Immigrant and Minority Literature Programs

[callmelilyb]

Hello all!

I have spent hours looking through websites trying to scrub up a list of programs that would me strong in immigrant literatures, minority literatures, ethnic american literatures (especially latino/chicano, but also asian, afam, etc.)....but my list is pretty slim.

Anyone know of programs that are particularly strong in these areas?

Thank you!

Edited November 18, 2009 by tlsaborido

[spartaca]

Not sure if you've checked them out yet, but University of Oregon has an Ethnic Literatures structured emphasis. I'd say they're particularly strong, as compared to most other programs, in Latino/a, Chicano/a, and Native American.

[sonicsustain]

On 11/18/2009 at 4:42 PM, tlsaborido said:

Hello all!

I have spent hours looking through websites trying to scrub up a list of programs that would me strong in immigrant literatures, minority literatures, ethnic american literatures (especially latino/chicano, but also asian, afam, etc.)....but my list is pretty slim.

Anyone know of programs that are particularly strong in these areas?

Thank you!

I know it's a little late, but WashU has strong professors in those fields. Rafia Zafar is fairly well known in African American Literature, and there’s also Gerald Early, William Maxwell and Steven Meyer respectively. Not to mention a strong American Culture department.

[Tinieblas.]

Hi, all. For my first post I just thought I'd bump this one up.  I'm looking at American Lit programs with an emphasis in ethnic and immigrant literature, particularly latino/a literature,  I've checked out the following: UCLA, UT Austin, NYU, UCSD, WashU.  There doesn't seem to be much information about his in the forums.  Does anyone have any other suggestions of places where I might want to apply?  Thanks in advance!

[rising_star]

I'm not sure about Latino/a literature, but a friend of mine studied ethnic and immigrant literature at Wisconsin-Madison, so you might want to look at the department there. You might also want to look at University of Arizona and UC-Boulder.

[1Q84]

Check out USC's American and Ethnic Studies Department. I'm not as familiar with Latino/a lit but just glancing at the faculty page, there seems to be an emphasis on it. 

[academic/editor]

I recommend looking into Washington University in St. Louis (WashU). Within English, they have Faculty Research Areas in Transatlantic and Transnational, Irish Literature, African American Literature, and Postcolonial Literature.

[xolo]

You could also see who has PhD programs in Chicano Studies (or maybe you're looking at MA?) and contact the lit profs in the program to make your inquiry.

[Tinieblas.]

Thanks everyone, I'm looking into PhD programs, but I'll apply to a handful of MA programs as well.  I have been looking into English departments and hadn't considered the Ethnic Studies route.  Would I be correct in assuming that most English departments would allow me to do some of my coursework in Ethnic Studies?  I was under the impression that interdisciplinary work is generally encouraged.  

[Ramus]

Would I be correct in assuming that most English departments would allow me to do some of my coursework in Ethnic Studies?  I was under the impression that interdisciplinary work is generally encouraged.  

You shouldn't have a problem doing some work outside the department. The real question will be how much "some" is. Programs might have an official or de facto cap on the number of classes you take elsewhere. 

Regarding interdisciplinary work: all departments pays lip service to it and nominally "embrace" it, but real practice can be hard to gauge from the boilerplate language you'll find on admissions pages. 

Edited September 11, 2015 by Ramus

[kstee001]

I would recommend checking out UCSD Ethnic Studies. I come from a Latina/o lit background, and have found the department to be perfectly suited to my needs.

[NowMoreSerious]

Sorry I didn't get to this thread sooner, but UCLA.  I realize that their deadline has already passed, and I hope and pray you applied here because our ethnic literature presence is very deep, plus we have one of the few Ph.D. programs in Chicana/o Studies, an Asian-American Studies program, an African-American Studies program, and a Native American Studies Program.  You are allowed to take classes in these.  

 

[Tinieblas.]

On 12/10/2015 at 5:18 AM, NowMoreSerious said:

Sorry I didn't get to this thread sooner, but UCLA.  I realize that their deadline has already passed, and I hope and pray you applied here because our ethnic literature presence is very deep, plus we have one of the few Ph.D. programs in Chicana/o Studies, an Asian-American Studies program, an African-American Studies program, and a Native American Studies Program.  You are allowed to take classes in these.  

 

Thanks!  I did apply to UCLA and the program and faculty look wonderful.  Fingers crossed...

 

On 12/3/2015 at 8:56 PM, kstee001 said:

I would recommend checking out UCSD Ethnic Studies. I come from a Latina/o lit background, and have found the department to be perfectly suited to my needs.

Thanks for the advice!  I actually applied to their English department, which offers concentrations in ethnic studies.