One of the most important roles of a university is to reflect and respond to intellectually significant shifts in society and the world. As is widely known, Latinos have become the largest minority group in the country, and the population continues to increase. Today, more than one in eight people in the United States is of Latino origin ("Latino" generally refers to someone who is related to a Spanish-speaking people or culture). In 2004, the Latino population in this country was over 40 million, which includes over 19 million in the nation's labor force and over eight million in K-12 schools.
Although there are some contentious issues which have accompanied this growth, the presence of Latina/o people have been a vital part of American life and history. This fall, Penn State will reflect this fact, with a new undergraduate minor in Latino Studies.
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Jane Juffer associate professor of English |
Jane Juffer, an associate professor of English who has been teaching courses in Latino Studies since 1999, says that she and her former colleague, Ralph Rodriguez, who has since left, made a big push forward with plans for a program in January of 2005.
"In the years since we began teaching, all of our classes have been filled to capacity," Juffer says. "After researching what was going on with Latino studies at the other Big Ten schools and realizing how far behind Penn State was in terms of Latino Studies, we wrote a fifteen-page report and presented it to the dean."
The Latino Studies minor, which will be available to undergrads in fall 2007 and graduate students in spring 2007, will include seven new courses from a variety of departments—English, comparative literature, Spanish, education, and sociology. The minor is open to students from all fields. As student and faculty interest grow, so too will the number and diversity of offerings.
"We've always believed that any large university should have a Latino Studies program," says Juffer. "Whether students realize it or not, it's a part of the history of this country—like African American studies."
Although there are approximately 1,600 Latino students on campus, Juffer says her classes have always had a mix of students, which is important.
"There's something for the Latino kids, but it's also critical to show other students that it's a valid topic to study," she explains. "For example, many of them have no knowledge of the United States-Mexican War that produced the border that connects to immigration issues today."
Juffer says that one of the problems is that much of the country views race in terms of black and white, while someone described as "Latino" can come from a variety of countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvadolombia. Also, "Latino" refers to U.S. residents, not simply people from other countries.
In addition to having intrinsic value, Latino Studies is ultimately extremely pragmatic in today's global workplace.
"In the 1960s and 1970s, many college classes evolved out of issues of the day—student protests, the Vietnam war, and women's liberation, for example," says Juffer. "Everyone now recognizes the great need for diversity not only on college campuses but in virtually all major U.S. corporations. It's a different historical moment."