Latina/o Studies Commons^™

Woven In Silence: Maya Q’Anjob’Al Cosmology, Gaspar Tomas

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

The Q’anjob’al, Akateko, and Chuj communities of the Guatemalan highlands are among many Maya communities that are flourishing with knowledge that draws on the classical-period Maya civilization and infuses it with contemporary practices. This knowledge guided the Maya people in building a stronger relationship with the natural and spiritual worlds: the very foundation of our social structure and the key to understanding our place in this universe. The survival of our culture, our languages, and our oral traditions all played a critical role in preserving our worldview, but the one that stands resilient above all is the one recorded on …

Masculinity, Psychological Flexibility, And Machismo: An Initial Examination Of Relationships To Interpersonal Violence, Geraldine Granados Todd

Dissertations

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a grave problem in many areas of the world. Latin American countries have some of the highest rates of IPV in the world. One factor potentially impacting these rates has been hypothesized to be traditional machismo. Machismo is a complex construct that has proven difficult to define. A substantial challenge lies in distinguishing the characteristics that are unique to machismo from broader masculine gender role norms. Additionally, machismo seems to have a more “positive” side to it, encompassing loyalty to family, honor, and responsibility. This has been coined caballerismo. Studies looking at the impact of …

Las Otras Rosas: Mexican American Women Workers And World War Ii, Talisa Flores

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

The image of Rosie the Riveter has become one of the most enduring symbols of patriotism, women's empowerment, and gender equality in the United States. Yet this iconic representation has obscured the experiences of many women whose wartime labor remains marginalized in both public memory and historical scholarship, particularly Mexican American defense workers. This thesis reexamines the history of Rosie the Riveter by centering the voices of Mexican American women employed in wartime industries during the Second World War. While the war undoubtedly shaped their lives, this study argues that the conventional Rosie narrative, one that portrays wartime employment as …

Called From Within The Community: The Vocation Of Undocumented Hispanic Men To The Diaconate, Anisabel Palma

Obsculta

This paper examines the discernment of undocumented Hispanic men to the diaconate within a diocese facing growing Hispanic populations and a shortage of Spanish-speaking clergy. Using ethnographic research, theological reflection, and historical analysis, it argues that this reality should be discerned not as a pastoral problem but as a response to concrete community needs. Interpreted through four theological perspectives (sacred vocation, divine initiative, unconventional divine choice, and the community-oriented nature of diaconal ministry) the study proposes that welcoming undocumented men into formal discernment and formation for the diaconate constitutes a faithful and ecclesial response to the Church’s mission.

[2026 Honorable Mention] Impact Of Chicana Rewritings Of La Virgen De Guadalupe And La Malinche, Destiny Villarreal Quintero

Ethnic Studies Research Paper Award

This piece elaborates on the cultural significance of La Virgen de Guadalupe and La Malinche in Mexican/ Chicanx communities and how they impact women's gender roles.

Conga Santiaguera: A Century Of Innovation And Competition, Nick Herman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Santiago de Cuba is home to the island’s biggest, oldest, and most famous carnival.  Any local resident will confirm that “sin conga no hay carnaval (without conga there is no carnival).” In Santiago, conga refers to a vibrant street procession, the music that drives it, and the ensemble that makes the music.  Conga Santiaguera: A Century of Innovation and Competition presents a musical history of the conga from roughly 1910 to 2010.  This project, https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/projects/conga employs an eBook, musical analysis, oral histories, and audiovisual media to show how the conga has been constantly reinvigorated by innovation, competition, and Afro-Diasporic …

The Latino Higher Education Landscape In Massachusetts, Fatema B. Ahad, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Elisa Castillo, Lorna Rivera, Joseph B. Berger

Gastón Institute Publications

This white paper provides a statistical overview of HSIs in Massachusetts within the state’s evolving demographics and postsecondary education context. It presents historical trends on student enrollment, student outcomes, and faculty and staff composition, highlighting the state of Latino students in the Commonwealth. The analysis offers descriptive data to inform policymakers, practitioners, and institutional leaders. It does not evaluate causal relationships or institutional effectiveness. The institutions included in this report were identified as HSIs and emerging HSIs through full-time equivalent (FTE) analysis for fall 2024 data. This is not an official or comprehensive list of schools eligible for, or that …

Goddess In A Trash Can: Religious Ritual Disposal In New York City Public Parks, Zoe Oro-Hahn

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Practitioners of Afro-Caribbean religions, including Santería, Vodou, Espiritismo, and Las 21 Divisiones, utilize the New York City Public Parks system to hold rituals, connect with spirits and ancestors, and dispose of religious remains leftover from trabajos (workings) and brujería (witchcraft). Utilizing photos from Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, my thesis considers the religious, political, social, and practical rationale behind this phenomenon, explores the rituals occurring, and provides policy suggestions that balance religious needs of practitioners with the safety and wellbeing of New York City’s parks.

