A kick-off event is scheduled for Sept. 20.
Texas Tech University will celebrate next week the launch of its new interdisciplinary minor, Mexican-American and Latina/o Studies, which will be administered under the University Studies program area.
A launch party is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 20 in Hemmle Recital Hall inside the Music building, 2624 18th St. The event will feature speakers, a performance by the School of Music's Mariachi Los Matadores and free food. It is open to the public.
Speakers during the event will include:
- Miguel Levario, associate professor in the Department of History
- Paul Ruiz, lead administrator for the Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
- Lauryn Salazar, assistant professor of musicology in the School of Music
- Nadia Flores-Yeffal, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Social Work
- Rossy Lima, visiting assistant professor of Spanish in the Department of Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures
- Yvonne Caldera, professor in the Department of Human Development & Family Studies
The Mexican-American and Latina/o Studies (MALS) minor is a dynamic, interdisciplinary course of study based in the humanities, social sciences, arts and evolution of ethnic studies. It offers a unique curricular structure through which to examine one of the predominant ethnic groups in the American Southwest, and the fastest-growing nationally.
The 21-hour minor introduces students to the significant and rich personal, historical, economic, cultural and religious experiences of Mexican-Americans and Latina/os in the United States. The program will help students develop a more robust understanding of how social issues, politics and other environmental realities shape the circumstances of Mexican-Americans and Latina/os.
Many of the credits are being offered this fall, and students can declare the minor now. To do so, or for more information, students should contact academic advisers Kelsey Kern or Skye Torres at (806) 742-7100 or universitystudies@ttu.edu.
