El Centro Newsletter - Winter 2022

EL CENTRO

NEWSLETTER WINTER 2022

Cesar Chavez's visit to DePaul, from CLR Archives

INSIDE: Faculty Fellowship Application.................................5 Diálogo................................................................................6 CLR Faculty Spotlight: Maria DeMoya....................7 CLR Fellow Profile: Francesca Royster..................10 Upcoming Events...........................................................12

CLR ADVISORY COMMITTEE

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

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FELLOWSHIPS APPLICATION

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DIÁLOGO

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FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

Marisa Alicea, Professor School of Continuing and Professional Studies Carolina Barrera Tobón, Assistant Professor Modern Languages Jacqueline Lazú, Associate Professor Modern Languages Maria de Moya, Associate Professor Public Relations & Advertising

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

10 FELLOW PROFILE 12 UPCOMING EVENTS

Elizabeth Ortiz, Vice President Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity

15 PAST EVENTS 18 CONTACT US

José Perales, Director of Operations Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity Rose Spalding, Professor Political Science Joe R. Tafoya, Assistant Professor Political Science Ionit Behar,Associate Curator DePaul Art Museum

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.​

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A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR 2022 has arrived, bringing with it new challenges. Whether we’ve been fighting off the Omicron variant, trying to keep students engaged during remote teaching, or working to stay warm during the frigid Chicago winter, we are all undoubtedly juggling many things at once! I just wanted to send my sincere wishes to everyone for continued strength and health, with deep hopes that 2022 will soon bring us happier times.

We do have some great news with which to begin the year. Alejandra Delgadillo, who has been our incredible CLR and LALS program assistant for the past three years, has accepted a position as the new Coordinator for the Social Transformation Research Collaborative (STRC). Congratulations, Alex!

Words cannot fully convey our deep gratitude to Alex for all the ways in which she has been an essential contributor to the success of the CLR and LALS during the past few years. Although we will still be seeing her around DePaul, I wanted to thank Alex for sharing her talents and dedication with us so generously, for handling so many events for us so gracefully, for always being up for handling the unexpected, and for always being the best listener.

Alex will begin her new role in January.

In other great news, the STRC is offering its inaugural round of Faculty Fellowships, and the deadline to apply (Jan. 31) is fast approaching! Please go to go.depaul.edu/strc if you want more information about either the full-year Faculty Research Fellowship, or the 6-month Faculty Professional Development Fellowship! We are also still looking for Faculty Leads for the STRC Summer Institute.

And don’t forget - the annual CLR Faculty Fellowship competition will also occur this quarter! The deadline to apply for this year’s competition will be March 6th.

Finally, please keep your eyes open for a new issue of Diálogo coming soon, on the special theme “Latinx Noir: Latinx Detective Narratives”.

Please read on to discover more about our upcoming events, including the virtual visit from Elizabeth Ferrer, who will speak about the history of Latinx photography. Our cover photo of Cesar Chavez, recovered from CLR photo archives, offers a glimpse into our own Latinx visual history at DePaul.

As always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch to let us know how the CLR can help you.

Bill Johnson González 3

ANNOUNCEMENTS Ionit Behar has been officially appointed an assistant curator at DPAM. Additionally, Ionit will be curating two exhibitions in the Fall 2022 at DePaul Art Museum. Links to those exhibitions are here and here Julie Moody-Freeman published an article, "Black Cultural Studies and Black Love: Why Black Love Matters." in Black Love Matters: Real Talk on Romance, Being Seen, and Happy Ever Afters, edited by Jessica P. Pryde.

Christopher Tirres, Vincent de Paul Professor of Religious Studies, has been invited to deliver the John Dewey Memorial Lecture for a joint conference held by the John Dewey Society, the Latin American Philosophy of Education Society, and Alliance San Diego, to be held this April in San Diego, CA. The conference will focus on “Border Justice and Inter-American Cooperation.” Prof. Tirres has also been invited to deliver a paper entitled “The Implicit Evolutionary Cosmology of Virgilio Elizondo” at the annual conference of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the U.S. (ACHTUS) in June, also in San Diego.

