably Pearl Jam and music from the 1990s I am a bit nostalgic I miss Seattle to an extent But I also know that I'm able to freely visit So, it reminds me too, of the fact that there are plenty of Honduran migrants who miss home and aren't able to just go visit.
CLR/LALS External Advisory Board Members
Maria G. Arias
Principal, Maria Arias Solutions
BA, Political Science, DePaul University, 1983
Martin Arteaga
President, Green Building Partners, Inc.
BA, Political Science, DePaul University, 2000
Trish Brown Cordes
Master of Public Service Management, DePaul University, 1983
Leonard Domínguez
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, 1997
Maria Pesqueira
President, Healthy Communities Foundation
BA, Latin American Studies, DePaul University, 1990
Edgar Ramírez
President/CEO, Chicago Commons Association
BA, Political Science/Latin American Studies, DePaul University, 2000
Ulises Iván Sánchez
Human Resources Officer/U.S. Department of State
BA, Leadership and Human Resources Management, DePaul University, 2015
MS, Human Resources, DePaul University, 2016
Lou Sandoval
President/CEO, Halo Advisory Group
BS, Biochemistry, DePaul University, 1988
CLR/LALS EXTERNAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS’ SPOTLIGHT: DR. MARISOL MORALES
EDUCATION IN SERVICE OF OTHERS
Interview Conducted by Yamitza Yuivar Villarreal
In 2022, the CLR and LALS Department worked with Dr Marisa Alicea to establish an External Advisory Board made up of DePaul alumnae/i and community members This volunteer group serves as advocates, advisors, and resources for CLR & LALS faculty and students The group meets 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
Dr Marisol Morales is the Executive Director of the Carnegie Elective Classifications at the American Council on Education She holds a bachelor’s degree in Latin American and Latino Studies and a master's in International Public Service Management from DePaul University. In 2020, Dr. Morales earned her EdD in organizational leadership from the University of La Verne with a dissertation about the community engagement experiences of Latino students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Between 2005 and 2013, she worked as the associate director of the Steans Center at DePaul University.
I am Puerto Rican, born and raised in Chicago. I've been working in higher education for almost 20 years now, specifically around community engagement That's where I've spent most of my time, but I currently work for the American Council on Education, running the Carnegie Elective Classifications, which focuses on institutional transformation through higher education's public purpose missions.
How have you related your experience as a Latina alumna from DePaul with your work in higher education and public service?
When I went to DePaul, taking my first Latino studies class titled “US Colonialism of Puerto Rico” really changed my educational trajectory. It was the first time I saw myself reflected in the curriculum. It also gave me an opportunity to interact with the local Puerto Rican community For me, it really jumpstarted my own development as an activist, leader, and community organizer I'm grateful for my undergraduate experience at DePaul I feel like it really shaped me into the kind of professional leader that I am today and it gave me a great foundation and relationships with faculty as well as community partners that I still really credit for my work.
Being able to work at the Center for Latino Research under Doctor Félix Masud-Piloto, who was a real mentor for me during my time there, also gave me a physical location to be situated as a Latino student, that we didn't have at the time because there was no Latinx Cultural Center And it was really my cohort of student colleagues during that time that fought for that and got the creation of the Multicultural Center and resources for culturally or ethnically based student organizations, so I think it sparked my activism oncampus as well as off-campus.
Dr. Marisol Morales
Do you think that for the experience of Latinx students, it's important to have these spaces and courses?
Yeah, absolutely. I really believe in cultural spaces for students. For places like DePaul that are predominantly White institutions, these spaces help to service that kind of transition space for students who are trying to figure themselves out, their connection to higher education, and find resources
What are your insights about research data and intention in the development of educational policies and programs?
