Last Wednesday, the ARTLC's webinar on "Teaching Latinx Studies" was a success! The event drew a diverse crowd of more than 100 teachers, students, educators, administrators and others.

Yale professor Albert Laguna discussed the difference between Latin American and Latino/Latinx studies, the latter's roots in student activism, and how Latinx studies and Black studies are intertwined.

"Latino, Latinx studies and ethnic studies more broadly is a product of youth organizing, and making demands that they be represented within institutions of higher learning that have historically left them out," he said.

UConn professor Anne Gebelein and UConn student Maria Mejia-Giron described the essential questions and content areas they recommend for a Latinx studies course, based on their scholarship and surveys of teachers and students.

"[Students] want to express pride and dignity in their cultures, they want to feel empowered, they want to empower others," Gebelein said. "[They] thought it'd be really important that any course be able to explain how Latinos have contributed to and shaped Connecticut and the nation."

Middletown High School teacher Krista Bianchini presented her new Latinx Literature course, described her process for developing it and shared advice to teachers.

"When I say literature, it's not just a book," Bianchini said. "It is really and truly the story of a people."

Finally, Metro High School student Bianca Osorio discussed her experience taking a Latinx and African American Studies class at her school, and shared recommendations for future teachers to consider.

"I think it's awesome when teachers ask you about your history, and what you know about your own history," Osorio said. "What I know from my grandparents, maybe Ms. Nataliya doesn't know."

"What we're doing here is for our students, it's for our communities, it's for our future," Bianchini said at the end. "Fight the good fight, and educate yourself where you need to be educated, and connect with people who are willing to learn and grow with you."

Access the ARTLC's Teaching Latinx Studies Resource Guide here.

Written by the ARTLC Team.