Alejandra Delgadillo, who has been our CLR and LALS program assistant for the past three years, has accepted a position as the new Coordinator for the Social Transformation Research Collaborative (STRC)!

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FACULTY FELLOWSHIPS APPLICATION NOW OPEN

DEADLINE TO APPLY: JAN 31, 2002 VISIT OUR WEBPAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION, HERE 5

DIÁLOGO Diálogo, an Interdisciplinary Studies Journal is a refereed journal published by the Center for Latino Research, with production and subscriptions handled by the University of Texas Press. In 2018 the journal received the CELJ Phoenix Award for transformation and revitalization over a three year period.

Diálogo 23.2, Fall 2020 Cartografías de violencia en discursividades heterogéneas contemporáneas HIGHLIGHTS: ROCIO FERREIRA on "Breaking the Silence: Telling Herstories on the Peruvian Post-Internal Armed Conflict"; ISABEL QUINTANA on "El tiempo de la memoria"; Art by MARTIVON GALINDO; Creative Writing by CECILIA PODESTA and many others; Comic booklet by JESUS COSSIO. Special Guest Editors: Rocío Ferreira (DePaul), and Isabel Quintana (University of Buenos Aires)

Diálogo 24.1, Spring 2021 Latinx Noir: Investigating Latinx Detective Fiction HIGHLIGHTS: MICHAEL CUCHER on "The Utopian Function of Queer Chutzpah"; JOSE NAVARRO on "Zoot Suit Noir"; Interviews with MARCOS MCPEEK VILLATORO and AYA DE LEON; Art by SALOMON HUERTA and photography by DAVID BACON; Creative Writing by ALICIA GASPAR DE ALBA Special Guest Editors: Michael Cucher (University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras); William Arcé (California State University, Fresno); and José Navarro (California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo)

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CLR Faculty Spotlight

Q: So, you recently shared that your new book was published.

Congratulations! What exactly is the book about?

A: Thank you! The book is about public diplomacy i.e., the diplomatic efforts directed towards citizens of other nations. Our book focused on efforts involving Latin American diasporas in the U.S., Spain, France, China, and other places. Traditionally, public diplomacy looks at government-led efforts (for example, the Mexican government promoting its culture to Colombian citizens), but because of the reach and ease of using digital and social media, it can be led by many nonstate actors, including community organizations, businesses and notfor-profits.

Q: What inspired you to take on this project?

Maria DeMoya, PhD PROFESSOR| JOURNALIST COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION.

By Amanda Matthews

A: So many things! First, being a member of the Dominican diaspora– I’m very aware of my role in contributing to how people from other nations view and understand my home country and our culture.

Second, as a strategic communication scholar, my research centers around how ethnic groups and organizations create narratives about themselves, or the issues they care about, and try to persuade or influence others’ actions and opinions. Lastly, but just as importantly, having a research partner– my coeditor Vanessa Bravo, of Elon University– who is a member of the Costa Rican diaspora, and shares my passion for this research--was essential in making this book happen.

Q: I see that you had a career as a journalist and public relations expert before coming to DePaul, how did it feel to be a woman of color in those areas?

A: This is a big question, but I will do my best to summarize. I practiced journalism and PR mostly in my home country, the Dominican Republic, so I wasn’t as aware of my person of color identity. There, I did have to deal with many challenges related to gender. However, my country’s culture, sadly, is very Macho. So, working in media, I continuously had to deal with people who would doubt my abilities, being overlooked and under-appreciated, having male supervisors take credit for my work, and sadly, I did face instances with sexual harassment. It made me develop my activist side and learn to advocate for myself at work and elsewhere. It's not easy when you are going against established culture, but it has shaped all my life and work since.

During my Ph.D. and when I started teaching, even before joining DePaul, I became more aware of myself as a person of color and how others saw me. It made me feel part of a larger, more diverse community (i.e. the Latino community) which was great. Not so great was having to deal with stereotypes, micro-aggressions, being overlooked and feeling under-appreciated.

