[ CALL FOR PAPERS \
Imagining Latina/o Studies: Past, Present, and Future
An International Latina/o Studies Conference
July 17-19, 2014
Chicago, Illinois
Under multiple sponsorships from various universities and Latina/o Studies Programs, Chicago will
host an international Latina/o studies conference on July 17-19, 2014. We invite individual papers or
group proposals from the various disciplines that contribute to Latina/o studies as well as from
individuals and groups engaged in artistic, political, and intellectual work outside the academy,
including writers, artists, and community activists.
Background
The Chicago conference will serve as an inaugural international Latina/o studies conference where
we will launch the creation of a Latina/o studies association. During the May 2012 Latino Studies
Section meeting at the Latin American Studies Association conference in San Francisco, scholars
from a variety of disciplines decided to explore the feasibility of creating an international Latina/o
studies association. Since then, many of these scholars have held informal meetings at other
academic conferences in order to gauge interest in such an organization. To date, discussions have
been held at the American Studies Association, the Puerto Rican Studies Association, the Modern
Language Association, the Organization of American Historians, the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic
Literary Heritage Conference, among many others.
Rationale
With this conference we hope to spotlight the dynamic work being carried out in a range of
disciplines with a particular focus on the interdisciplinary impulse that shapes and motivates work
produced under the banner of Latina/o studies. We recognize the decades-long history and crucial
work of national-origin studies, such as Chicana/o studies and Puerto Rican studies, from which
many of us have emerged; and we further ask how might we conceptualize the field so that it reflects
the complex histories, social formations, and cultural production of Latinas/os even while seeking to
imagine a larger sense of belonging that might transcend nationalisms?
By using this question as a benchmark for critical discussion, the conference will serve as a venue to
set new research agendas and ask new questions of Latina/o studies. We seek proposals that revisit
the genesis of Chicana/o and Puerto Rican studies in the 1970s as well as papers that highlight the
emergence of Cuban studies, Dominican studies, Central American studies and South American
studies. We invite proposals that compare the history, social formations, and cultural production of
Latinas/os. Just as important, we seek imaginative proposals that critically interrogate the
possibilities and limits of the category of “Latinas/os” itself.
Location
Chicago serves as a symbolic setting for our conference. Located between the historically Mexican
Southwest and the Caribbean East Coast, Chicago has long embraced its diverse Latina/o
communities, and is home to several universities with Latina/o studies programs. To that end, we
call for scholars, artists, and activists from both within the United States and abroad to join us as we
launch our inaugural conference and the founding of a Latina/o studies association, the first
organization dedicated to the comparative and interdisciplinary study of Latinas/os.
Proposals
Our goal is to carve out an international space for dialogue and fruitful debate, and invite
submissions from all disciplines. We welcome diverse and interactive presentation formats. We
envision roundtables that explore recent publications, key developments, or major debates in
Latina/o studies; workshops on mentoring, professionalization, pedagogy, or publishing; multimedia
presentations such as Pecha Kucha or poster presentations; and performances along with
traditional papers. Group proposals with diverse representation--including institutional affiliation,
rank, and geographic region--will be given preference. All sessions are 90 minutes long, and must
allot at least twenty minutes for discussion. A national interdisciplinary program committee will
evaluate all proposals.
To submit a proposal, please email the following information to latinostudiesconference@gmail.
All proposals are due by 11:59pm PST on December 1, 2013.
● Paper or Session Title.
● Name, institutional affiliation, discipline, position or title, and contact information of
presenter including email address and phone number (for sessions: list organizer first, then
each presenter providing requested information for each participant).
● Abstract of the rationale and content of the paper or session: up to 300 words for an
individual submission; 600 words for a group proposal, giving specifics about what each
member will contribute.
● Brief (2-3 sentence) scholarly or professional biography of each presenter.
● Describe the format of the session (for group proposals) and give indication of any
audiovisual needs or special accommodations.
On-Site Conference Committee
Frederick Aldama, Ohio State University
Frances Aparicio, Northwestern University
Raúl Coronado, UC Berkeley (formerly of Univ. of Chicago) (Program Co-Chair)
Nilda Flores-González, University of Illinois at Chicago
Lorena García, University of Illinois at Chicago
Alejandro Lugo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Lourdes Torres, DePaul University (Program Co-Chair)
For more information on the Latina/o studies association initiative and the many people involved in creating it, please
visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/
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