El Centro Newsletter_IUPLR

THECOVER

THECOVER

Manuela Guillén

IG: @lazybeamarte manuelaguillen.com

Manuela Guillén is a freelance painter, muralist, and digital illustrator currently living in Philadelphia, PA. Born in Miami to Cuban and Salvadorian immigrant parents, Manuela has always had a love for art. She has collaborated with local, national, and global art organizations such as PangeaSeed, Mural Arts Philadelphia, Gender Justice Fund, and more. Her murals can be found in both the U.S. and Mexico.

Inspired by plants, tropical colors, and her cultural upbringing, Manuela aims to bring awareness to art education, mental health, sociopolitical, and environmental issues. As a teaching artist, Manuela hopes to inspire the next generation of artists to be creative as she continues to bring communities closer together through art.

Memory of José “Cha Cha” Jiménez

CLR/LALS External Advisory Board Members' Spotlight: Ulises Sánchez

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

Querides lectores,

As we continue to confront the troubling signs of increasing ultra-nationalism and authoritarianism in today’s world – signs which include seemingly daily attacks on marginalized communities and on higher education – I am proud that DePaul’s institutional mission exhorts us to pursue finding “peaceful, just and equitable solutions” to the “great questions of the day,” with special attention to underserved and underrepresented communities. The CLR has, for almost 40 years, helped sustain this university mission by supporting transformative and innovative faculty scholarship, hosting events that promote dialogue on campus, and promoting research through our peer-reviewed journal, Diálogo

In the vein of scholarly pursuits, the CLR Faculty Fellowship application season is now open; the deadline to apply is March 17. We are also happy to announce that the Social Transformation Research Collaborative (STRC) once again is accepting applications for our faculty, graduate, and undergraduate research programs. Please see more details in this issue.

Finally, we do hope you can attend some of the immigration-related events we are cosponsoring this month, all organized with the help of collaborators and colleagues – the Law school, the Global Justices Committee of the Society of Vincent de Paul Professors, The Women’s Center, the DePaul Migration Collaborative, and many others. We can make change when we work together!

~Billy Johnson González

Letter from the LALS Chair

Letter from the CLR Director

Hola lectores,

¡Feliz Año Nuevo! As we move into 2025, we find ourselves navigating a shifting political landscape—one that brings both challenges and opportunities. Now more than ever, it’s crucial to stay informed and stand together for our communities. I encourage you to take part in the upcoming immigration events highlighted in this newsletter. These gatherings will provide valuable insights on how we can advocate for and support our most vulnerable members.

I also want to encourage students majoring in minoring in Latin American and Latino Studies to apply for an attractive scholarship now available to students in the department. These scholarships come to us thanks to the efforts of our wonderful CLR/LALS External Advisory Board. Do be sure to apply by March 4, 2025.

In this edition, we are honored to feature an interview with DePaul alum, Virginia Martínez, who wisely reminds us that in difficult times, finding balance is key. Resistance and hard work are vital, but so is joy. With that in mind, I invite you to join us for an evening of spoken word and storytelling, “Latina Lesbian Lives: Our Lived Experiences” featuring the powerful voices of Maria’s Poetas Collective. Have a great quarter and I hope to see you for this celebration on the evening of March 12th!

~Lourdes Torres

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, Professor 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, 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

Heather Montes-Ireland, Associate Professor Women's and Gender Studies

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

Vincent Peña, Assistant Professor Journalism and Sports Communication, College of Communication

Xavier Pérez, Assistant Professor Criminology

Olga Salazar Pozos, Assistant Professor Spanish, Modern Languages

Lydia Saravia, Professional Lecturer Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse

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

Faculty & Staff Faculty & Staff Announcements Announcements

LYDIA SARAVIA & SUSANA MARTÍNEZ

On November 8, 2024, Lydia Saravia and Susana Martínez presented their research titled “The Use of Archives and Public Art for Historical Memory” at the Midwest Association for Latin American Studies (MALAS) at the University of Illinois, Chicago. The conference theme was “The State of Democracy in the Americas: Paths of Participation and Engagement Towards Better Futures ” They spoke about their co-teaching experience on Central American activism, advocacy, and memory in Spring 2024 as part of DePaul’s Humanities X, including how they scaffolded assignments and the use of AI in human rights The other panelists were Jhonathan Gómez from the Chicago Religious Leadership Network and Angelina Alvarez, studentfellowwhoparticipatedinthecourse.

On January 24, 2025, they also participated in a Teaching Commons panel on the various co-teaching models at DePaul. They shared their experiences co-teaching theirSpring2024course,HistoricalMemoryProject:NiOlvido,NiPerdón

DELIA COSENTINO

Art historian Delia Cosentino recently served as the keynote speaker for The Swiss School of Latin American Studies (SSLAS) workshop on “Mapping Territories: Space, Place, and Environment in Latin America” at the University of Bern, Switzerland(October2024).

She also delivered the annual Terry K Simmons Art History Lecture at Tulane Universityon“México-TenochtitlanTranscendent”inNovember2024.

In March 2025, she will head to Cal State, Fresno where she has been invited to give a lecture entitled “Pyramid, Gladiator, Empire: Imagining the Aztec Past in Modern Mexico”aspartoftheirArtHistorySpeakerSeries.

Dr Cosentino is delighted to have contributed to Diálogo 25 1, "Latines Building a Sense of Place in the Chicago Area and the Midwest," by folding research supported by a Center for Latino Research Fellowship into an interview with curator Elena Gonzales at the Chicago History Museum and Independent Researcher Ismael CuevasJr.

JOE R. TAFOYA

Over the fall, Professor Tafoya participated in interviews and presentations regarding the Latinx Vote in the 2024 Presidential Election He was interviewed by the Chicago Tribune, Univision Chicago, and in the podcast “Punto de Vista” at DePaul Tafoya also presented his research on politically invisible Latino voters as a distinguished speaker at Arizona State University and Illinois State University

Faculty

& Staff Faculty & Staff Announcements Announcements

XAVIER PÉREZ

This fall, Professor Xavier Pérez was interviewed by NBC Chicago and Block Club Chicago. In the NBC interview, Dr. Pérez discussed the relationship between immigration and criminology, addressing common myths leading to the villainization of migrants. In Block Club Chicago’s piece, Dr. Pérez is highlighted as the chair of the Community Safety Committee in Humboldt Park, discussing surges in violence and how the community is working against it.

Additionally, they were an invited speaker at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México's (UNAM) program "Diversidad Cultural e Interculturalidad" on October 4th in Mexico City, where they discussed the effects of climate change on indigenous and Afro-descendantterritories

Finally, in October, they were invited as a guest speaker at the University of Illinois, Chicago in collaboration with the grassroots organization Alianza Américas to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the program of Latin American Studies and the 20th anniversary of Alianza Américas on a panel about the future of Latin America, infrontofapproximately200Latinonationalorganizations

CAROLINA STERNBERG & ROCÍO FERREIRA

On November 12th, 2024, Drs. Rocío Ferreira and Carolina Sternberg presented Diálogo, 25.1, “Latines Building a Sense of Place in the Chicago Area and the Midwest.” Both scholars served as the guest thematic editors of the special issue, which celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the journal.

Their publication was featured in the issue: Sternberg, C. and Ferreira, R. (2024) From the Guest Thematic Editors: Latines Building a Sense of Place in the Chicago Area and the Midwest, Diálogo, Volume 25 (1): 3-10.

LALS AND CLR OpenHouseRECAP

On September 25th, 2024, the CLR and LALS teams shared drinks and snacks with DePaul students and faculty. It was a chance for our community to meet Dr. Miguel Castañeda, STRC Postdoctoral Fellow, and Emilio Díaz, our new Department Assistant.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO VISITED US!