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Q: What inspired you to teach after having a career in the journalism field?

A: I started teaching after I started in PR. I had a 9-5 job for the first time and was free to teach classes in the evening. A friend from the newspaper I used to work for had become chair of the communication department at a local university and asked me to teach. By the time I had taught two or three classes, I realized I enjoyed the classroom experience more than anything. I love and respect the communication field and felt very proud of teaching and mentoring future communication professionals. I still get to write and do some pro-bono PR consulting, which means I get the best of both worlds.

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

A: I tend to focus more on the strategic communication of groups and smaller community organizations than most of my colleagues. A lot of the teaching and work in our field has to do with larger businesses or organizations, but I’m passionate about not-for-profits, ethnic groups, and social movements. I include these topics and examples in all the classes I teach and I find that students really respond to it. I’m always looking to expand students' understanding of the different applications of strategic communication. I also teach some classes directly related to the topic, including Communication Campaigns for Social Change and Engaging Latinx Communities.

Q: What is your favorite part about what you do here at DePaul University?

A: First, without a doubt, teaching. I have a diverse and motivated group of students who are very passionate about communication, just like me. I love being in the classroom, teaching and learning from my students. Secondly, the opportunities to work and collaborate with people across the university, especially my work with the Latin American and Latino studies faculty, as well as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committees I serve on.

Q: What’s something you're currently reading and enjoying? (This could also be a book that you’ve finished recently if you’re not currently reading anything) A: To relax, I read fantasy and romance. I’m on the second book of Naomi Novik’s, The Scholomance series. It has magic, monsters and funny prose. I highly recommend it. The latest non-fiction and academically-related book that really stuck with me was Mikki Kendall’s "Hood Feminism". Her perspective was very illuminating and spoke to my own understanding of what Feminism should be. It has lessons applicable to any social field. My college is going to lead a campus-wide book discussion of "Hood Feminism" in March, and the Steans Center is bringing her to campus in the Spring, so I am really looking forward to it.

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FACULTY FELLOWSHIP Eligibility: The CLR Faculty Fellowship is open to all full-time, tenure track faculty in any discipline, and is supported by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The fellowship grants recipients a onequarter teaching release (2 classes) for research and writing. In addition, the CLR provides up to 100 hours of student research assistant support. Within one academic year following the fellowship period, recipients are asked to submit a final outcome or publication, and to do a short public presentation of their work.

For more information, please visit go.depaul.edu/clr

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Fellow Profile

Francesca Royster, PhD PROFESSOR| ENGLISH CRITICAL ETHNIC STUDIES COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

By Amanda Matthews

Q: So, you’re currently on sabbatical. Would you care to talk about what some of your current research interests are? And what does your research entail?

A: So during this sabbatical, I’m working on a new book project, called “Listening for my Mother: Travels in Music from Chicago to Bahia." This book will explore the theme of historic erasure, grief and resistance through music by women of the African Diaspora.

The book will be one-part critical analysis, one-part memoir. It will begin with a journey—my mother’s, who traveled twenty years ago to Salvador, Bahia for a music conference and, at age 57, unexpectedly died there. Music will connect my story of personal loss to the grieving and healing of other women artists in the Black Diaspora. I will write about the voice of feminist protest in current Brazilian Black women’s music, who sing about Brazil’s continuing racism, domestic violence and sexual pleasure, and then songs about history, grief and collective healing, from Angelique Kidjo to Rhiannon Giddens. The project situates itself historically in the aftermath of the transatlantic slave trade, as well as the grief of the present, in light of racial violence and loss of lives during the covid19 pandemic.

So far this year, I’m spending time doing background reading about Black Brazilian history and culture, especially in terms of music—and also teaching myself some elementary Portuguese (Duo Lingo is great!). I hope to travel to Bahia as soon as some of the challenges of the pandemic ease up a bit. And I’ve been listening to a lot of music, from Brazilian Tropicale music from the 1970’s to new Black Country Music to Silk Sonic! I love getting lost in Youtube wormholes to think about performance and echoes across histories and traditions.

