Just as the last century of Tulane and Latin America has witnessed such tremendous transformation, we ask ourselves what challenges and changes await us in The Next 100.
We asked individuals to reflect: What does the future hold for Latin American Studies at Tulane? What directions and areas of study does it include? What are the values that move us toward this future?
If you missed our first call, the submission form is still open.
This piece of pottery represents the year I spent teaching English and environmental education to elementary students on the west coast of Costa Rica. I bought it in 1993 from a “pop up” on the side of the road. My degree in Latin American Studies from Tulane inspired me to go and be a part of a different culture, not just read about it in a book. That was a transformative year for me. I hope The NEXT 100 continues to inspire small-town folks like me to live beyond what they could have imagined for themselves when they showed up for that first day of classes.
Amy Fitzgerald (BA, Latin American Studies, 1991, Tulane). Submitted May 2024.
When I was writing my thesis at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) Dr. Armando García Gutiérrez, a member of my thesis committee, traveled to Tulane’s Latin American Library to work on a new edition of Mexican scholar Fernando Horcasitas’ work on Nahuatl colonial theater. I had never heard of Tulane, but I became very intrigued. After reading about the Latin American Library and the Stone Center, I decided to apply. At Tulane, I learned about Mexican pre-contact and colonial history, above all, I learned of decolonial ways to study the history of my country and its indigenous people. My graduate assistantship at the Latin American Library changed the trajectory of my life. I worked as the assistant of David Dressing, Manuscripts Curator. This experience allowed me to get the job of Latin American & Caribbean Special Collections Librarian at the University of Florida. Here I have used the knowledge and skills I acquired in Tulane to ensure the fair representation of all the people who live in Latin America in our collection. Recently, I have shifted focus to include the Latin American and Caribbean diaspora. I believe that this is the direction that Latin American Studies and Latin American collections should follow. For many years we have spotlighted Latin America, it is time that we also included the diaspora. Latin American Studies cannot be understood without Latinx Studies and vice versa.
Margarita Vargas-Betancourt (PhD, Latin American Studies, 2015, Tulane), Latin American and Caribbean Special Collections Librarian at the University of Florida. Submitted May 2024.
New Orleans is a deeply Caribbean city, shaped by migratory flows from the Caribbean basin and languages like Spanish and Haitian Creole that have found homes and influenced the languages of southern Louisiana. I hope that over the next 100 years of Latin American Studies at Tulane, the university truly takes advantage of the depth of Caribbean connections in New Orleans. Students are aware of these connections and are eager to explore them in their coursework. As the field of Caribbean studies grows, it just makes sense for Tulane – the flagship university of New Orleans – to be a world leader in Caribbeanist scholarship. […]
I hope that the Stone Center continues its commitment to the Cuban and Caribbean Studies Institute, and continues to champion Caribbean voices in New Orleans. By doing so, the Stone Center can lead the way in ensuring that Tulane becomes a leader in Caribbean studies, attracting scholars and students who can enrich both Tulane and New Orleans. New Orleans, as the “northernmost Caribbean city”, makes the Stone Center and all Tulane faculty and students well-positioned to lead the way on cutting-edge Caribbean research in the next 100 years.
Kendall Medford (MA, Linguistics, 2023, Tulane), PhD Candidate in Linguistics – Adjunct Faculty (Haitian Creole) French and Italian, Latin American Studies – Graduate Assistant (Stone Center for Latin American Studies). Submitted May 2024.
To me, the future of Latin American studies is in the over 20 million Latin Americans and their descendants who live in the United States. From indigenous and Mexican communities that predate the founding of the United States, to offshore colonial subjects in Puerto Rico, to the hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees from Cuba, Central America, Venezuela, Haiti, and beyond who have been displaced by economic, political, and gender violence, any understanding of Latin America that does not consider the deep hemispheric relations between South and North America paints an incomplete picture. Despite being the fastest growing population group in the US, the study of Latinx communities continues to be marginal within the field of Latin American Studies. The future thus lies in our collective centering of these communities, of understanding them as part of the work we all do as Latin Americanists, and of investing into research and knowledge about their experiences. It also means being equipped to serve the fast growth of Latinx students that walk into our classrooms, as data shows that Latinx students represent nearly 80% of the growth in the number of degrees attained in the last five years (Latinos in Higher Education, 2024). With and for these students, the future lies in embracing the unsettling of racial, class, ethnic, linguistic, and disciplinary binaries that fragment the knowledges we produce, as Latinx Studies, an interdisciplinary field founded on principles of social justice and borne from student activism, has taught us.
Zorimar Rivera Montes – Assistant Professor of Latinx Literatures and Cultures (Departments of English and Spanish, Tulane University). Submitted June 2024.