A Latino studies minor has been incorporated into the Tufts curriculum after a lengthy process of committee meetings and proposals.
The minor was added in May, but the news is only now reaching students through word of mouth because of minimal advertising of the new study program.
Over recent years, undergraduate Latino enrollment at Tufts has grown to seven to eight percent of the student body. "Recognizing the significance of these changes, Tufts has approved a new interdisciplinary Latino Studies minor," according to Tufts Latino Center's Web site.
The 2000 census recorded 38.3 million Latinos in the United States, making them the nation's largest minority group, the Web site said.
The interdisciplinary minor will serve as a bridge between Latin American and American studies, encouraging students to connect theories, methodologies and content from the two disciplines.
"It's important to understand the sending [Latin American] region," Associate Professor of Anthropology Deborah Pacini Hernandez said, adding that this topic is not fully covered in the context of U.S. immigration.
The minor was first proposed by a faculty group led by Hernandez and Assistant Professor of Art History Adriana Zavala. "We started thinking about [the minor] three years ago," Hernandez said. "We had the opportunity to think, 'what should this program look like?'"
Their proposal called for a minor to allow students "to emphasize either Latinos' connections with Latin America or their location within the U.S. racial and socio-political context."
The faculty group sought a variety of input for their proposal. "We picked up feedback and suggestions from faculty and deans for a year before submitting the proposal," Hernandez said. "There was no hostility from anyone we showed it to."
The faculty of Arts and Sciences approved the minor last spring.
The minor requires six credits, including an introductory course in Latino
studies, a Latin American survey course, a course in comparative race relations in the United States, one course containing at least 50 percent Latino content, one elective course, and a community-based capstone experience.
The capstone experience forces students to "get out into the community, because there should be some kind of linkage to the surrounding community," Hernandez said.
"[The minor] is something to enrich the curriculum within the other majors," Hernandez said, adding that the new minor could prove advantageous to students who end up working in Latino communities.
Hernandez said he has no plans to create a Latino studies major.
Latino studies courses will not currently count for students'
culture option, Ridge said.
Tufts is the first private Boston-area university to add a Latino Studies minor. "Tufts is at the forefront of private institutions," Hernandez said.
The minor stands to benefit both students and the admissions office. "We're hoping that this will recruit some of the top Latino students," Hernandez said. "Tufts can offer something that other institutions don't."
Because of the specificity of the minor's requirements, Hernandez said he predicted few students to pursue it over the next few years. "A student really needs to plan this in advance," she said. "It's going to require starting early."
According to Hernandez, universities that have the biggest Latino Studies programs tend to be public institutions.