Over the sabbatical, I’ve also been finishing up two other book projects, which are now forthcoming: Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions (University of Texas Press, expected in Fall 2022) and a memoir, Choosing Family: A Memoir of Black Resistance and Queer Motherhood (Abrams Books, also expected in Fall of 2022). This past Fall and the first weeks of Winter 2022, I’ve been revising, copyediting and getting those books ready for publication as I also work on the new project.

Q: What do you find most interesting about your research subject?

A: I am especially excited about thinking about the role of music in healing, and in helping people tell difficult stories about their lives and histories. I’m super-excited to think about the ways that specific histories and musical histories in different regions in the African Diaspora are both particular and connected. So right now, reading about Black freedom movements in Brazil and the U.S. and the importance of music to protest and bring communities together has been super exciting.

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Q: And what have been some of your biggest influences in this project?

A: One of my biggest influences has been my mother, Sandy Royster, who had a great hunger and appreciation for learning about the African Diaspora, and our connections through music. She worked at the Chicago Cultural Center, and spent her career bringing performers from all over the world to Chicago for their free concerts. She was really energized by her work, and that energy really rubbed off on me. I am so excited to learn more about the musical traditions of Brazil, and have found the ways that musicians like Milton Nascimento and Caetano Veloso were bringing their own spin to African influenced sound to talk about their own experiences. And then I’m super inspired by the work of musician and historian Rhiannon Giddens, who is always thinking about our entangled roots through music. My favorite critical thinker for bringing these things together has really been Queer theorist Jose Esteban Munoz, who in his writing was always thinking about Queer World Making, and the ways that we turn to music and other forms of expression and pleasure to change the world, and make the future that we want.

Q: How do you think your research will influence the classroom?

A: I hope to bring my research to a class I often teach in English, ENG 309: Writing About Music, which explores creative strategies for writing about music, from mix tape memoirs to reviews to poetry. I am also hoping to teach a course on Global Black Women’s Writing once my sabbatical is over, which I hope will help me bring this research to the class room.

Q: What comes next for you following your sabbatical?

A: After my sabbatical, I’ll be back in the classroom! And I hope to share some of the research on music and grief and the African Diaspora at conferences like the American Studies Association. I will also be giving a lot of talks and presentations for my two forthcoming books, which will be published in the fall. And I plan to keep researching, listening, travelling and writing, working on Listening for My Mother.

Q: What’s something you're currently reading and enjoying ? (This could also be a book that you’ve finished recently if you’re not currently reading anything) A: Without necessarily doing it on purpose, the books that I’ve been reading for fun have also given me new lenses to think about my research. I have just finished Louise Erdrich’s new novel, "The Sentence" and I recommend it highly! Throughout the novel, Erdrich is exploring this question, “What do we owe the dead?”. Her main character, Tookie, is exploring some of the issues I’m also thinking about for my research, including grief and historic erasure, from the perspective of Indigenous folks in the U.S. and also the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our social networks. It’s a ghost story and it is really suspenseful and engaging, with Erdrich’s typical lush and beautiful language. And at the passing of bell hooks, I just read her book, "Belonging: A Culture of Place." hooks writes in a way that feels very intimate while also being analytical, something that I really admire. In it, she’s thinking about her roots in Appalachia, and she’s navigated academic and other intellectual circles that devalue country roots, perspectives and ways of knowing. I am currently reading Dionne Brand’s book, "A Map to the Door of No Return," which is both a book of prose poetry and a cultural history about belonging and identity and Black Canadian history. It’s a revelation!

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UPCOMING WINTER EVENTS: SAVE THE DATE!

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UPCOMING WINTER EVENTS: SAVE THE DATE!

HERE

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UPCOMING WINTER EVENTS: SAVE THE DATE!

Thursday, March 3 1:00pm-2:30pm; ALH 203 Mirelsie Velasquez, professor at the University of Oklahoma, will be talking in person about Puerto Rican student activism in Chicago as well as her book Puerto Rican Chicago that has just been published through University of Illinois Press.