LALS SPOTLIGHT: DR. OLGA SALAZAR POZOS

REACTIVATING COLLECTIVE GRIEVING

Interview conducted by Yamitza

Yuivar Villarreal

Dr. Olga Salazar Pozos is Assistant Professor of Spanish in the Department of Modern Languages at DePaul University She has a Master's and Ph D in Hispanic Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics from the University of Minnesota and a B A in Hispanic Literature and Linguistics from the Tecnológico de Monterrey Her main interests are researching contemporary Mexican Literature and Film, Human Rights, Literary, Cultural, and Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies Dr Salazar Pozos recently joined the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies as an affiliated faculty member

I'm originally from Monterrey, a city in the state of Nuevo León, in the northeast of Mexico. That's where I lived most of my life I came to the US to study for my master's and PhD at the University of Minnesota My research focuses on contemporary Mexican literature and documentary films When I was finishing my PhD and was looking for a job, DePaul was looking for a Mexican expert in the Spanish program. I like the values of the university, the Vincentian vision, and of course, the job really aligned with my interests, so I'm thrilled to be at DePaul.

How has your background in different academic environments and cities influenced your research?

For most of my life, I lived in Mexico, in Monterrey, a city that has really felt the consequences of the war on drugs. When I came to the US to pursue my PhD, I didn't know what I wanted to do for my research While I was at the University of Minnesota, the director of the Human Rights Program contacted me because they were creating a database about disappearance cases reported by Mexican newspapers. I was a reporter in Mexico and was very interested in the subject, though I didn’t know much about it. I entered the Observatory on Disappearances and Impunity in Mexico [a multinational academic collaborative], and reading hundreds of reports made me think that I was reading into a phenomenon of catastrophic dimensions but, still, disappearances were

Dr. Olga Salazar Pozos

underreported, at least in newspaper outlets And people, unless they had been directly affected, were not talking about this I kept thinking, what can we do to make the people of Mexico and other places aware of the magnitude of this phenomenon? That question, which came to be because of my background as a reporter in Monterrey and a graduate student at Minnesota, has shaped my research the most.

You work with really sensitive topics related to human rights violations, disappearances, and impunity. What elements do you consider important when addressing these conversations in the classroom?

One of the main things you want is to give students good background information on this, explain that reading about this will be difficult and that we will

be exploring sensitive topics You also need to give them trigger warnings, and things to expect from the readings. Something very important towards the end of each session is to not only focus on the negative aspects. For example, even though we have more than 100,000 cases of disappearances in Mexico, laws have been created specifically to address this issue, and we also have a lot of NGOs and a huge international network working towards resolving the crisis. And of course, citizens who are protesting more and more in Mexico. So, it's important to show students what human rights violations mean, give them background and trigger warnings, but at the end of the day, give them hope that something is being done

In your dissertation, you explore the notion of “collective mourning” in the context of the human rights crisis in Mexico and the War on Drugs. What does this concept mean? Different authors have engaged with the subject. Judith Butler writes about “collective grieving” and “grievability,” explaining how we have decided that there are lives that are worth grieving and lives that are not –or that we don’t have the right to grieve publicly. But “grievability” implies that everybody has the right to be mourned. Cristina Rivera Garza takes on this idea and applies it to the Mexican context recognizing the different connotations duelo (grieving/mourning) has in Spanish “Dolernos” (to grieve) means to embrace the pain of the other and vice versa Also, duelo has the connotation of fighting Now, this idea doesn't mean that I'm going to be able to feel, for example, what a mother of a disappeared person feels, but I can understand that that loss isn't just personal, a disappearance, femicide, or extrajudicial execution also concerns me and has something to do with us as a society.

When the War on Drugs started, we had the boom of what we call narcoculture, which created this enormous perpetrator, the public enemy of Mexico, which is the narco. And we all think that we know what narco means, but we don’t. The whole narrative of narcoculture is centered on this one perpetrator who has surpassed the government, and even though

We have a grieving culture that is striving to create connections with the victims, to show and denounce human rights violations, to understand the multiplicity of perpetrators that are in Mexico.

sometimes it is portrayed as colluding with Mexican authorities, it takes away responsibility from the State. At the same time, since 2010, the year in which violence started to escalate, in the press and the government there has been a predominance of visual representations of violence inflicted on the bodies of the victims, and of explaining these violations by criminalizing the victims There is also a predominant political discourse in which the government doesn't recognize its responsibility for the crisis My perspective, which many researchers share, is that these discourses produced, in the first years of the war, a lack of collective citizen response against the war and human rights violations. This lack of response translated into a lack of opposition, and therefore what we had was a cycle. And since these phenomena made people feel like they were separated from the victims and the violence because the victims were either criminals or erased from the narrative, we started talking about indifference. So, collective mourning is saying: no, they are not criminals, and even though some of them might have committed a crime, there is still no justification for the human rights violations they suffered There are thousands of cases So, “collective mourning,” this recognition of everyone and everything we have lost, allows us as a society to reestablish connections, protest together, and pressure the government more and more. And that's why I think it's relevant to have it in the public sphere.

How do cultural and artistic representations confront these dominant political perspectives in Mexico regarding violence and impunity?

Well, in opposition to narcoculture, what I've been tracing is that there's a new form of dominant

culture in Mexico, which is what I call the “grieving culture ” It refers to artistic and literary creations, in which instead of having the perpetrator as the protagonist of the story, we have the victims, we have their families, we have the stories of their lives. Putting the victims in the forefront helps us create these connections that were lost because of the phenomena I mentioned. We have a grieving culture that is striving to create connections with the victims, to show and denounce human rights violations, to understand the multiplicity of perpetrators that are in Mexico. And I think that's powerful in the public sphere and when we talk about getting responses from the government because we are looking at the war and crisis in a more critical way, in which we can really understand what a disappearance or a femicide is, but from an empathetic point of view

What is the role of language, in all its formats, in public discussions around these topics?

Back in April, the Center for Latino Research brought Cristina Rivera Garza to DePaul. The book discussed during that visit, Liliana's Invisible Summer, centers on the femicide of Liliana, the author’s sister, in Mexico in the 90s, at a moment in which the word femicide didn't exist and wasn't recognized in the constitution. It was considered “ a crime of passion” when a man killed a woman, and that has very different implications judicially But now, when we talk about feminicidio or femicide, we understand all the forms of violence that are implicated in this crime I think language is at the center of all of this If we don't have language to discuss what's going on, we don't have a way to measure the implications or to identify the dangers. Most of my research is in documentary films which have their own language, and of course, now there are concepts to explain the situation and social documentaries are the perfect place to synthesize large amounts of data and legal concepts in a more accessible way for the public. Mexican documentary filmmakers know that it is not only necessary to give the information to the public, but also to establish a connection with the victims.

Sometimes they use images or sounds to elicit affective responses In this way, the legal language, the participants' verbal and corporal language, and cinematographic language work together to establish such connections.

You are trying to transform this dissertation into a book manuscript. Can you tell us more about the process or its challenges?

One of my main challenges is to know when to stop updating data. Every time I look at my dissertation, I have to update the facts I had. For example, when I finished my dissertation in 2023, there were 90,000 disappearances, and now we're talking about 115,000 disappearances But right now, the main challenge is to finish describing the grieving culture in literature I have one more chapter to write to finish my manuscript and it has to do with a case of torture. Sometimes it's difficult to write about this because of the topic, the fact that it is my country, and the War on Drugs is still ongoing. Another challenge is the language. I think it is important to publish it in Spanish. It would be easier to publish it in English, and more people probably would read it in English. But my book project has to do with Mexico and a lot of people helped me write this, NGOs, journalists, filmmakers, writers, victims, and even my family. I want everyone related to this project to be able to read it And since all the work with which I'm dealing is in Spanish, I feel more authentic to myself and the content when I'm writing in Spanish than in English

What classes will you be teaching during the Winter quarter?