In higher education, we need research that is relevant and has a real impact on communities. It's great that we emphasize publishing in journals, but that's not enough. How many people are reading that and what impact is that having versus taking the time, talent, and energy of our researchers to really think about their ability to help support communities that are working on important issues or move policy changes? More institutions need to recognize public impact scholarship as a real tool for assessing faculty contributions and tenure promotion policy I think engaged public impact research has to be elevated
We do a good job of collecting data. I don't know how good a job we do in analyzing that data and then creating meaningful changes. Higher education needs to assess its reputation of harm to the community and make adjustments in that way. It needs to review its overall policies and see how they are tools for bureaucratic violence and how they create unnecessary harm to students, communities, faculty, and staff. There needs to be policies able to ensure the full participation of our students given the needs and talents they bring into our higher education spaces We need programs that support students more and that are more targeted toward thinking about the students we enroll
My son just transferred to Northern Illinois University. During his freshman and sophomore years at DePaul, he had two friends who were shot and killed due to gun violence in Chicago. He told faculty, but there was no follow-up from the
university into any support that he needed. He did not do well academically after those losses and only when he withdrew from DePaul, a retention specialist reached out to him, and that's too late. As soon as they see a student's grades go down, somebody needs to be reaching out, especially to our targeted Latino population So, DePaul wasn't the right fit for him There are a lot of things that I have insights into as a professional in this space, as a parent, I have all kinds of opinions about the ways that our institutions respond to students.
Higher education institutions are usually created for White students. When we talk about Latinxs, there are diverse experiences within this group.
Absolutely. And I think as a broader Latinx community we haven't had the conversations of, what's the difference for Afro-Latino students versus White presenting students? What are the differences that they experience? What experiences are we highlighting? How do we make the distinction between folks in the Latinx community who have been in the United States for multiple generations and those who just got here? There are commonalities, but there are a lot of differences How do we talk about a broader Latinx identity that's not just based on knowing Spanish or Spanish being our first language, or first-generation versus not first-generation? There are all these assumptions that I think we make of our community.
There have been questions about whether HSIs have significantly addressed the challenges that Latinx students face in higher education. To what extent has the HSI designation and the opportunities that come with it, like grants, enabled universities and colleges to address the necessities of Latinx students?
My gut reaction is no, and it depends It depends on who the leader is and what leadership looks like because some institutions see the dollar signs but haven't had real conversations about what it actually means to serve. Or they're uncomfortable with hat conversation. Most of the HSIs were
predominantly White institutions; you're trying to repot a plant in a different climate zone, and the question is, how do you create the right conditions? If you really want to be an HSI, then you have to be intentional about it Going after the grants and sprinkling them on Latino students is not enough. I've been at institutions where they've tried to put a caveat to their HSI status: “We're an HSI, but we serve all students.” It has to be institutional. When my dad went to DePaul, there weren't many Latino students; it was a time of really rampant racism. I was able to get a lot of support and intentionality. I felt cared for. When I worked at DePaul, I tried to have that same perspective. My son did not have that experience, hence him leaving. I don't know how DePaul is connecting its Vincentian mission with its potential HSI status, but I think if it is able to really be intentional about both, there's a chance for it to be a strong HSI
What do universities need to prepare to serve the students before getting the designation?
I hope that they would make a significant commitment to ensuring the diversity of their faculty and staff, which means creating opportunities for promotion within the institution. I hope that they would ensure that there are voices and there's representation at the highest leadership levels and on the board who are there to advocate for this population.
At DePaul, we should be measuring how successful we are in ensuring that students are supported in completing their degrees When I worked at DePaul, my understanding was that the university was created to serve immigrant students, to serve the city There's an enrollment cliff and then there's Latino students who are going to be the ones that save higher education. But not if higher education is just looking at us as dollar signs. We have to learn how to invite our students, we can't just expect them to come to us.
In your work, you call for reimagining the Carnegie Foundation Elective Classifications for institutions that have made extraordinary commitments to their public purpose. But
US universities are really competitive. What is necessary to move education to a more equitable and diverse context?