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PAST EVENTS: FALL 2021 LATINO ACTIVISM AND ELECTORAL POLITICS: LESSONS FOR FUTURE LEADERS IN CHICAGOLAND AND BEYOND CLR | OCTOBER 6, 2021

Political Science professor Joe R. Tafoya sat down with guest speaker Ismael Cuevas to discuss Latinx/Latine representation, mobilization strategies, and political power.

Video footage of the event can be found here From left to right: guest speaker Ismael Cuevas and Dr. Joe R. Tafoya

RACIAL INNOCENCE: UNMASKING LATINO ANTI-BLACK BIAS AND THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY WITH DR. TANYA KATERI HERNANDEZ THE WOMEN'S CENTER, CLR, CBD, ABD, WGS. AND LALS | OCTOBER 13, 2021

Dr. Hernández brings to light stories of Latino anti-Black racism and how they matter for the societal pursuit of equality. Why? Because, she argues, Latinos can be racists.

By excavating the otherwise silenced voices of Afro-Latino and African American victims of Latino anti-Blackness, she disrupts the “Latino racial innocence” that veils Latino complicity in U.S. racism. In turn, she challenges the public ignorance about Latino anti-Blackness that undermines our abilities to fully address the interwoven complexities of U.S. racism.

Video footage of her talk is available by contacting the Women's Center.

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PAST EVENTS: FALL 2021

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21 11:00am-1:00pm THE DOLORES HUERTA EVENT WITH KEYNOTE SPEAKER, DR. MARISOL MORALES HOSTED BY THE OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL DIVERSITY AND EQUITY

The Dolores Huerta Celebration highlighted contemporary issues that have an impact on the Latinx community. This year, Dr. Marisol Morales, vice president for network leadership at Campus Compact, and a Double Demon, served as the program’s keynote speaker. She leads Campus Compact’s efforts to increase inclusion, equity and diversity internally and in higher education community engagement.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21 4:15-7:30PM WHEN WE MAKE IT: A CONVERSATION AND WRITING WORKSHOP WITH AUTHOR ELISABET VELASQUEZ SPONSORED BY CLR AND LALS

The two-part event featured a reading and conversation with Elisabet Velasquez, Brooklyn Boricua author of When We Make It, where Elisabet spoke about being a woman of color in the writing world, where there was little representation. Velasquez also lead a writing workshop where she advised and assisted attendees on how to write their own stories.

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PAST EVENTS: FALL 2021 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21 7:00-8:00pm THE ART OF INDIGENOUS INCULTURATION: A DISCUSSION WITH GUEST ANTONIO D. SISON Sponsored by CRCC, CWCIT, the Department of Religious Studies, and the Department of Catholic Studies

Antonio D. Sison, CPPS, PhD, Vatican Council II Chair of Theology and Professor of Systematic Theology at Catholic Theological Union (CTU) in Chicago spoke about his new book, and proposed the idea of “serendipity”—that epiphany of surprise and sagacity —to shed light on how peoples of Asia, Latin America, and Africa have found their own historical agency and creative genius while seeking religious synthesis.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1 6:00-9:00PM CULTURE AS HEALING: A CONVERSATION WITH AUTHOR LUIS RODRÍGUEZ SPONSORED BY PAX, CLR, AND CRCC DePaul welcomed 2014 Los Angeles Poet Laureate and author of Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. (1993), and It Calls You Back: An Odyssey Through Love, Addiction, Revolutions, and Healing (2011), Luis J. Rodriguez. Rodriguez discussed such crucial and vital topics as street intervention, crime and prevention, and community healing.

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KEEP IN TOUCH!

Bill Johnson González Director bjohns58@depaul.edu Alex Delgadillo Department Assistant a.delgadillo@depaul.edu Amanda Matthews GA & Newsletter Editor amatth13@depaul.edu

CENTER FOR LATINO RESEARCH 2320 N Kenmore Ave Schmitt Academic Center (SAC), 5AH Chicago, IL, 60614 P: (773) 325-7316 clr@depaul.edu

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