I'll teach Spanish 315: Mexican Literature. It's not just literature; the class explores films and culture. It's going to focus mainly on the culture of the 20th and 21st century in Mexico. I will also be teaching, and this is a brand-new course, LSP 112: Human Rights in Latin America, in Spanish. I'm very happy about that. It's going to be a human rights course that will focus on Mexico and will be covering the so-called Dirty war and the War on Drugs.

The Young Lords of Lincoln Park

FILM PREVIEW & FILM PREVIEW & DDISCUSSION ISCUSSION

EVENT RECAP EVENT RECAP

Panelists Dr. Jacqueline Lazú, Tania Lindsay, and Paul Mireles, alongside event guests featured in the documentary, including members of the Young Lords Organization, Omar López and David Rivera

On October 3, 2024, the CLR, in collaboration with WTTW, organized a preview and discussion of the 60-minute documentary, The Young Lords of Lincoln Park, which follows the activist group that evolved from a street gang to a political force, opposing oppression, violence, displacement and other issues affecting Latinx and lowincome residents of Lincoln Park

The documentary featured the life of José “Cha Cha” Jiménez, founder of the Young Lords Organization and an instrumental figure in its evolution into an organization advocating for human and civil rights It also featured the original Rainbow Coalition, an effort to unite the work of the Young Lords with that of the Black Panthers and the Young Patriots for political change.

Dr. Jacqueline Lazú, Department of Modern Languages at DePaul (left) Tania Lindsay, Producer of The Young Lords of Lincoln Park (center) and Paul Mireles, DePaul Graduate Student and Chairman of the Chicago Chapter of the New Era Young Lords (right)

The conversation was moderated by Dr. Bill Johnson González, Director of the Center for Latino Research

The Q&A session led to discussions about social activism, gentrification, student protests, and liberation movements in the presence of original Young Lords Organization members

The documentary, part of the WTTW Chicago Stories Series, focuses on the history and impact of the organization in Chicago and offers an opportunity to reflect on the lessons from the organization’s many achievements, including coalition building among other disenfranchised communities in the city.

Special thank you to Timothy Russell, Vice President of Community Engagement at WTTW, for his efforts and collaboration in making this event possible.

THE PANELISTS

The documentary is available on the WTTW website Scan the QR code to watch it!

THE YOUNG LORDS WALKING TOUR THE YOUNG LORDS WALKING TOUR

WITH WITH

MCCORMICK THEOLOGICAL MCCORMICK THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

SEMINARY

On Friday, October 11, 2024, a group of faculty, staff, and alums from McCormick Theological Seminary visited DePaul for a day of activities commemorating the Young Lords Organization as part of McCormick Days: “Celebrating our Impact on Imagination and Identity,” a celebration of the 50th anniversary of McCormick Theological Seminary's El Centro, the center for the study of Latinx theology and ministry

Members of the McCormick Theological Seminary joined us for a walking tour of Lincoln Park led by Derek Potts, Instruction and Outreach Archivist at the DePaul Special Collections and Archives The tour included key sites of Young Lords activism, including the DePaul School of Music, which used to be McCormick’s Stone Academic Building and is now the site of a historical marker commemorating the Young Lords takeover of the building in 1969, as well as The People’s Church (Armitage Methodist Church) and the People’s Park (Halsted, between Armitage and Dickens).

The tour was followed by a screening of The Young Lords of Lincoln Park documentary, with a discussion let by Timothy Russell, Vice President of Community Engagement at WTTW, and Dr. Ken Sawyer, Professor of Church History at McCormick Theological Seminary

Social Transformation Research Collaborative Updates

From Program Coordinator for the Social Transformation Research Collaborative, Alejandra Delgadillo

TheSocialTransformationResearchCollaborative isthrilledtoannouncethattheMellonFoundation hasrenewedourgrantforthreemoreyears!Our newgrantwillallowustointegratethefollowing updatestoourprogramming:

SummerInstituteforNewStudents

Our original program funded a total of 20 incoming firstyear and transfer students each summer. For the next three years, we will be able to fund 20 first-year students and 10 transfer students per year in separate but parallel tracks, with each track tailored to fit the needs of these specific studentgroups

We will continue our guest lecture series for the teaching portion of the program. If you are interested in being a guest lecturer for the 2025 Summer Institute for New Students, please contact the STRC co-directors, Dr. Julie Moody-Freeman (jmoodyfr@depaul.edu) and Dr. Billy Johnson González (bjohns58@depaul.edu) to receive more information The Summer Institute will take place on the weekofJuly14,2025

GraduateStudentFellowship

Our Graduate Student Fellowship is getting a makeover! In order to better serve our graduate student population in the College of LAS, we are shifting the focus of the fellowship from academic research to professional development Moving forward, the selected students will receive a $2,500 stipend after attending a series of professional development workshops curated by a faculty member. This year, our faculty lead will be Dr. Lourdes Torres (LALS). Eligible students will be invited to apply if they receive a nominationfromafacultymember.

The rest of our programming will continue as before,anditisupandrunning!

UndergraduateStudentResearchFellowship

Six academically talented rising juniors or seniors in LAS will receive a $5,000 stipend each and a free 5-week, inperson Summer Session I course (worth 4 credit hours). The course will be taught by one LAS faculty member and introduce them to basic research methodologies in the interdisciplinaryhumanities

Thisfellowshipisopentostudentsbynomination.Faculty interested in nominating a student should visit our website for details, found under “Opportunities” The nominationperiodisfromFebruary14toMarch7,2025

FacultyResearchFellowship

Tenure-line facultybelow the rankof Professorworking in the humanities whose primary scholarly or creative field engagesthe historiesand/orculturesofpeople ofcolor(in the United States or in diaspora) are eligible to apply for this12-monthfellowship

Deadline to apply is March 3, 2025. Please visit our website for details at go.depaul.edu/strc under “Opportunities>ForFaculty”

FacultyProfessionalDevelopmentFellowship

LAS tenure-line faculty working in the humanities whose primary scholarly or creative field engages the histories and/or cultures of people of color (in the United States or in diaspora), are eligible to apply for this six-month fellowship Non-humanities faculty who wish to learn how to incorporate humanities methods, content, and approaches into their scholarship and teaching, are also eligible.

Deadline to apply is March 3, 2025 Please visit our website for details at go.depaul.edu/strc under “Opportunities>ForFaculty”.

2024 STRC FALL SYMPOSIUM

WRITING, RACE, AND MEMORY

EVENT RECAP

On Tuesday, October 22nd, the Social Transformation Research Collaborative hosted their third annual fall symposium. The day-long event brought together 2024-2025 faculty fellows, postdoctoral fellows, and undergraduate and graduate student fellows, along with external keynote speakers, to present on the theme of “Writing, Race, and Memory”. All the participants discussed their work, which included issues such as climate change, political violence, identity, and more.

Thank you to the STRC directors, Dr. Bill Johnson González and Dr. Julie Moody-Freeman for shepherding this project and to Alejandra Delgadillo, STRC Project Coordinator, for ensuring the event was thought-provoking and emotionally enriching. We hope to continue learning about our past and present, to create a better future.

KEYNOTE SP

Author David Mura ”Racial Myths and Our American Narratives”

A conversation with author Karla Cornejo Villavicencio & Dr. Lourdes Torres

On Romance: A Conversation with author Beverly Jenkins (left) & Dr. Carole V. Bell (right). This session was held online.

