LATINO STUDIES - NEW CONTEXTS, NEW CONCEPTS

In this article, Juan Flores provides a historical and theoretical con text for the study of Latino ethnicities. Presently, Latino Studies is at a paradoxical crossroads. While students at elite private colleges are clamoring for such programs, many public colleges and universitie s are cutting and consolidating Latino Studies programs virtually out of existence. As the battle to create, or preserve, Latino Studies dep artments rages on, the author points out the theoretical transformatio ns that have occurred over the past twenty-five years. One of the bigg est differences between past and present university movements is the m anner in which the demands have been framed by students. Very few of t he earlier student mobilizations called for ''Latino Studies'' per se; rather, the early initiatives, which usually called for ''Puerto Rica n Studies'' or ''Chicano Studies, ''corresponded more direct'' to the political struggles for justice located within particular Chicano and Puerto Rican communities. This change in the framing of Latino Studies coincides with the more transnational and global character of Latino ethnic groups. In addition, the theoretical insights provided by femin ist, post-colonial, and rare theories, as well as lesbian and gay stud ies, have added a level of complexity that was not present in the earl y days of Chicano or Puerto Rican studies. Flores concludes with a cal l for an opening of the theoretical space within Latino Studies curric ula, and the universities that house them, to allow room for these new complexities, thereby taking advantage of a unique moment in the hist ory of Latino Studies.