La Maquiladora De Sueños Is Where The “American Dream” Ends: The Socio-Cultural Impact Of Hai(T)Ijuanenses In The United States-México Borderlands, Pedro Aleman Perfecto

Master's Theses

Historically, Tijuana has been the destination for migrants who have been left out from the United States, Mexico, and the rest of the world. The city is at the epicenter of globalization where many transit, leave, and arrive. Sometimes considered a “third country” due to its binational and bicultural identity with its sister city, San Diego, California. The growing number of Haitian refugees that arrived in Tijuana in the mid 2010s to seek asylum in the United States overwhelmed the city’s infrastructure and left the Haitian community vulnerable, yet it created new opportunities and reshaped new identities in the region. …

The Ever-Changing Immigration Experience: An Oral History On The Impacts Of Immigration For Connecticut Latine Residents / Una Experiencia En Cambio Constante: Una Historia Oral De Los Impactos De La Inmigración Por Habitantes Latines En Connecticut, Sam S. Arevalo-Hoefer

Honors Scholar Theses

This paper is an oral history study focused on Latine immigration experiences in Connecticut from six different individuals sharing their stories and perspectives on the immigration process. I focus on the act of testimony as a source of grassroots knowledge and attempt to spread this notion of community wisdom further through the creation of zines (small-batch, self-published, non-commercial shortform magazines) as a means of making information more accessible and reaching a larger audience on a local level.

I use oral histories as a method of research that can achieve a deeper, more human understanding of how macro level political decisions …

Echándole Ganas: Pláticas Of Belonging + Resistance In Art + Design, Itzanya Bravo

Masters Theses

This thesis centers the experiences of Mexican American students, alumni, faculty, and community-based artists navigating art and design higher education in the United States. Grounded in the question ¿Dónde está la gente latina?—where are the Latino people?—this research examines how representation and culturally sustaining practices shape Mexican American students' sense of belonging and creative agency in a country with systems built on white supremacy

Using pláticas as the primary methodology—a relational, conversational approach rooted in community and storytelling traditions—alongside autohistoria-teoría and Chicana Feminist Epistemology, this study draws on eight in-depth pláticas with Mexican American creatives across art + design higher …

Household Hegemon: Domestic And Affective Traces Of Us Influence In Mexico In The 1950s And 1990s, Edgar Solórzano

Masters Theses

“Household Hegemon: Domestic and Affective Traces of US Influence in Mexico in the 1950s and 1990s” is a collection of personal essays, historical research, and fictional texts that examine the impact of US-American soft power on Mexican society. This project expands and deepens the research and work developed during my two-year MFA in Sculpture at RISD, evolving material investigations into a comprehensive written and visual record of the 1950s post-WWII boom and the 1990s post-NAFTA transition. These two decades not only represent the most significant in terms of American influence but also the years in which my parents and I …

¡Estamos Aqui!: The Underrepresentation Of Latinos In Professional Sports And Sports Media, Antonio Hernandez

University Honors Theses

The Latino population has had a long and complicated history within the United States. Since the turn of the 21st century, Latinos continue to become the largest minority group within the country. As the Latino population continues to rise, other industries have failed to properly represent the community. Within the world of professional sports, Latinos continue to be grossly underrepresented, with professional athletes from Latino backgrounds representing less than 6% of all professional athletes across all disciplines. This number is just under ¼ of the total percentage of Latinos within the United States. With Latino's influence of other cultural phenomena …

Cool Christianity: Hillsong And The Fashioning Of Cosmopolitan Identities, Fernando Berwig

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

A book review is presented for Cool Christianity: Hillsong and the Fashioning of Cosmopolitan Identities, authored by Cristina Rocha, by Fernando Berwig.