UNDERGRADUATE FELLOWS

Abigail Flores (Top Left)

“Migration, Displacement and the Performance of Puerto Rican Identity in Chicago”

Naomi Love (Top Center)

“Redefining Religion: Challenging Eurocentric Narratives through African American Spirituality”

Sifa Muderhwa (Top Right)

“Green Imperialism: The Hidden Costs of the Green New Deal in the Global South”

Chris Sifri (Bottom Left)

“Art of Resistance: Reclamation Through Art”

Aidan Tennant (Bottom Center)

“Machine Realism: The collapse of Bring Chicago Home and Chicago’s Radical Black Politics”

Jo Trasowech (Bottom Right)

“Western-Liberal Epistemology Indigenous Sovereignty and Postcolonial Discourse”

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS

Dr. Miguel Angel Castañeda (left)

“Memories of MEChA: Oral Histories of the Chicana/o Student Movement”

GRADUATE FELLOWS

Sophia Burns (Not Photographed)

“High Stakes, Rising Tides: Reclaiming Narratives of Urban Redevelopment Policy and Climate Justice in Atlantic City”

Claudia Cisneros Méndez (Left)

“Art and Culture as Resistance: Indigenous Communities Defying State Violence and Racist Repression in Peru”

Elizabeth Wallace (Right)

“With an Empathetic Lens: Understanding the Causes of Forced Migration in Mexico through Film s Storytelling

Dr. Taurean J. Webb (right)

“Religious Grammars and Folded Futures: On African Diasporic and Palestinian Exilic Visual Arts”

FACULTY FELLOWS

Dr. Rocío Ferreira (Top Left)

“Women Shoot: Poetics of Political Violence in Contemporary Peruvian Culture”

Dr. Juan Mora-Torres (Top Right)

“Mexicans in Babylon: Barrio Making in Chicago’s West Side, 1917-1983”

Dr. Maria Ferrera (Bottom Left)

“Journey to Safety and Belonging: Narratives of Asylees”

Dr. Jacqui Lazú (Bottom Right)

“Archival Collection Development and Management”

CALLFORAPPLICATIONS

The Center for Latino Research

2025 - 2026 Faculty Fellowship Program

TheCLRFacultyFellowshipisanannualcompetitionopentoallDePaulUniversity full-time,tenuretrackfacultyinanydiscipline.Thefellowshipissupportedbythe CollegeofLiberalArtsandSocialSciences,andgrantsrecipientsaone-quarter teachingrelease(2classes)forresearchandwritingonLatinAmericanand/orU.S. Latinoissues.Inaddition,theCLRprovidesupto100hoursofstudentresearch assistanthelpduringtheresearchperiod.Withinoneacademicyearfollowingthe fellowshipperiod,recipientsareaskedtosubmitafinaloutomeorpublication,and todoashortpublicpresentationoftheirwork.

ForLASfaculty,anonlineendorsementfromthefacultymember'sDepartment Chair/ProgramDirector.ApplicantsfromcollegesoutsideofLASshouldsecurean endorsementfromtheirDeanbeforebeginningtheapplicationprocess. Projectmaterials,outlinedintheApplicationGuidelineswhichcanbeaccessedHERE orbyvisitinggo.depaul.edu/clr

Thursday,February6

Ifyouhaveanyquestions,pleasecontact: BillJohnsonGonzálezatbjohns58@depaul.eduor MarcelaL.RealesVisbalatmrealesv@depaul.edu

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. SYMONE JOHNSON WELLNESS AND CARE IN TODAY’S WORLD

Interview conducted by Yamitza Yuivar Villarreal

Dr Symone A Johnson is Assistant Professor of African and Black Diaspora Studies at DePaul University Dr Johnson earned a Ph D (2022) and an M A (2019) in Anthropology from the University of Notre Dame Following Black anthropological tradition and Black feminist theories, Dr Johnson focuses on modern personal healing practices, communal care, and the development of restorative and healing justice frameworks In this conversation, we discussed her work for the CLR Faculty Fellowship, “Reintegration as a Sacred Political Project,” which allowed her to continue ethnographic work in New York and analyze how people mediate their experiences and spirituality with different worlds of care and political activism.

I was born in Cincinnati and grew up in San Antonio, Texas, where my little brother and sister were born I spent a lot of time down there and really enjoyed myself growing up in a big family. I grew up in a very, I would say, spiritual and religious home, involved in the southern Black Baptist tradition. I was very involved in the creative arts as well. Before I became interested in anything related to research, I wanted to be a performer. I enjoy singing, acting, and dancing. I really wanted to be on Broadway. And then I went to college in Atlanta, Spelman College, a historically Black women's college, which was crucial for my social, creative, and intellectual development. I earned a degree in psychology after a meandering road of different majors and career aspirations I started in biology because my mom wanted me to do something more practical and I was being steered away from doing something more creative and artistic So of course, I went the total opposite way and was like “okay, I'll be an MD, I love Grey's Anatomy.”

Then I made my way to psychology, and, during that time, I was still involved in the creative arts because I worked in the Fine Arts Museum on-campus. I got some experience doing museum education and curatorial studies which was really formative as an educator. That's when I started to think of myself as someone who could teach people things. So not only was I fulfilling my curiosities as a creative person and as an intellectual, but I was engaging with

people in a community around ideas like wellness, but also identity and self-representation, which became important themes in my research later on

I decided to go to grad school, and I wanted to become a counselor because my mom was a counselor, and I was really interested and oriented towards care work and service work in general. I thought that was what I wanted to do. I worked as a research assistant and became aware of the world of academia. Long story short, I met a mentor in my senior year. Being introduced to anthropology at a Black women's college from a Black perspective was really important because I left my undergraduate experience believing that anthropology is Black, obviously knowing the history, but there is a clear

Dr. Symone Johnson

Black tradition here Despite the colonial history of the field, there's also this decolonial approach that can be taken that has been practiced with African and Indigenous people before there was a declared field of anthropology. It's truly a practice of storytelling, of cultural preservation. And I carry that philosophy with me as I do my research and my own teaching. I decided to take that route and attended the University of Notre Dame for my PhD. I worked with Alex Chavez, who was my dissertation chair, an ethnomusicologist from West Texas. We're both Texas folk interested in culture and music. He was really helpful in developing my class consciousness, my Marxian analysis, and also introduced me to critical theory in a particular way I also worked with Vania Smith-Oka, Maurizio Albahari, and Ashanté Reese, who was my mentor at Spelman

What is your CLR Faculty Fellowship project focused on? What are you hoping to accomplish during the fellowship year?

I have returned to the field site where I was working for my dissertation research, Brooklyn, New York. My dissertation was about how people connect their political interests with their spiritual commitments. In a way, it really tapped into those curiosities that I've been developing my entire life. How do people's spirituality and religious backgrounds inform their political activism? How does that political work and how engaging with others in community doing political work, transform oneself spiritually as well? It’s like a feedback loop that is cyclical I chose New York as a site because it's a place where creative people go It's a place that, at the time, when I was there in 2018-2019, was a hub for the wellness industry and also the wellness industrial complex, which I critique heavily in my writing. Both of those things come together in a really unique way.

I was working with a mystical school that is a space where healers, educators, and people who are interested in spiritual work and healing work can come and develop their skills. They offer classes for people in the community like training courses, Reiki, Tarot, or other forms of energy work. I'm a part of a cohort now that is developing a philosophy around

social ecology, and how we can inform our teaching and our activism with an ecological consciousness

This fellowship allowed me to return to Brooklyn after a long hiatus and check out the scope of things in person because I've been doing a lot of this work digitally for the last few years, especially since Covid, which happened right at the end of my graduate training. This was my first time being able to go back and actually talk and connect with people in person. It was a really unique experience to go and see the change that had taken place since the last time I'd been there, not only in the geographic landscape, but also in the wellness landscape And that really informs the writing that is ultimately going to come out of this I'm developing an article that I'm hoping to find a publishing venue for in the next couple of weeks to months.

