Latina/o Studies Commons^™

Interpretative Ingredients: Formulating Art And Natural History In Early Modern Brazil, Amy Buono

Art Faculty Articles and Research

"In this article I look at two early modern texts that pertain to the natural history of Brazil and its usage for medicinal purposes. These texts present an informative contrast in terms of information density and organization, raising important methodological considerations about the ways that inventories and catalogues become sources for colonial scholarship in general and art history in particular."

Hispanic Entrepreneurship In Nebraska: Trends And Economic Profile, Lissette Aliaga-Linares

Latino/Latin American Studies Policy Briefs

The growth of the Hispanic population in Nebraska was accompanied by a significant increase in Hispanic entrepreneurship at the beginning of the 2000s. From 2002 to 2007, the 3,065 Hispanic-owned businesses constituted a small but dynamic and resilient segment of business growth in the state. Did participation in self-employment decrease for Hispanics after the economic crisis of 2008? What are the characteristics of Hispanic-owned businesses and Hispanics business-owners in Nebraska? Do some of these characteristics reveal social or economic barriers that could prevent these businesses from succeeding?

The Triple Double: Racially Ambiguous Afro-Latino Identities In America, Yen Rodriguez

Master of Arts in American Studies Capstones

Historically, racial identities in the United States of America have operated on a binary platform of ethno-racial consideration. In turn, this system has classified most racially ambiguous members of society into categories that fail to acknowledge the complexity of their ethnic and racial identities. These pre-determined classifications have lasting effects on the accessibility of opportunities and the social spaces available to ethno-racially unidentifiable members of society. These groups of racially ambiguous Americans, however, challenge the efficacy of an 'either/or' binary system. This piece outlines a learning community for first year students, exploring the ethno-racial ambiguity of Afro-Latino identities in America. …

Understanding Service Utilization Disparities And Depression In Latino Parents And Children: The Role Of Fatalismo, Elizabeth Anastasia

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research has repeatedly demonstrated a disparity between need and utilization of mental health services for Latino adults and children. The adapted Health Beliefs Model (Henshaw & Freedman-Doan, 2009) provides a useful framework for conceptualizing the roles of perceived severity and therapy expectations in the relation between demographic variables and service utilization. Cultural variations in perceptions of mental illness by Latinos may be linked with lower service utilization rates for Latino parents and children. It was speculated that fatalismo, a cultural construct similar to external locus of control, may be related to perceptions of mental illness and service utilization outcomes for …

Not Another Cuba: Lyndon Johnson And The Dominican Republic, 1956-66, Andrew T. Murphree

Senior Honors Theses

This Honors Thesis will examine President Lyndon Johnson's foreign policy surrounding America's complex diplomatic relationship with the Dominican Republic throughout the 1960s. Regarded throughout the last few decades as a less dramatic or telegenic study, the Johnson administration's involvement in the Dominican Republic has been largely overlooked and forgotten. In the wake of an emerging third generation of scholarship, historians are now beginning to uncover the intricate entanglement of information and circumstances supporting Johnson's role in establishing the parameters of U.S. Policy.

At the heart of this discussion exists a robust argument currently taking place among scholars who debate the …

In A Bind: Artificial Cranial Deformation In The Americas, Aaron Fehir

Laurier Undergraduate Journal of the Arts

No abstract provided.

Evo Morales’ Incomplete Legacy, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

La Voz Fall 2014, El Instituto: Institute Of Latina/O, Caribbean, And Latin American Studies

La Voz

In this issue:

• Elizabeth Mahan
• Migrant Farm Workers
• La Comunidad Intelectual

Raising Their Children, Janelle R. Thompson

Student Publications

This personal essay depicts the story of an after school program established in the heart of a low-income neighborhood. It details the struggle the local children face in their failing schools district, and shows how the program, known as Little Wise Child, has been instrumental in making a positive difference in their lives.

Post-9/11 Illegal Immigrant Detention And Deportation: Terrorism And The Criminalization Of Immigration, Stefany N. Laun

Student Publications

This paper analyzes the changes in immigration policy since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in terms of how immigrants are viewed in the United States. The goal is to address the recent criminalization of immigration in that the perceptions of terrorists and immigrants have become relatively synonymous since 2001. Although deportations have decreased, immigrant detention has increased significantly. Detention centers pose threats to the basic human rights of the immigrants residing in them, as well as perpetuate the culture of fear enveloping recent immigrants, whether they are legally or illegally in the country, and native United States citizens …

Editor's Commentary: Our Bodies Of Work, Eliza Rodriguez Y Gibson

Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Cabelo Crespo: A Struggle For Inclusion In Brazilian Society, Ashley Hamilton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Present-day Brazilian society presents a disproportionate number of economic, social and political challenges for Black women. The phenomenon of this structural inequality has causes that are rooted deep in the history of Brazil, and is built upon the foundation lain by slavery, resulting in the economic prosperity of the elite that was built upon the foundation of the labor provided by people of color. The effects of colonization and the profitable slave trade that ensued continue to contribute still, to the plight of people of color in general, though the focus of this project will be on the effects these …

Latina Political Leadership In Massachusetts, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

This Fact Sheet offers an analysis of Latina leadership and political representation in the Massachusetts, as of the 2014.

