Increasing student demand for courses in the Spanish department and Latin American studies program has led to an interdepartmental effort to fill both new and vacated faculty positions. The hiring of professors is meant to alleviate student discontent with the number of courses offered in these two areas.
Students in the Latin American studies program have found it difficult to register for the courses required to fulfill their minor, and the lack of full-time Spanish professors has led to overcrowded classrooms and decreased course offerings. The language and culture courses fill up quickly, and many students were left in the cold when the history class "Modern Latin America" closed early in the second day of registration.
Latin American studies is an interdisciplinary minor, and the program is experiencing difficulties creating a well-rounded curriculum that draws from a variety of fields. Several courses have been cut from the curriculum because there are no professors to teach them. For example, a popular class focusing on the unique economic situations in Latin America is no longer offered, and there are also holes in the Latin American Studies program such as a lack of classes cross-referenced in the sociology department.
"The quality of the faculty here in Latin American studies is very high - it's the quantity and disciplinary breadth that is lacking," Latin American studies Director Peter Winn said.
The problems in Latin American studies place a burden on its faculty, as professors are forced to teach topics outside of their area of expertise. This adds to their already heavy work and research load.
The administration has begun work to improve the understaffed programs by hiring professors and establishing similar programs within related departments. In the Spanish Department, money has been allocated for the hiring of two full-time appointments. A tenure track professor with a focus on Mexican and Mexican-American literature and history as well as a Spanish language coordinator will join the faculty before next year. These appointments will help to coordinate language sections and to help meet the incredibly high demand for Spanish courses.
One major barrier to the expansion of the Spanish program is that the Olin facility has no more room. Not only are classrooms too small for the amount of students who want to take Spanish language and literature courses, but there is very little office space for the present faculty and few classrooms available for new professors to teach in.
"This is not a closed situation," Associate Professor Claudia Kaiser-Lenoir said. "It is time to see how deep the administration's commitment is, not to the Spanish program itself, but to the students who demand to pursue their interests in Latin America."
The political science department will begin its search next year for a tenure track professor specializing in Latin America. The department does not have a permanent specialist in Latin American issues right now, as the only professor in this field left Tufts last year after the University denied him tenure.
Some of the Latin American studies' faculty problems have been remedied, when both the political science and anthropology departments hired new professors this year. Professor Shawn Bird came to Tufts to teach political science this year, and Deborah Pacini Hernandez will join the anthropology department next semester. Hernandez, who will teach "Latino/a Music, Migration, and Identity," is one of the leading experts in the US on Latin American culture - particularly its music.
In addition to the hiring of new professors, there are also efforts to improve Latin American studies by diversifying the program's curriculum. The Portuguese language program will be re-implemented, and approval has been granted to hire a visiting professor to teach Portuguese 1 and 2, called "Portuguese for Spanish Speakers."
Both faculty and students within the Latin American studies program hope that Latin American studies can be offered as a major in the near future, but Winn said that much work needs to be done before that can happen.
"We welcome the administration's statements of commitment as steps in the right direction but several other steps need to be taken in terms of faculty depth before we can offer [the program] as a major," he said.
Winn explained that improvements to the Latin American studies program are important because of the growing influence of Hispanics in the US. Latin American issues and culture are becoming increasingly important to the understanding of US issues and culture as Hispanics will soon comprise the country's largest minority.
"For Tufts, which talks about its mission of preparing global citizens for the 21st century, the study of Latin America is of particular importance," Winn said.
An estimated 40 students participate in the Latin American studies interdisciplinary minor, and a number of those are involved in the Latin America regional studies concentration within the International Relations major. However, because of a lack of faculty, professors, and advisors across several different departments, coordinators have been hesitant to actively promote the program.
