The Latina/o & Mexican American Studies (LMAS) program mission is to create a student-centered, stimulating and innovative environment to advance and support the teaching, research and advocacy of LMAS knowledge at the University of North Texas. Goals of the LMAS academic program include providing students with an understanding of the implications of Latina/o and Mexican-America past, current, and future history and culture on regional communities and beyond.
LMAS is an interdisciplinary field designed to provide undergraduate students with an opportunity to examine the historical and contemporary experiences of Latinas/os in the United States. The curriculum promotes knowledge, and appreciation of the politics, history, language, culture, literature, sociology, anthropology, economics, and creative (art, dance, drama, film, music) accomplishments in Latina/o communities.
The interdisciplinary nature of Latina/o & Mexican American Studies at UNT allows students to diversify their course work across multiple departments such as Anthropology, Economics, Dance & Theater, English, History, Political Science, and Spanish.
Background:
The Latina/o and Mexican-American Studies (LMAS) Program Initiative started in the Fall 2013 under the jurisdiction of Dr. Yolanda Flores Niemann, Senior Vice-Provost, Provost and VP Academic Affairs of UNT. Through this initiative, an LMAS Committee was created that consisted of the following faculty members: Dr. Alicia Re Cruz, Full Professor, UNT Anthropology Department; Dr. Valerie Martinez-Ebers, Full Professor, UNT Department of Political Science; Dr. Roberto Calderon, Associate Professor, UNT Department of History; Dr. Mariela Nuñez-Janes, Associate Professor, UNT Department of Anthropology; Dr. Javier Jaime Rodriguez, Assistant Professor, UNT Department of English, and Dr. Lorenzo Garcia, Associate Professor and Chair of the UNT Department of Dance and Theatre. An Interim Director, Dr. Leticia Anaya, Senior Lecturer from the UNT Department of Engineering Technology, was selected to implement the initiative and to start up the LMAS Program.
Briefly, the UNT LMAS Program offers:
Students majoring in LCEP examine the culture, history, economics, policy/politics, language, literature, sociology, anthropology, economics, and creative accomplishments of Hispanics/Latinos. In addition to the university core curriculum, students take four required courses (12 hours), four courses (12 hours) in at least two of the three elective areas and also complete either an internship and/or senior research paper (6 hours). The major requires a total of 30 hours. The required classes provide a foundation for understanding the socio-economic and political experiences of Latinos/as in the United States. The elective tracks deepen students' knowledge of Latina/os in the areas of: 1) culture and humanities; 2) policy and politics; or 3) country of origins study.