Author: Vasquez, Kimberly

Writing Latina Biography at El Instituto: The Life and Work of Antonia Pantoja

Contributed by Emma Amador Over the past ten years I have been researching and writing about the life and work of Dr. Antonia Pantoja, Black Puerto Rican Civil Rights activist, scholar, and educator whose work changed the world. While writing my first book, The Politics of Care: Puerto Ricans, Citizenship, and Migration after 1917 on […]

State turns to CLAS faculty for expertise on Black and Latino history

In 2020, Connecticut became the first state in the nation to require all high schools to offer a course on Black, Puerto Rican, and Latino studies. Congratulations to CLAS faculty in transforming Connecticut K-12 Curricula through The Black and Latino History Project (BLHP):  Fiona Vernal Anne Gebelein Jason Oliver Chang Avinoam Patt Noga Shemer   […]

Welcome from the Director

Hello, everyone! I’m Katerina Gonzalez Seligmann; also known as KGS (they or she pronouns). I’m the new Interim Director of El Instituto, and I have been truly lucky to be in the process of getting to know the faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students, and staff of our Instituto community so far. For those of you […]

The Puerto Rican Studies Initiative for Community Engagement and Public Policy (PRSI)

Contributed by Charles R. Venator-Santiago The Puerto Rican Studies Initiative for Community Engagement and Public Policy (PRSI) is a research initiative that can help document and support the Puerto Ricans’ vital economic, intellectual, and cultural contributions to Connecticut and provide research-based support for the development of public policies addressing the needs of Puerto Ricans in […]

CT Humanities Grant for UConn/Yale Collaboration on the Black and Latino History Project

Contributed by Anne Gebelein  Dr. Anne Gebelein of El Instituto, Dr. Fiona Vernal of Africana Studies Institute, and Dr. Jason Chang of the Asian and Asian American Studies Institute are collaborating in an effort to help CT teachers better understand the role that Puerto Rican, West Indian, and African American migrants have played in the […]

Suzanne Oboler Visits UConn

Contributed by Bethsaida Nieves On September 14, 2022, esteemed professor, Suzanne Oboler, visited LLAS 1000-001 Introduction to Latina/o Studies. Welcomed by a curious group of about 50 undergraduate students, Professor Oboler opened her lecture with a boisterous greeting and invitation to critically think about the ethnic label, “Hispanic.” Drawing from her recently published book chapter, […]