Program in Latino Studies
The Program in Latino Studies is an inter-disciplinary curriculum that traverses arts, humanities and social sciences designed to provide students with a broad understanding of the emergence, transformation and consolidation of Latinos as a pan-ethnic group, and to appreciate the range of Hispanic imprints on American society and culture.
The Hispanic presence on the American continent predates the formation of the United States as a nation. By the time of the American Revolution, Spanish cultural imprints were evident in the missions, villages and architecture that dotted the Southwest and West Coast. As the most rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population, Hispanics today account for nearly half of total demographic growth and represent about 15 percent of all U.S. residents. Subsuming 20 different nationalities, Hispanics include the descendants of early Spanish settlers in what is now the United States, multiple cohorts of immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean, and, importantly, a swelling second generation—that is U.S. born children of Latin American immigrants.
Like African Americans and prior immigrant groups, Hispanics are infusing cultural diversity through art, music, and theater. These cultural expressions represent new hybrids—neither Latin American nor Anglo American, but distinctive combinations that convey the blend of origins and destinations. Art, music, theater, and literature provide tangible manifestations of cultural transformation and imprints on the ethno-racial landscape.