Your research centers on restorative and healing justice. What are the roles of personal and collective practice of care in battles against social injustice?

I do a lot of writing about that. How personal wellness is connected to interpersonal wellness, to community wellness, and we can scale that up to the political level. How do we govern ourselves in a way that is attentive to all of our well-being collectively? The only way we can know what is right for the collective is to be tapped into what is right for ourselves at the level of the individual And that's why I always talk about this idea of “fragmented bodies,” because, in this moment of late stage capitalism, of the commodified body, it is something I think about a lot, especially as a Black woman, whose function in the United States has historically been to use my body to serve and, in that way, seen. We're all seen as these flesh bags. It's like we have mechanized the body in a particular way that has affected the way we see ourselves. It's affected the way that we heal within the medical industrial complex. So, attending to our healing and our care in a way that is holistic, tied to spiritual well-being, tied to relationships, is really important and allows us to relate to one

another in a way that is responsible and acknowledges we're a part of a whole, and not only like a human whole, but a whole that includes the environment and other forms of life, which is where that spiritual aspect comes in.

Many people are struggling with feelings like anxiety, anger, and fear due to the current political situation. How can we approach wellness in this context?

I've been thinking a lot about this. And I think the other side of wellness is having a really deep relationship with grief. Wellness and healing are not always about getting better and better That is a false notion Wellness and healing are an ebb and flow, and I think that there has to be an acknowledgement that there is death and violence in the world Premature death, natural death, death and destruction of the environment around us, displacement. All of those things are taking place. Genocide. I think we have to grieve all the loss around us. We lived through a pandemic where a million plus people died and many of us are affected by that. And it's something that goes unacknowledged at the social level, at a broader cultural level. This disassociation from death, this, I guess fear of death, fear to acknowledge it, prevents us from actually being able to heal, and live and thrive.

So, a healing practice has to include grief practice at a personal level That's why African and Indigenous traditions have a lot of rituals and practices around connecting with our ancestors Because we know that death is not the end We know that our ancestors live among us, that there is spiritual work that must be done. That is a necessary part. So, the distress that we're all feeling can activate us towards something better, if we allow ourselves to hold space for the grief. And there are things that we can do to create a world that is better for us right now, we can tap into that mutual aid work, we can tap into that political education and the organizing in our local communities.

You have been doing ethnographic and oral history projects. What impact does including these personal accounts and approaches like black storytelling have in studies about social transformation? When we think about social change, we can talk a lot, at the level of theory, about what is wrong with our society, which is useful to know what we're facing. It's useful to know that we are in an imperialist, capitalist, white supremacist, patriarchal society. And it's important to understand how our intersectional identities mediate our experiences within that. I think it's another thing to be able to connect with each other at the level of the heart And storytelling allows us to see the ways that we relate to people who on the outside, seem different from us It's a way for us to also be able to see that we're not crazy, we're having these shared experiences. And it also allows us to develop a sense of empathy and a sense of mutual regard for one another, which is something that I write about. In restorative justice philosophy, one of the common beliefs is that the more you get to know somebody, the harder it becomes to do harm to them and when you do that harm, which does inevitably happen, we're more willing to repair that harm.

My students always come to me and ask, “ we see the problems of the world; they seem so big ” And they are, indeed But I always say, “you're only responsible for what is around you ” If we all take on what's happening at the local level, then we can all be doing well It's all about just getting to know one's neighbors, repairing those generational conflicts within one's family, talking with classmates about intellectual conflicts that you're having within the classroom. That's where the real revolutionary work is happening. However, your spiritual commitment looks to you, takes assessment of your values and beliefs. Start there. The power that's currently winning, the power that's based in fear and greed, is not the power that's going to ultimately win. We have to tap into a power that is fueled by love for oneself, love for each other, and love for justice.

Know your rights

A Workshop with Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) This event will be geared towards educating the community on advocacy and immigrant rights.

Separated (2024) by Errol Morris

Join us for a screening and discussion of this documentary that explores the devastating U.S. policy that tore families apart In this film, Errol Morris exposes the human cost of family separations Q&A to follow with Dr. Susana Martínez (PAX) Sanctuary for None: Border Violence Against Migrants and Nature in the Sonoran Desert

Join us for a conversation with Dr. Naomi Paik, Associate Professor of Criminology, Law, and Justice and Global Asian Studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

DAISYHERNÁNDEZ DAISYHERNÁNDEZ

EVENT RECAP

OnOctober8th,theCenterforLatinoResearch,inpartnershipwiththeDepartmentofLatinAmericanandLatinoStudies, the Women’s Center, the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, and the Latinx Cultural Center hosted two events withauthorDaisyHernández.Intheevening,Dr.LourdesTorres(LALSChair)moderatedaconversationwiththeCubanColombian author, who discussed her landmark anthology, Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today’s Feminism (2002) Hernándezsharedherexperienceco-editingthebookandrevisingasecondeditionwithnewessays,publishedin 2019. She asserted that the collection written for young women of color calls for decolonizing everything: language, education,society,andpowersystems.

Earlierintheday,theLatinxBookClubhadtheopportunitytomeettheauthoranddiscussHernández'smemoir, A Cup of Water Under My Bed,whichiscelebratingits10thanniversary,attheLatinxCulturalCenter.Thediscussionwasmoderated byMarcelaL.RealesVisbal,CLRAssistantDirector.TheeventwasattendedbyLatinxBookClubparticipants,whohadmet to discuss the book earlier in the fall term in preparation for Hernández’s visit. In a thoughtful conversation, attendees discussedfamily,languages,identities,andLatinidad.Afterthebothevents,theauthorsignedbooksandtalkedwiththe audience Thankyou,Daisy,fortwowonderfulevents!

BOOK CLUB

Discussion Dates:

2/6/2025

2/20/2025

3/6/2025

All meetings will be from 4:30 - 5:45pm at the Center for Latino Research SAC 5th Floor, Suite A-H

REGISTER HERE

The first 15 students who register will receive a FREE COPY of the book!

Book pick-up at the Latinx Cultural Center on 1/23/2025! Free lunch for students participating in the book club!

Join us for a discussion of Krik? Krak!, published in 1995, was a National Book Award Finalist. Danticat weaves together stories of Haitian women grappling with love, loss, and resilience across generations. Through themes of migration, identity, and collective memory, this short story collection explores the enduring strength of women in the face of political and personal turmoil and captures the unbreakable bonds between family and homeland.

by Edwidge Danticat

LATIN AMERICAN AND LATINO STUDIES

EXTERNAL ADVISORY BOARD

SCHOLARSHIP

Must be a Latin American and Latino Studies major or min

Must be a sophomore, junior, or senior

Must be in good academic standing

Must write a 250-word response to the following question: Discuss a Latin American or Latina/o/x studies figure, event, or text that has been important to your academic journey.

for a

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

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: ULISES SÁNCHEZ

REPRESENTATION AND SACRIFICE

Interview Conducted by Gigi Lara

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.

Ulises Iván Sánchez is a Human Resources Officer with the U.S. Department of State. He holds a BA in Leadership and Human Resources Management (2015) and an MS in Human Resources (2016), both from DePaul University. With a strong academic foundation and expertise in HR, he plays a key role in supporting and managing personnel within the State Department. With a global expertise, Ulises has been stationed in the United States, Colombia, and Germany, and is currently based in Thailand.

