Students wanting to learn more about people of Latin American origin or background have another educational option at 成人头条 State. A certificate in Latin American and Latinx Studies is now available at the undergraduate level, and is only 12 credit-hours.
鈥淪tudents can learn about their culture, Latino cultures in the US, or Latin America,鈥� Rocio Del Aguila, assistant professor of Spanish, said. 鈥淭he certificate鈥檚 interdisciplinarity also helps them learn different ways of doing things. It can also help them develop global competency and global citizenship.鈥�
Completing the certificate in Latin American and Latinx Studies will give students specialization in an area that may enhance their employability in a broad variety of occupations, including the international business, social services, public health and education sectors.
Anyone pursuing the certificate may take courses from several departments, ranging from anthropology and art to music performance, philosophy and political science. Basic understanding of Spanish or Portuguese is required, and students may use approved study abroad credits to partially fulfill the requirements.
In the case of Latinx studies, del Aguila said, it is important to understand how the Hispanic population has always been an integral part of the United States. Spanish was spoken here before other modern languages, and the southern half of the United States was Mexico until 1848.
鈥淲e need to learn more about the Latinx community in order to better understand our own reality,鈥� del Aguila said.
The U.S. Census Bureau found that in 2010, 12.2 percent of people in Kansas identified as Hispanic or Latino. Pew Research has determined that in 2019, the number of Hispanics in the U.S. reached a record 60.6 million, or 18 percent of the population.
For more information, contact: Enrique Navarro, associate professor of Spanish and certificate coordinator at enrique.navarro@wichita.edu, 978-6925; or Rocio Del Aguila, assistant professor of Spanish; rocio.delaguila@wichita.edu, 978-6007. You may also visit the certificate website.