The Latina/o Studies Section has continued to enjoy rapid growth as our membership has now reached 197—close to an eighty percent increase from our last Congress. One of the strengths and unique features of the Section is its diverse membership geographically: 33% located in the Northeast, 22% in the Southwest, 19% in the Midwest, 14% in the South, and the remaining members coming from foreign countries including Mexico, Japan, and Australia. This diversity reflects both the on-going recognition within the academy for the need for Latina/o Studies scholars and the various locations from which we have chosen to engage in our scholarly endeavors. The Section’s diversity is seen as a vital strength. It enables us to speak across regions about the local dynamics of Latina/o life and conditions and it fosters communication among Latina/o ethnic groups in different locations. Our diversity helps us to collaborate in addressing issues of national importance drawing from local specifics, and it also allows us to contend with the fraying civil rights agenda.

As a result of the Section’s growth, we will conduct three featured panels at the Las Vegas meeting. Each of the featured panels has been organized around a particular thematic focus: “Gendering Latina/o Studies,” “Latina/o Studies at the Crossroads,” and “State of the Art: The Cutting Edge in Latina/o Studies.” These panels are envisioned as a way for Section members and others interested in Latina/o Studies to gather and discuss critical issues affecting the field while providing a cross-section of junior and senior scholars a forum to share their research. Yet even this growth does not belie that we have little control over the program schedule—all three of our featured panels were scheduled for the same Saturday afternoon time slot, 12:00-1:45pm.  Although this was evidently a matter of programming logistical difficulties overall, we cannot help but note that no other section was similarly encumbered and that the overlap creates unwarranted difficulties for our membership who will be forced to choose between panels rather than having the option of attending all three.  As a consequence, we will be unable to gauge effectively the success of our panels in terms of attendance, and our opportunities for fruitful dialogue will be diminished.

Dealing with Contemporary Issues

The significance of the work undertaken by the Section and our membership has been reaffirmed by numerous events over the past eighteen months. In addition to our production of scholarship that illuminate the various issues affecting the lived experience and social perceptions of Latina/os in the United States and in transnational communities, we have again faced attacks from within the US academy. Framed in terms of budget cutbacks and strategic realignments, some Latina/o Studies units have continued to encounter attempts to fold autonomous race and ethnic studies units into one department without engaging the scholars in these units as to the ways that implementing such changes would affect the research and teaching conducted in such umbrella units. We have also encountered renewed attacks about the place of Latina/os within the US body politic. Most clearly in evidence in Samuel Huntington’s article “The Hispanic Challenge” published in the March/April issue of Foreign Affairs as a precursor to his book Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity. Latina/os, particularly those of Mexican descent, have been presented to the American public as a social threat, with the argument that our presence poses domestic challenges to the nation’s core values and overall social well-being akin to those posed internationally by terrorism and the “clash of civilizations” Huntington warned of in his earlier work. Latina/o Studies scholars throughout the Americas and Section members alike responded in several ways to the Huntington’s attack. Among other events, in New York there was a special symposium organized by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund.  Moderated by prominent Latina/o Studies scholar Juan Flores, panelists discussed the Huntington book and its impact on the climate for Latina/o immigrant and residents in the United States.  Section members have launched research projects that examine attitudes toward Latina/o immigration here in the United States and in other countries, asking critical questions about the ways in which Latina/os are perceived as a group, and how legislation on immigration and other forms of public policy have been revised to deal with the presence of Latina/o populations. Several members have already written opinion pieces published in newspapers and periodicals in the immediate aftermath of the Huntington article, while a few members have produced academic articles that critically engage and deconstruct the central arguments and implications of Huntington’s work.

