Department of Puerto Rican and Hispanic Caribbean Studies, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Chairperson: Luis Martínez-Fernández

Professor:

Luis Martínez-Fernández, B.A., M.A., Puerto Rico; Ph.D., Duke

Associate Professor:

Carmen T. Whalen, B.A., Hampshire College; M.A., Ph.D., Rutgers

Assistant Professors:

Lawrence M. La Fountain-Stokes, B.A., Harvard; M.A., Ph.D., Columbia

Ana Yolanda Ramos-Zayas, B.A., Yale; M.A., Ph.D., Columbia

Assistant Instructor:

Yanet Baldares, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Rutgers

The Department of Puerto Rican and Hispanic Caribbean Studies offers an interdisciplinary program of studies that examines the diverse political, social, and cultural histories of the Spanish-speaking societies of the Caribbean as well as Latino communities in the United States. Using a comparative approach, the curriculum focuses on the formation and evolution of the peoples and societies of the region. Courses examine the gender, racial, class, and cultural dimensions of the migration experience of Caribbean peoples and the reformulation of national identities.

The curriculum fosters critical thinking about how knowledge is created, different methods and modes of analysis, and the limitations of traditional disciplinary approaches. It does so while developing competencies in research, analysis, and written as well as oral presentations.