I'm a second-generation immigrant I grew up in Chicago, and I was undocumented growing up I spent about 14 years undocumented So, these days, I would be called a Dreamer In those days, the language wasn't as friendly I was very lucky My immigration status was able to change, and I wound up getting the opportunity to go into the Marine Corps. It put my whole life on a different trajectory. Now, I've been working for about 20 years, 15 of which focused on an HR practice. I've had roles in the private sphere and the government sphere. I get to have this job with the State Department where I can go almost essentially anywhere the flag flies as a Human Resources Officer, and my family gets to tag along. My wife and I are high school sweethearts, and we have two amazing little kids. They are incredibly sweet, funny, and smart kids who happen to be autistic and have ADHD My wife has ADHD, and I am autistic as well, so that's us in a nutshell

What led you to join the Marines after you graduated high school?

Growing up undocumented in Chicago, I felt relatively safe. There was always this threat that I could be deported if I had a police interaction, if I had to go to the hospital, or if something came up at school. But for the most part, I felt pretty safe. When

I got to high school, I needed a Social Security Number for everything, like a driver's permit All the kids were starting to fill out their college applications by junior year At that point, I had hit my cap, and it didn't seem like I had a future

Somehow, I got lucky, and my immigration status changed. I was able to get my green card. I had spent all these years really struggling and not having any positive outlook on what my future looked like. I picked one of the hardest things I could do. I had this sense that people would always question whether or not I was American. For the majority of my teen and adult life, the United States had been at war. I wanted to serve and prevent people from being able to say, “You're not American.” I'm 5”4 and was 132 lbs in those years, and I knew it wasn't going to be easy. So, I knew if I could get through that and have success there [the Marines], I'd pretty much be able to do anything that I wanted to do

What was your experience as a non-traditional first-generation Latine student at DePaul? How did DePaul, and more specifically the Latine community here, support you in your transition from the Marines to undergraduate and then graduate school?

I had a really great experience, and the Latine community at DePaul was great One of the things I appreciated was the representation. At the time, Professor Marisa Alicea was the Dean of my college. Growing up, I didn't see a lot of Latines on TV, in the papers, or in leadership positions, either in the private sphere or in government. Just knowing that she was at the head of the ship felt really positive and encouraging. My colleagues and classmates created a warm, welcoming, and engaging community.

By that point, I had already spent several years abroad and in Germany. Coming from an environment where the few times I saw another Mexicano I was ready to hug him and cry, being at DePaul where I could code switch and have that cultural familiarity was helpful Not being the only adult learner was also really encouraging There's a lot of us We have similar stories and similar backgrounds. We've faced similar challenges, gone through them together, and had academic success together.

Throughout your career, you have been stationed in the US, Colombia, and Germany, and you are currently working in Thailand. How would you say that DePaul prepared you to work outside of the United States and advance the field of Human Resources?

When I was a paralegal with the Marine Corps, one of the things the Marines are big on is that you have to do some kind of job outside of your field They call that your billet Because a lot of the paralegals have cleaner backgrounds, it's very common for them to go into the Marine Security Guard field So, when I was a very young marine, that's the first time the idea sparked for me that I would love to work in an embassy someday.

DePaul's programs, when it comes to interpersonal skills, communication skills, and their inclusive and accessible focus, are miles ahead of a lot of other programs. I worked with a lot of folks that come from top-tier MBA programs. I was one of the HR managers at the University of Chicago, and when it comes to reading profit and loss statements, they're fantastic. But, asking an employee to show up on

Ulises Sánchez

time or having a difficult conversation with somebody, that skill set wasn't there That’s something that DePaul did very well The way they build the management focus with an understanding that you need those communication and interpersonal skills to give you concrete frameworks, and you have a lot of tools in your toolkit by the time you hit the workforce.

DePaul's Vincentian mission centers on service leadership and the question, “What must be done?” How has your idea of service been shaped by your professional and personal journey?

I come from underrepresented, historically disenfranchised communities It’s always been a large part of my focus to look out for the little guy In HR, I can express that employee resource and affinity groups matter The student committees at universities matter I got to be the President of the Student Veterans Union and the President of DePaul's Society for Human Resource Management chapter. All of those things matter. But what I enjoy about Human Resources is that when I'm writing policy with the stroke of a pen, I can make impactful, positive, long-lasting changes for our employees when they're members of these underrepresented groups. Can I ensure that a policy is thinking about the impacts of those who are typically left out of the conversation? Can I make sure that a policy or funding is going to translate to programs that are truly equitable and accessible?

I absolutely love that It’s really one of my core values – how can we look out for the little guy in everything that we do?

There's a lot of us. We have similar stories and similar backgrounds. We've faced similar challenges, gone through them together, and had academic success together.

Since you have graduated, the Latine student population at DePaul has increased significantly; 24.4% of all undergraduate students identify as Latine, per the fall 2024 census. What continual steps do you think the institution needs to take towards becoming an HSI? How do you anticipate it will support Latine students moving forward?

Representation matters a lot. I love the fact that the more I look at DePaul, there's more and more Latine representation across the board. That is going to be an important factor in whether it achieves and sustains its HSI status. Along with that, it has to be about how we support those students as much as possible through good internship opportunities, paid internships whenever possible Those communities typically cannot afford to work for free Also, scholarships –how can we make sure that you have the funding to get through undergrad and get through graduate school? Nowadays, most people need some kind of grad school to be competitive in the job market.

In terms of challenges, there's a new administration coming into power in January. It's fair to say that they are going to try and change or erode a lot of the legal protections [for students]. Title IX, for example, in the academic space. All Institutions and organizations do things because they have to, legally. DePaul is going to have a really interesting opportunity and challenge to say, “Okay, as fewer things are legally required, what do we continue to do because it's the right thing to do, not because we're required to do it ” The leadership at DePaul is going to have an opportunity to prove their values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility My job, as somebody on the board, is to continue to

advocate for that and remind folks that we are here to do the right thing, not the easy thing or the bare minimum.

What advice would you give to firstgeneration and Latine students seeking higher education?

We have to realize, as first or second-generation immigrants, what a sacrifice it was for our parents to give us that opportunity. My mom had me at 15 or 16. You have to imagine that she got to the United States with no family or friends of her own. She abandoned her culture and her language to give me an opportunity So, you have to honor that sacrifice My parents would tell me stories about when they first got to Chicago, sometimes dinner was tortillas and Kool-Aid

When I got to Germany as a Marine in my early 20s, I had to find a bathroom, and I couldn't do it because the signs were in German. It dawned on me at that moment, “You're in your 20s. You’re a Marine. You have money in your pocket. You can make a call, and the command will help you out. What did your 15 and 16-year-old parents do in that situation?”

So, get through undergrad. Once you start, don't stop. Even if you don't love your major, don't continue to rack up debt and change it to this and that Pick a versatile undergrad major that you can do a lot with at the graduate level

The older I get, the more I realize what an extraordinary job my single mother did with two kids, undocumented, with no network in Chicago. You’ve got to find a way to pay that back. Achieving academic success is one of the easiest ways to go back to your parents and say thank you for what you left behind and for all the ways you struggled. Don't stop. Keep attacking. Find a way to honor that sacrifice.

The views expressed are those of the interviewee and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Department of State or the U.S. Government.

FROMDEPAULTOTHECOSTUMEINDUSTRY

AftergraduatingfromDePaulin2016,Almamoved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film costume making and joined the Motion Picture Costumers (MPC) local 705 in 2019, which is a part of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees(IATSE)

She has created costumes for several films, includingGuardiansoftheGalaxyVolIII,Joker:Folie a Deux, Babylon (Oscar Nominated), Ahsoka (Emmywinner),andThunderbolts.

Alma Lucero Acosta

MajorinCostumeTechnology(TheatreSchool) withaminorinLatinAmericanandLatino Studies,Class2016,DePaulUniversity

THEIMPACTOFANLALSMINOR

The LALS minor allowed Alma to connect her passion for design with her Latinx heritage. She grew up in Houston, the daughterofaMexicanfatherandaColombianmother

In 2021, Alma connected with the IATSE Latinx Caucus, an independent association, and "knew this was how I was going topursuemyloveforfilmmakingandupwardmobilityofLatino workers within it," Alma said Now, she is one of its core members, organizes fundraisers, and hosts events to foster community and promote DEI initiatives, aiming to enhance Latinxs’experiencesintheindustry.