Future Directions in Latina/o Studies

Over the past several years we have continued to witness the growth of Latina/o Studies as a field. Each year increasing number of Ph.D.’s are awarded to scholars with specialization in the Latina/o Studies and, despite budget cuts, a number of universities are pursuing hires in Latina/o Studies. This growth will undoubtedly produce new ways of examining issues and innovative ways of communicating the realities of everyday life for US Latina/os. The sustained interest among scholars within the field about the transnational flow of labor, culture, and capital, and its reciprocal affect on Latina/os living at the various points within these circuits prompt us to encourage further exploration of several issues within the field of Latina/o Studies and its intersection with Latin American Studies.

Given our position as a Section within LASA, a critical issue worthy of continued examination is how has  (and does) Latina/os Studies influence the approaches and questions pursued in Latin American Studies? Among other points of inquiry worthy of exploration, Latina/o/a Studies scholars are analyzing the critical approaches, conceptual theories, and empirical research that have been produced in Latin America. Similarly, taking into consideration the amount of return migration and transnational practices engaged by Latina/os, another major issue scholars are examining is how the return of US Latina/os to Latin America impact and influence everyday life in the places they settle to refashion their lives. In this regard, we note the increase in scholarly and artistic examinations of not only examine the transnational practices of recent immigrants, such as filmmaker Alex Rivera does in his wonderful documentary “The Sixth Section,” but to also examine the migration of US Latina/os to Latin America, whether it is to Colombia, the Dominican Republic, or Mexico.  Such research projects could illuminate the ways in which US Latina/os are received in these locations; the popular perceptions of such individuals (are they constructed as los de afuera); their integration into local communities; and how community and commonality are forged. Further research in these areas will continue to yield new understandings of US Latina/o identity, community formation, racialization within a Latin American context, and transnational practices international law, international relations, among other issues.

Ongoing Projects

The executive board—secretary-treasurer Viviana Rangil along with co-chairs Ginetta Candelario and Adrian Burgos, Jr.—extend our appreciation for the work that the membership have done to continue the Section’s growth. In particular, we like to acknowledge the work that Frederic Gleach has done in redesigning the Latina/o Studies Section web page, a much-needed update that provides the Section with a stronger web presence.

We are also pleased to report that the Section has once again collaborated with the Latina/o Studies journal, David Bull and the folks at Palgrave to co-sponsor the Latina/o Studies Section reception. This working relationship has produced another proposal (see below) that the Executive Council would like the Section membership to consider.

We also want to thank the Section members who volunteered to serve on the two award committees: the Research and Dissertation Award (Elizabeth Aranda, University of Miami; Antonia Darder, University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign; Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez, University of Connecticut) This year’s Best Dissertation Award winner was Dr. María Elena Cepeda, whose dissertation “The Colombian Connection,” was completed at the University of Michigan under the direction of Dr. Frances Aparicio.  Cepeda’s work, according to the committee, “is a superb example of what many scholars are referring to as the new American Studies—a rigorously interdisciplinary approach that both interrogates and sheds new light on multicultural identities and the experiences of Latinos and Latinas within the United States.”

Serving on the Frank Bonilla Public Intellectual Award this year were Frances Aparicio, University of Illinois/Chicago; Félix Masud-Piloto, DePaul University; and Vilma Santiago Irizarry, Cornell University.   Unfortunately, a lack of clarity in the Award guidelines and few nominations led the Committee to postpone the Award until the nominations and selection procedures are clarified.

a) Committees:

In conducting their work on the Section’s committees, a couple of issues were identified as meriting attention. One is the need for establishing even more definitive guidelines that clarify the process for determining recipients of either Award. Another issue about which committee members and the executive council encourage discussion is how to enable greater participation of Section membership in the nomination and in some cases the selection process of Award recipients.