Flowing Borders: U.S. Border Externalization In Latin America And The Los Angeles Declaration On Migration And Protection, Magdalena Olvera Hernandez

Master's Theses

In recent years, Latin America has emerged as a central transit region for extracontinental migrants originating from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East who seek to reach North America through alternative routes. This thesis examines the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, among other regional migration governance frameworks that have reshaped migratory flows, state responsibilities, and protection outcomes in the Western Hemisphere. Focusing on the Darién Gap as a strategic chokepoint, the study analyzes the effects of coordinated migration policies, border externalization, and differentiated state roles on extracontinental mobility.

Drawing on official migration statistics from Panama, the United States, …

Corazones Urbanos: Literary Cartographies And Southwest Cities In The Mexican American Spatial Imaginary, Jorge A. Hernández Jr.

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

Corazones Urbanos: Literary Cartographies and Southwest Cities in the Mexican American Spatial Imaginary examines how Mexican American writers from Tucson, San Antonio, and Albuquerque narrate, critique, and reimagine urban space across the U.S. Southwest in the twentieth century. Integrating literary studies, cultural geography, urban history, and critical regionalism, the project analyzes responses to racialized development, urban renewal, and gentrification that have displaced Mexican American communities from historic downtowns. Moving beyond borderlands and transnational models, it advances a critically regional approach attentive to local histories, municipal policies, and community pressures shaping urban life. Through close readings of creative and nonfiction texts …

Dominant Latina Beauty: Shade Names, Model Imagery, And Negotiation In Latina-Owned Makeup Brands, Lisette Gonzalez, Juan Mah Y Busch

Honors Thesis

This project aims to name and contextualize the evolving notions of beauty for Latinas in the United States presented by Latina-owned, makeup cosmetic brands. Contrary to culturally-imposed dominant constructions of “Latina Beauty,” this project examines how Latina-owned, makeup brands are negotiating dominant constructions of “Latina Beauty.” By examining the notions of beauty for Latinas, we can understand the parameters of beauty within which Latina-owned, marketing exists. Beyond desirability, these beauty parameters signal the social positionality of Latinas, the physical and behavioral expectations imposed onto Latinas, and the conditions under which Latinas are valued. This work combines digital ethnography and critical …

First-Generation Student Success: An Analysis Of Institutional And Student-Led Support In Select Private Four-Year Liberal Arts Colleges, Jasmine D. Rodriguez

Whittier Scholars Program

Today, about one third of college students are characterized as first-generation (Bloomberg 2024, 3). Despite this rise in first-generation students seeking higher education, academic institutions continue to fall short of supporting this specific group of students. This project investigates the experiences of first-generation students at selected private, four-year, liberal arts colleges in the United States to better understand these students’ experiences as well as discuss the challenges academic institutions face as they aim to support their first-generation student population. Using Whittier College and some comparison schools as a case study, my project will investigate the resources currently offered to first-generation …

Invisible Shipwrecks And Neurological Endangerment: The Trade-Off In Seeking Asylum - Reframing The Neurobiological Cost Of Forced Migration, Eisha Giran

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

Forced migration along the Spain–Morocco route represents one of the most visible humanitarian crises of the twenty-first century, yet its neurological dimensions remain insufficiently examined. This paper investigates how prolonged displacement and trauma reshape neural systems involved in stress regulation, memory, and emotional processing. It introduces the concept of neurological endangerment, defined as a condition of prolonged and inescapable threat exposure during forced migration in which stress-response systems remain chronically activated, opportunities for recovery are structurally constrained, and cumulative neurobiological risk persists beyond the period of immediate danger.

To address the gap between biological measurement and lived experience, this paper …

Acculturation Pressures And Substance Use Among Latino Populations In The U.S., Julie Misiewicz, Dr. Desiree Crevecoeur-Macphail

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

In 2001, the Office of the Surgeon General classified Latinos with substance use disorders as a vulnerable population (Villalobos & Bridges, 2018). Although Guerrero et al. (2013) found that rates of substance use among Latinos were comparable to or exceeded those of other ethnic groups, disparities remain in access to and quality of treatment. Early adulthood is considered a high-risk period for substance use, yet Latino individuals may face additional pressures during this developmental stage while exploring identity and navigating acculturation (Unger et al., 2014). Despite documented links between acculturation pressures and substance use, little was understood about how these …