University to launch new Latino studies program

10 years after the idea was conceived

“Latinos offer us a way to understand social change ... and rethink the contours of race,” said sociology and Wilson School professor Marta Tienda, who will direct the program. Tienda noted that “Latinos predate formation of the American nation” and represent an increasing segment of the American population.

Requisite program courses will consist of a core class on “Latinos in American Life and Culture” as well as four courses in departments outside participating students’ areas of concentration, including social sciences, arts and humanities. Students pursuing Latino studies certificates will also be required to complete a senior thesis on a topic relating to the U.S. Hispanic population.

Latino studies curricula have become popular academic offerings among U.S. universities in recent years. As the largest minority group in the United States, Latinos make up more than 15 percent of the national population.

Tienda explained that the push for a program in Latino studies at the University began well before she joined the effort. “This has been under discussion as long as I’ve been here,” she explained. “It was a team of us … We had enormous support from colleagues.”

Bob Hernandez ’69, who for several years was involved with other alumni in trying to introduce more courses on Latino studies into the University curriculum, said he was pleased with the University’s decision to add the program.

“If you look at demographics, 20 percent [of the U.S. population] is going to be Latino in no time,” he said. “Latinos are an incredibly large minority, and they are going through a turbulent process of racialization … It’s changing the nature of the face of the United States.”

Tienda also noted the importance of student efforts in fueling discussion about expanding the University curriculum to include more studies of the U.S. Hispanic population. In fall 2007, the Latino Coalition — a student organization comprising the Chicano Caucus, Accion Latina, Cuban-American Undergraduate Student Association, Ballet Folklorico de Princeton and the Latino Graduate Student Association — convened to identify ways to add Latino studies to the University’s academic offerings.

Jessica Gamboa '10, who participated in the Coalition meeting, said she thought the program was an excellent idea and that she planned to participate in it as a Wilson School major.

"We all worked hard to make the case for its creation and I think we are all very excited to see it come to fruition," she said in an e-mail. "The University is essentially sending the message that we are a people worthy of study and I think this is something that will resonate quite well with the Latino community at Princeton."

The idea for the Latino Studies program stemmed from the discussions of a committee composed of students, graduate students and various faculty members. Students continued to play an important role throughout the development of the program, Tienda explained.

“All the requirements were vetted with students last year” during meetings to discuss the program, she said.

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The inclusion of the senior thesis as a requirement for the certificate was an idea proposed by students, Tienda added.

But while new courses will be introduced, Tienda noted that the creation of the program will not drastically change the current academic offerings.

“The curriculum doesn’t emerge like a brand new Cadillac,” she said. “A program is a way of identifying a series of courses that cohere intellectually … We’re not going to be adding a whole panoply of courses.”

Courses that satisfy the program certificate will be offered by the departments of sociology, English, politics and Spanish and Portuguese languages and cultures, as well as the Wilson School and the Center for African American Studies.

An interdisciplinary approach is crucial to Latino Studies, Tienda said, explaining that she does not think it would be a positive development for the program to evolve into its own department.

“You cannot study the Latino population from any particular department,” she said. “The Latino population will offer a lens through which we view our social change … It’s not an entity unto itself.”

Though Hernandez said he was not aware of the specifics of the new program, he added that he supports it “wholeheartedly.”

“I’m thrilled,” Hernandez said. “There will come a time when no self-respecting university will not have a Latino Studies program.”