"Latino Studies," with Ana Y. Ramos-Zayas & Mérida Rúa

I spoke with Ana Y. Ramos-Zayas and Mérida Rúa about their recent anthology, Critical Dialogues in Latinx Studies: A Reader.

Ramos-Zayas is the Frederick Clifford Ford Professor of Ethnicity, Race, & Migration; American Studies; and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Yale University. Luckily for me, Rúa is my colleague at Northwestern University, where she is Professor of Latina and Latino Studies.

I heartily recommend their book:

Here’s the audio:

We talk about how Ramos-Zayas and Rúa met in the 1990s as teachers at Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School in Chicago, and how the lessons they learned about teaching from students there ultimately led them to collaborate on their anthology.

With Critical Dialogues in Latinx Studies as the basis for our conversation, we talk about the scope of the field of Latino Studies—what the field includes and excludes, its current and urgent debates and animating questions, and what work remains to be done, on topics such as climate justice, disability, and public health, for example.

We were also joined by Mérida’s new dog, Bella, who seems to be very suspicious of vacuum cleaners!

Thanks for listening, stay tuned, and let me know which authors you want to hear more from!