Latina/o Studies and Ethnic Studies in the Midwest
Latina/o Studies and Ethnic Studies in the Midwest
This chapter describes several challenges faced by Latina/o Studies and Ethnic Studies at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, including shrinking humanities requirements and adequate office space. By combining memoir and critical analysis, the essay provides a personal and critical account of the coordinated efforts of faculty and students to successfully protest an administrative decision to relocate various interdisciplinary programs to a condemned building. The organizing efforts succeeded because faculty and students mobilized to defend interdisciplinary programs, and then met with the university administrators to explain how their office space was vital to their educational effectiveness. The chapter also discusses the educational challenges posed by the Midwest “personality,” often described as Nebraska “nice” or Minnesota “nice,” which urges emotional self-restraint, politeness, and conformity, but also discourages agency, activism, and independence.
Keywords: Latina/o studies, ethnic studies, student activism, transparency, inclusion, faculty governance, Nebraska “nice,” academic freedom, higher education, agency
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