It's hard because what we're experiencing now is the clash in values between Capitalism and our public need to educate, engage, and inform citizens. For me, the more spaces we can create for collaboration and understanding, the more we enable a stronger higher education system. At least for the Elective Classification, we're trying to create these noncompetitive spaces. We need to, as individuals, think about the way we interact with our democracy to push away the extreme viewpoints. Our diversity as a nation is not going away as much as some of those folks would like to have that be the case. It's only going to increase. And our institutions are going to have to meet those demands and hopefully not be subjected to the culture war This election is going to be really important in terms of that We can't take for granted that we're always going to be in a space that honors, respects, and wants diversity. We can't take for granted that we ' re always going to be in a space that honors, respects, and wants diversity
What advice would you give to the DePaul students who wish to promote social changes and connect with their communities?
What students did last spring with the encampments, trying to bring attention to what was happening in Gaza, was a reminder to students that they have a lot more power than they sometimes realize Social change is always this pendulum that swings back and forth, so for students who are really concerned and who both have the energy and the vision for the future, it is like getting energized by the winds, not getting disheartened by failure Most of the social change that has occurred in this country has been because of young people.
Rudy Lozano Library Celebration
E V E N T R E C A P
ON JULY 14TH, THE RUDY LOZANO BRANCH OF THE CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY HOSTED A DAY-LONG CELEBRATION TO HONOR THE MEMORY OF RUDY LOZANO AS A COMMUNITY ACTIVIST, AND TO REQUEST THAT THE CITY OF CHICAGO HELP FUND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OFFICIAL PUBLIC ARCHIVE OF LATINX HISTORY AT THE LIBRARY.
A LABOR ACTIVIST, COMMUNITY ORGANIZER, AND DEFENDER OF IMMIGRANT RIGHTS, LOZANO IS OFTEN REMEMBERED FOR HIS ROLE IN UNIFYING AND MOBILIZING BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES IN THE CITY IN SUPPORT OF THE ELECTION OF HAROLD WASHINGTON, WHO BECAME THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN MAYOR OF CHICAGO IN 1983.
PROFESSOR OF HISTORY JUAN MORATORRES HAS BEEN SPEARHEADING EFFORTS TO DOCUMENT LOZANO’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHICAGO HISTORY AND TO ESTABLISH THE LATINX ARCHIVE AT THE LOZANO LIBRARY. PROF. MORA-TORRES IS SHOWN HERE DISCUSSING LOZANO WITH CHICAGO MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON. THE EVENT WAS ALSO ATTENDED BY MEMBERS OF LOZANO’S FAMILY, ALDERMAN BYRON SIGCHO-LOPEZ, COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS, AND THE CENTER FOR LATINO RESEARCH
LEAD
Latinos Empowered at DePaul (LEAD) is an Employee Resource Group that serves all Latine/x-identifying faculty and staff at DePaul.
Meet our new Executive Board
Eunice Amador (Office of University Events), Staff Co-Chair
Jesús Pando (Chair, Physics and Astrophysics) - Faculty Co-Chair
Areli Contreras (University Counseling & Psychological Services) - Secretary
Tania Rodríguez (LAS Advising Services Office) - Treasurer
Marcela L. Reales Visbal (Center for Latino Research) - Events Co-Chair
Flor Reza (Latinx Cultural Center) - Events Co-Chair
Cristina Rodríguez (LAS Technology Center) - Communications Coordinator
José Perales (Office of Institutional Diversity & Equity) - At-large Member
If you’re interested in joining LEAD and sharing your experience as a Latine/x faculty or staff member at DePaul, please fill out our needs assessment survey
