Rethinking Latino/a and Latin American studies

Abstract

Reflections on the Latino/a experience with regard to both US hegemonic and Latin American cultures engage in theoretical considerations of great relevance to the study of inter-American relations. These books approach the subject from two different perspectives. Critical Latin American and Latino Studies, an essay collection edited by Juan Poblete, analyzes the current situation of Latino and Latin American studies in the US and the overall significance of the growing connections between the two fields. Debra Castillo’s monograph, Redreaming America: Toward a Bilingual American Culture, examines literary works written in Spanish, English, and Spanglish, by authors situated between Latin America and the United States, who write about the conflicts created by contact between the two cultures. Both books reflect on the meaning of assuming a transnational perspective when definitions of national paradigms are such an important part of the discussion. While Poblete’s collection provides an overview of the debates in this area, with essays by well-known scholars, Castillo’s book studies narratives and stereotypes, in order to address the exchange of languages, behaviors, traditions and peoples that takes place in the United States with regard to Latin America. In his introduction to Critical Latin American and Latino Studies, Poblete discusses the separation between Latino and Latin American Comparative American Studies