A Demographic Portrait Of The Mexican-Origin Population In Nebraska, Lissette Aliaga-Linares

Latino/Latin American Studies Reports

A study released from the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Office of Latino and Latin American Studies (OLLAS) chronicles the current state of Mexican-origin residents of Nebraska, finding that while the numbers of immigrants moving into Nebraska has slowed in recent years, the population continues to grow and become more a part of the state’s demographic makeup.

The study, which was also funded in part by the Sherwood Foundation, examined more than a century of census data from the United States, finding that the more than 140,000 Mexican-origin residents in Nebraska as of 2012 has rapidly increased since …

Threatening Others : Nicaraguans And The Formation Of National Identities In Costa Rica, Carlos Sandoval-Garcia

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

During the last two decades, a decline in public investment has undermined some of the national values and institutions of Costa Rica. The resulting sense of dislocation and loss is usually projected onto Nicaraguan “immigrants.”
Threatening Others: Nicaraguans and the Formation of National Identities in Costa Rica explores the representation of the Nicaraguan “other” in the Costa Rican imagery. It also seeks to address more generally why the sense of national belonging constitutes a crucial identification in contemporary societies. Interdisciplinary and based on extensive fieldwork, it looks critically at the “exceptionalism” that Costa Ricans take for granted and view as …

A Melting Pot Of Voices: Public Discourse And The Latino Immigrant Experience In The United States, Elizabeth Katherine Vammen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the discourses surrounding the immigrant experience in the United States to reconcile first-hand accounts of Latino immigrant experiences with the discourse prevailing in broader domains such as immigration law, public forums, non-fiction essays, and the news media. In order to break down barriers that prevent productive discussions, this analysis identifies stifling language guised under what Antonio Gramsci defines common sense rather than good sense. At the same time this study aims to deconstruct stifling language, it uses first-hand accounts from Latino immigrants to provide insight as to where the American public is not listening. By analyzing common …

Transnational Historical Fiction In A Postsecular Age: A Study Of The Spiritual Theses In The Works Of Luis Alberto Urrea And Bahiyyih Nakhjavani, Mary Anna Sobhani

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study, employing a postsecular theoretical prism, analyzes the spiritual theses given expression through the historical fiction of Mexican-American, or Chicano, author Luis Alberto Urrea and exiled Persian Bahá'í author Bahiyyih Nakhjavani. This study examines three novels: Nakhjavani's The Woman Who Read Too Much, Urrea's The Hummingbird's Daughter, and its sequel Queen of America. These novels express world-views in which the spiritual has particular importance, not as a supersession of quotidian reality but in an integral partnership with it, the baseline upon which postsecular thought is built. This study concludes that such an expression of world-views signals towards …

Intersectionality And Labor Market Outcomes: Women's Racial And Ethnic Variations In Stem Fields And Professional Fields, 2001 To 2011, Anna Smedley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Although theories of group threat and racialized social systems can help explain labor market outcomes across racial and ethnic groups, they fail to account for gender differences in labor market outcomes. Intersectionality, the dominant feminist framework, suggests that identities such as race, ethnicity, and gender interlock to create a system of "multiplicative" disadvantage for minority women in the workplace. Additionally, contemporary changes in the labor force have witnessed increasing numbers of immigrant women entering the workplace - thus adding new challenges to the multiplicative disadvantages for some women. This study explores the changing pattern of Intersectionality barriers on labor market …

Statement Of Concern, Heartland Workers Union, Office Of Latino/Latin American Studies (Ollas)

Latino/Latin American Studies Other Publications

The Heartland Workers Center (HWC) and the Office of Latino/Latin American Studies (OLLAS) have issued a statement of concern about the humanitarian crisis confronting refugee children from Central America. We support our local partner organizations in their work to address this crisis. Please feel free to distribute widely.

El Centro Laboral y OLLAS han publicado un documento sobre la crisis humanitaria afectando a miles de niños centroamericanos. Adáptela para sus tareas educativas y de incidencia política y distribuyan ampliamente.

From Carnivals To Red Light Districts: Mexican Gender Norms And Sex Trafficking, Kate Heath

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

This paper explores how traditional Mexican gender norms greatly facilitate sex trafficking on the U.S.-Mexico border because of the normalization of violence. In turn, an acceptance of such violence facilitates manipulative practices as related to deception, psychical violence, and psychological manipulation associated with marianismo and machismo. Machismo enables traffickers to use violence against women, threaten their families and children, deceive them with ideas of romance and opportunities abroad, and exploit the benefits of patriarchy and female vulnerability. Meanwhile, marianismo enables trafficking when considering the manipulation of women’s toleration of violence, their strong connections to their families, their limited opportunities for …