“Iwouldn'thavebeenableto empowerotherLatinosinmy industryifIwasn'teducatedinour history&artthatIlearnedthrough DePaul'sLatinAmericanandLatino Studiesprogram.Iamthankfulfor beingabletoconnectbothofmy studiesinmycareer.”

-AlmaLuceroAcosta, LALSalumni

LATINA LESBIAN LIVES OUR

LIVED EXPERIENCES

Join us for an evening of spoken word and storytelling performances with María’s Poetas Collective and a special featured guest.

Registration via Eventbrite is REQUIRED

SAC 154

MARCH 12TH | 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM

RECEPTION IS FROM 6:00 - 6:30 PM

2323 N. Seminary Ave. (on the other side of 2320 N Kenmore Ave building--Levan/O'Connell)

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: VIRGINIA MARTÍNEZ A LIFE OF SERVICE

Interview Conducted by Gigi Lara

Virginia Martínez, a Chicago native, has dedicated her life to serving, supporting and elevating marginalized communities. She was one of the first two Latinas licensed to practice law in Illinois. Martínez graduated from the DePaul College of Law in 1975. As a law student, Martínez co-founded the Latino Law Student Association and continued her advocacy work into her career, helping to establish the Chicago Office of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She was also a founding board member for the Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and served as Executive Director for Mujeres Latinas en Acción from 1992 until 1997. In 2014, Martinez received a DePaul alumni award for outstanding service to the university. Now retired, she recently published the second book in her children’s series, Adventures with Abuela. The bilingual series encourages caregivers to read to young children as well as to take them to zoos and museums in the Chicagoland area.

I was born and raised in Chicago The first twelve years of my life I lived a block South of Chinatown, then the expressway went through. We moved to Pilsen, and I lived in the same house, for the next 25 years; all through high school, college, and law school. I moved to Oak Park and have been here 35 years, about to celebrate my 75th birthday.

I ended up at DePaul Law School because I was working as a part-time secretary for two lawyers in Pilsen on 18th Street: Reyes and Lopez. When I started working there, I decided to go back to college. I had finished two years at City College and had been working full-time I ended up working for this community law office and could see all the problems coming in, while still living in Pilsen and seeing everything going on I decided to go back to school at UIC and majored in Sociology When I was about to graduate, one of the lawyers said, “What are you going to do now?” and I said, “I'm going to go to Jane Addams School of Social Work”. He said, “We need bilingual lawyers you should go to law school.” I knew that there were only 15 Latino attorneys in the entire state at the time, so I ended up going to law school.

You were the Executive Director for Mujeres Latinas en Acción from 1992 until 1997. Mujeres Latinas en Acción advocates

immensely for low-income Latinx women in Chicago and is the longest-standing Latina-led organization in the nation. Can you share about your experience with the organization? How did you get involved with them?

I knew all the women involved in creating Mujeres Latinas en Acción and how it came about. Their first place was in a church that had been closed and there was a mysterious fire that burned down the building that they were using. So, they left and rented a storefront on 18th St. When they were there, I was asked to teach in the evenings about citizenship. It was based on how to get involved in our community and elections

Then, they moved their office to 17th St They were advertising for the executive director position, and I applied, but they didn't interview me I was sharing clients with them. I had my own legal office and was representing victims of domestic violence, referred to me by Mujeres. I was going to court a lot representing these women. I continued to participate in things here and there at Mujeres. Then, the position came open again and I interviewed that time.

I was asked: “Why does a lawyer want to be director of Mujeres?” I said that I had been watching Mujeres. I have always been around, and think the work is critical. I'm a survivor of sexual abuse, so I know that

it’s one of the issues that women face I told them I always wanted to be directly involved in Mujeres and they hired me. It is something I'm very proud of, the program and the staff, I loved them.

From 2011 until 2017 you ran a consulting firm centered on guiding non-profit organizations to have focused goals and strategies to achieve said goals. What was the most difficult part of helping non-profits succeed?

I was at UIC before that, as the director of the International Center for Health Leadership Development I have no background in health, but it was about making meaningful partnerships between major institutions and communities How did the universities and hospitals work directly with the community on a more level field?

Historically, universities get huge grants and then ask the community to come in and help them, but they don't pay them or exclude them from conversations. Why? The community is working and can't come in at 3:00p.m. when these meetings were. It was eyeopening for me to develop that collaboration. How do we collaborate as organizations and as organizations with communities? That was part of what I brought to some of the jobs that I did as a consultant, so it's not us and them. It was changing traditional rules about the way organizations run

Why is it important for non-profit organizations to be a united front and have standardized tools for success, especially at the current political moment, when there is a push to limit the scope of their work?

It's more challenging now, given what's happened, and what's going to happen as of January 20th. There's always been some level of cooperation among organizations, but there's a recognition that we have to work collaboratively because you can't be fighting over the same money to work on behalf of the same community. This includes working with the people on the other side giving out the money.

In w as a tool for advocacy in your different fields?

As one of the early bilingual attorneys to practice, I would see people in court who could not talk to their attorney because the secretary wasn't there to translate Attorneys need to be able to speak directly to their clients because there are nuances – it's a factor of trust You know your client trusts you because they know that you understand them.

It is also important in almost any other field, but definitely in education. When I was a kid, there was somebody who came in from Mexico and they sat me next to that child so that I could help interpret for them. First of all, I'm not trained. Secondly, I did not speak Spanish at home. I knew it but didn't even speak it to my parents. To put another child in that position, or even worse, to have to go to the doctor’s office and take your child as your interpreter is clearly inappropriate

Whether it's a child or a grown person, taking someone to translate these intimate details of your life, whether it's medical, legal or social needs, you're not a person anymore because your information is being shared with people you wouldn’t share it with. Being bilingual helps, and it was the reason I got the job at Reyes and Lopez to begin with because almost all of their clients spoke Spanish. It was important for them to have bilingual staff, so it opened the door for me that changed my life.

Virginia Martínez

Your most recent endeavor has been your children's book series, “Adventures with Abuela.” In what ways has having grandchildren changed your perspective on education and advocacy for Latinxs in the U.S.? What lessons have you learned from being a children’s author, as it strays from your experiences in higher education?

I don't know that it's changed my opinion or my advocacy efforts I was so happy to finally be a grandma in 2019 My daughter, who had gotten laid off during the pandemic was taking care of my grandson and we would take him out to different places We would go to what was open at the time, the zoo was open, we couldn't go in the buildings, but we could be outside. Which is why the first book was Let's Go to the Zoo. I started writing it as a legacy for my grandson. It started as Facebook posts, so every time we went somewhere I called them “Adventures with Abuela.”

Everybody started telling me that I should write a book when I put the Facebook posts up about my grandson. Jackie Ruiz from Big Factor Media said, “We're putting together this book of Latina leaders. Do you want to be in it”, and I said, “No, but I want to write a children's book,” and she said they could help me with that That's how it started We wrote the one about the zoo first and the next one was about the Shedd Aquarium The first book, just says the zoo, but it's the Brookfield Zoo And I told the editors that it's got to be about Chicago because it's a tribute to my mother as well because she took us to all these places. After those books, my granddaughter was born and now there are two characters in the book. It's a blessing to have grandchildren especially when they're right here and I get to see them every day. So, that's what I'm doing now, and then I go out and sell the books, which is the harder part.