i n t e r 2 0 2 5
LATIN AMERICAN AND LATINO STUDIES
ThisinterdisciplinarydepartmentexploresthebroaddynamicsshapingLatinAmerican&Latinxexperiencesand drawscoursesandinsightsfrommultiplefields TheDepartmentofLatinAmerican&LatinoStudiesalsoservesto deepenLatinxstudents’awarenessoftheirculturalheritage
Winter2025
CORE COURSES
(LST200through203fulfillSocial,Cultural,andBehavioralInquiryrequirements)
LST 200: Founding Myths and Cultural Conquest in the Americas
LST 203: Media and Cultural Representations in Latin America
YoaliRodríguezAguilera M/W:9:40-11:10am
T/TH:9:40-11:10pm
OTHER COURSES
LST 121/HIS 121: Latin America to 1765
LST 122/HIS 122: Latin America, 1765-1914
LST 300/PSC 359: Latin American Revolution and Film
CES 300/WGS 345: Women, War, and Resistance
LST 310/CES 403: Cities and Racial Formation
LST 310/PAX 321: Principles and Practices of Restorative Justice
HIS 201: Mexican American (Chican@) History
LSP 112: Puerto Rican Experience
@LALS depaul
M/W:1:00-2:30pm
M/W:11:20-12:50pm OLAS
M/W:2:40-4:10pm
T/TH:9:40-11:10am
M/W:11:20-12:50pm
LSP 200: The US Mexico Border: People, Resources, Environmental Waste, Technology W: 6:00-9:15pm W:6:00-9:15pm M/W:9:40-11:10am
Formoreinformation,contact ltorres@depaul.edu
Latinx Film Series
EveryThursday Sept12th-Oct24th 4:00-6:00PM Arts&Letters409
9/12: PORVENIR, TEXAS (2019)
9/19: ZOOT SUIT (1981)
9/26: P'ALANTE, SIEMPRE P'ALANTE!: THE YOUNG LORDS (1996)
10/17: EL NORTE (1984)
10/24: LA JAULA DE ORO/THE GOLDEN DREAM (2013)
OtherScreenings
Arts&Letters205 | 1:00-2:30PM
10/17:AbUSed:ThePostvilleRaid(2010) 10/31:LaLlorona(2019)
A reading and conversation with
DAISY HERNÁNDEZ
Moderated by Dr. Lourdes Torres (LALS/CES)
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8TH, 2024
6:00PM
Levan 100
DePaul University
Lincoln Park Campus
Join us for a reading and conversation with Cuban-Colombian author, Daisy Hernández, who will be discussing her landmark anthology Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today’s Feminism. Hernández is also the author of the memoir A Cup of Water Under My Bed, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. She will be discussing her memoir in a separate event earlier in the day. Books will be available for purchase.
Sponsored by: RSVP
QUESTIONS? CLR@DEPAUL.EDU
BOOK CLUB
LATINX BOOK CLUB
READING AND CELEBRATING LATINX AUTHORS
A CUP OF WATER UNDER MY BED
Join us for a discussion of A memoir
by Daisy Hernánd
In this 2015 memoir, Hernández chronicles what the women in her Cuban-Colombian family taught her about love, money, and race. An exploration of family, identity, and language, this book is a daughter’s story of finding herself and her community and creating a new, queer life
Meeting Dates:
Thursday, September 26 4:30 - 5:45pm Center for Latino Research (SAC 5th Floor, Suite A-H)
Tuesday, October 8 With the Author! 3:30 - 4:30pm Latinx Cultural Center (O'Connell 360)
We will discuss half the book on 9/26 and the entire memoir on 10/8 when the author will be visiting DePaul.
REGISTER HERE
The first 15 students who register will receive a FREE COPY of the book!
Contact Us
LALS | CLR
Lourdes Torres
LALS Chair ltorres@depaul.edu
Bill Johnson González
CLR Director bjohns58@depaul.edu
Marcela L. Reales Visbal
CLR Assistant Director mrealesv@depaul.edu
Emilio Díaz
Department Assistant ediaz68@depaul.edu
Gigi Lara
Student Assistant alara26@depaul.edu
Yamitza A. Yuivar Villarreal
Graduate Student Assistant yyuivarv@depaul.edu
Follow us on Instagram @clr depaul @lals depaul
Email us clr@depaul.edu lals@depaul.edu
Call us (773) 325-7316 (773) 325-4818
Visit us 2320 N Kenmore Ave Schmitt Academic Center (SAC), 5A-H Chicago, IL, 60614
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The Department of Latin American and Latino Studies-DePaul University