In terms of the Frank Bonilla Public Intellectual Award, one proposal is transforming the committee into more of a nomination board that receives nominees for the Award from the membership based on the distributed criteria, collects information about the nominees, and then determines the finalists for the Award that would be put up to an electronic vote by the Section’s membership.

b) Proposals for Section’s continued development

The continued growth of the section has also prodded the Section to revisit (and rethink) some of current practices and the need for new positions. A significant issue that merits our collective rethinking is the nomination format for and the election of Section co-chairs. A concern that emerged during this past cycle has been the junior status of both co-chairs.  Among other issue, the potential for the workload of the co-chairs to become uneven and the relative inexperience in administrative positions that could arise if both co-chairs are junior push us to recommend altering the nomination and election format. Specifically, we recommend that when there are multiple junior and senior nominees for the position of co-chairs, the ballot clearly indicate the nominee’s status (junior or senior). In such elections, the next co-chairs will be the nominees in each category that receives the most votes. In so doing, we can guarantee a mixture of senior and junior scholars within the Section’s executive council and avoid the possibility of overburdening junior scholars.

With the continued growth of our Section and advancement of electronic communications (mainly e-mail), it is apparent to the executive council that the position of secretary-treasurer has become overburdened. In addition to official communications between the executive board and the Section membership, communications with the various committees, and between the board and LASA governing officials, the secretary-treasurer has also begun to serve as an information clearinghouse within the Section. Thus, to better fulfill our Section’s collective commitment to educate others and advocate for Latina/os, the executive council has proposed the creation of several new positions: 1) coordinator of electronic communications and 2) public relations liaison. These new positions, moreover, will allow the Section to have stronger lines of communications and to also have a more prominent voice in addressing national issues affecting Latina/os.

Coordinator of Electronic Communications

The electronic communications coordinator’s primary focus is on the editorial content, design, and structure of the Latina/o Studies Section web site. Particular attention will be given to strengthening the section’s online communications aimed at key external audiences such as current and prospective members, and news media. The coordinator will also develop and respond to marketing opportunities in other electronic media, and will serve as an advocate for communication technologies to the section. The coordinator reports to the Executive Committee and collaborates with other section groups to guide web site development. The coordinator will be part of all major public relations efforts, including some print productions.

Public Relations Liaison

Given the numerous national and international events affecting Latina/os, the executive council recommends the creation of a public relations liaison in order for the Section to assert its voice in matters affecting the lives of Latina/os in the United States. The public relations liaison is envisioned as an individual who will produce press releases that can be disseminated to news agencies when events of national significance transpire or legislative issues of wide importance arise. The liaison will report to the executive board that will review the press release and then take it to section membership for approval.

Latino Studies Best Article Award

Another proposal the Executive Council is bringing before the Membership is whether to approach the Latino Studies journal about jointly sponsoring an award for the best article published in the journal during each LASA cycle. The Latino Studies Best Article Award would recognize a piece that reflects an innovative scholarly approach to critical issues within the field. The Award recipient would receive a certificate from the Section and perhaps a small stipend at the Section’s reception at each LASA Congress. If the Section and the journal accept this proposal, then a joint committee can be formed that would consist of two members from the Journal’s board and two members of the Section that would determine the award recipient.

Looking Forward

The Section’s rapid membership growth since the last Congress reveals the increasing interest in Latina/o Studies within LASA and has placed the Section on solid footing financially. After paying for our reception and other costs, the Section will have a total of $1,100 in its coffers. This ensures that the Section will continue to be able to offer awards that recognize contributors to the field of Latina/o Studies. Membership growth also assures a more visible presence for the Section at future LASA conferences. The Section will convene three featured panels in Las Vegas (which are based on our membership as of November 2003). There will also be another fourteen panels in the Latina/o Studies track along with other panels that feature Latina/o Studies focused papers and presentations by Section members. The overall number of panels is clearly an indication of the growth and productivity of scholars in the field of Latina/o Studies. In sum, matters of work flow management, programming, and guidelines refinement require further attention from the Section and its next officers. The proposals put before the membership, along with the rolling out of a revamped web page, are seen as ways of furthering the Section’s visibility as well as voice to continue advocating for the recognition of Latina/o Studies within and outside of LASA.

Respectfully submitted,
The Executive Council

Ginetta Candelario, Co-chair
Adrian Burgos Jr, Co-chair
Viviana Rangil, Secretary-Treasurer