I was on State Street, I think it was earlier this year for Sundays on State, and a young man came up to me and asked if I was the one that writes the Abuela books I said yes He said, “You know, I was at the Museum of Science and Industry and I bought your book because I was going through a really hard time in

My advice to young people is always to balance your life You need something to take your mind off all the heavy things we ’ re dealing with in the world Find that thing, and let yourself enjoy it.

my life I read the book, and I imagined talking to my own abuela, and it just helped me so much that I could do that, that I could feel like I could talk to my abuela ” Those are unexpected things that come out of these books

What advice would you give Latinx students wanting to make a long-lasting impact in their communities? How do we find comfort in the large emotional stake in communityoriented projects?

You know, part of it is finding something you like to do, whether it’s voluntary work or a paid position. One thing I did was volunteer in Dilley, Texas, where there was a detention center for women and children. During my time there I heard heartbreaking stories from the women about why they came to the U S The journey from Central America, mostly Honduras and Guatemala, was horrifying And their reasons for leaving were just as terrible things like getting shot at or threats from gangs.

Over two or three years, I went back eight times. I don’t have the energy to do it now, but I’ve been helping locally, like providing information to Venezuelan migrants through another organization. I’ll see where else I can help, though I’m more limited without a license now.

My advice to young people is always to balance your life. I also love salsa dancing I went last night! It’s important to find something you enjoy, whether it’s dancing, photography, writing, or even keeping a journal You need something to take your mind off all the heavy things we ’ re dealing with in the world Find that thing, and let yourself enjoy it

LATIN AMERICAN AND LATINO STUDIES

This interdisciplinary department explores the broad dynamics shaping Latin American & Latinx experiences and draws courses and insights from multiple fields. The Department of Latin American & Latino Studies also serves to deepen Latinx students’ awareness of their cultural heritage.

Spring 2025

CORE COURSES

Carolina Sternberg

Hybrid (in-person and online async)

T/Th 1 00- 2:30 PM

Lourdes Torres

M/W: 1:00 - 2:30 PM

LST 201: Struggle and Resistance in Latin America*

LST 202: Constructing Latino Communities*

*These courses fulfill Liberal Studies SCBI requirement

OTHER COURSES IN LST/LALS

LST 300/CES 410/PAX 386/GEO 395: Gender, Territory, and Environment in Latin America YoaliRodríguezAguilera

LST 310/AMS 397/PAX 300: Chicano Movements

M/W:9:40-11:10am

LST 306/AMS 397: Latino Communities in Chicago MonicaRamos MiguelCastañeda

LST 121/HST 121: Latin america to 1765: Life before and after columbus

T/Th:4:20- 5:50pm M/W:11:20-12:50pm

ASYNC

AnaSchaposchnik

LST 207/ABD 206: Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latin America: Peoples, Cultures, Ideas, and Movements JacquelineLazú

T/Th:1:00-2:30pm

LST 300/SPN 331/431: Film as a Subversive Art

LST 308/CES 410/WGS 305/405: Motherhood in latino communities

LST 310/PSC 226: Latino Political Behavior

T/Th:100-2:30pm Hybrid/T:9:40-11:10

M:6:00-9:15pm RocioFerreira

LST 300/PSC 244/INT 386: Latin America - U.S. relations RoseSpalding HeatherMontesIreland

Hybrid/T:2:40-4:10pm JoeTafoya

LST 348/PAX 348: Indigenous Political Struggles TomasRamirez T: 6:00-9:15pm DeliaCosentino

HON 205: Aztec Art and its Afterlives

MPOP 257: Mexican Cinema

M/W:9.40-11:10pm

M/W10:10-11:40am LuiselaAlvaray

SPN 261E: Latinidades in Literature and Popular Culture** JacquelineLazú T/TH: 9:40-11:40pm

**Spanish courses can be used for the major/minor in LST

LST 306 and LST 308 fulfill Liberal Studies experiential learning requirement

Formoreinformation,contact ltorres@depauledu

DIÁLOGO

Latines Building A Sense of Place in the Chicago Area and the Midwest

Volume 25, Number 1 / Spring 2022

E V E N T R E C A P

On Tuesday, November 12th, 2024, the Center for Latino Research launched the latest issue of the journal Diálogo with a reception and panel discussion. The occasion welcomed DePaul faculty, staff, and students, as well as community members, to celebrate the launch of the issue, co-edited by Dr. Carolina Sternberg (LALS) and Dr. Rocío Ferreira (WGS/MOL). The event included short presentations by a selection of contributors to the special issue, a presentation by the featured artist, Esperanza Gama, and a poetry reading by Dr. Silvia Goldman (MOL).

GUEST THEMATIC EDITORS

Dr. Bill Johnson González Director of the Center for Latino Research and Editor in Chief of Diálogo

Dr. Carolina Sternberg (LALS) and Dr. Rocío Ferreirac presenting the introduction of the special issue

Collaborative article: “Aquí en Chicago: Piedras, Placemaking, and Politics in Pilsen”

Dr. Elena Gonzales Curator of Civic Engagement and Social Justice, Chicago History Museum

Dr. Delia Cosentino History of Art and Architecture DePaul University

Ismael C Independe Governme Amtrak

Esperanza Gama Featured Artist

Dr Myrna García Associate Professor of Instruction Latina and Latino Studies Northwestern University

“Somos un pueblo sin fronteras Contending with INS Terror during Chicago’s Chicano Movement

Dr Jesse Mumm Latin American and Latino Studies DePaul University

“Stomping Ground: Living Against Gentrification in Humboldt Park”

Dr. Silvia Goldman P “Chic

Scan the QR code to check out the issue!

Esperanza Gama Studio Visit

Event Recap

On November 14th, a group of DePaul students and CLR staff visited the studio of Esperanza Gama, an artist originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, now based in Chicago of the Center for Latino Research’s journal, of Place in the Chicago Area and the Midwest ”

Esperanza Gama talked to visitors about her creative process and artistic career, her work in different media, such as painting, drawing, printmaking, and ceramics, and her future projects.

The group of students and staff saw works in progress and purchased some of her pieces, just in time for the holiday season!

FromPaperto Presentation

AResearchWorkshopSeries

HostedbyTheCenterforBlackDiasporaand TheCenterforLatinoResearchatDePaulUniversity

TheWorkshops

Workshop #1

Jan 21 | LPSC 315 | 11:30am - 1:00pm

Areyouthinkingofadvancingyour research?Areyouinterestedin presentingataconference?

TheCenterforBlackDiasporaandtheCenterfor Latino Research invite undergraduate and graduate students to participate in a series of workshops focused on preparing students to present at academic conferences We will provide hands-on support from university partners, experienced DePaul faculty, staff and students, as well as opportunities for funding to presentatconferencesinChicagoandbeyond!

Allworkshopswillbeavailableinahybridformat, butin-personattendanceishighlyencouraged LUNCHWILLBEPROVIDED! Scanto Register:

GettingPreparedforaConference:Howtoconsideraresearchpaper orprojectforyourapplication?Howtosearchforconferencesinyour fieldofstudy?Howtosourcefundingforyourconference?

Workshop #2

Feb 4 | JTR Library 103 | 11:30am - 1:00pm

Journeytotheconference:Howtowriteanabstractorproposal? IncollaborationwiththeWritingCenter

Workshop #3

Feb 18 | LPSC 313 | 11:30am - 1:00pm

Cite,Cite,Cite!:Howtociteandsourceyourresearch?Howto prepareapresentationorposterforaconference? IncollaborationwiththeUniversityLibrary

Workshop #4

March 4 | JTR Library 103 | 11:30am - 1:00pm

MakingtheBestofaConference: Whattoexpectattheconference? Howtonetworkwithotherscholars?Whattolookforwardtoatthe conference?Presentationbestpractices. IncollaborationwiththeCareerCenterandtheMcNairScholarsProgram

Questions?clr@de erforblackdiaspora@depaul.edu

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