Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

4-28-1998

Abstract

“This session will focus on the personal observations of three faculty who sought to establish a minor in Chicano/a-Latino/a Studies . . . Follow our graphic accounts as we wrestle with the decision of actually embarking on such a quest amidst our thencurrent demands of doctoral coursework, research, teaching and tenure.” In the fall semester of 1995, Chicano/a Studies was formally recognized as a "minor" at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Two years previously, three faculty members from the College of Public Affairs and Community Service at UNO diligently worked to gather student and faculty support and put the wheels in motion for establishing such a minor. Following a fairly sure formula successfully developed by Women's Studies and refined by Native American Studies, we very systematically developed a straightforward statement of purpose, governance statement, course schedule and working bibliography of relevant resources. Despite every effort to ensure successfully establishing the minor and working to develop it into a reputable component of the university curricula, which we ultimately did, we still encountered numerous roadblocks—expected and unexpected, simple and complex. In our attempts to avoid re-inventing the wheel, we ultimately acknowledged it as a necessity.

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