College of Letters & Science
CLS affiliate faculty member Alfonso Morales shared his expertise on urban markets with the online news outlet Madison365 late this semester, providing perspective on the approaching debut of the Madison Public Market at 202 North First Street. A much-awaited addition to the commercial landscape in Madison, the Public Market is a city-sponsored nonprofit intended to create …
Suppose you’re a non-Latine actor tasked with playing a Latine character appropriately. Or suppose you’re a Latine actor asked to draw on your heritage for a role, and your training hasn’t prepared you to do that. What do you do? Micha Espinosa, a Professor in Directing with the Theater and Drama department and a CLS …
In the wake of the New York Times story that revealed reports of sexual assault, abuse, and harassment by César Chávez, CLS faculty member Armando Ibarra is helping press outlets understand the story’s impact and community responses. In an interview with the Associated Press, Prof. Ibarra noted that the UFW’s 1960s-era victories made the organization …
Is Puerto Rico the most important place in the world? Jorell Meléndez-Badillo thinks there’s a case to be made. On March 17, the CLS affiliate faculty member shared his thoughts about the archipelago’s influence on global popular culture with Carlos Dávalos, guest host of “A Public Affair” on community radio station WORT. He noted that, …
A recent feature story in the Badger Herald on the relationship between literature and politics of immigration drew on an interview with CLS Director Theresa Delgadillo, a Vilas Distinguished Professor of English and Chicanx/e & Latinx/e Studies. The article noted that fictional stories can shed light on larger truths of immigrant experiences and the realities of …
When the folks behind NPR’s “1A” show needed context for a story about what 2026 holds for Puerto Rico, they turned to CLS core faculty member Aurora Santiago Ortiz. In a wide-ranging conversation that aired on January 27th, Santiago Ortiz shared her thoughts with host Jenn White and fellow guest Alana Casanova-Burgess, the host of …
CLS core faculty member Armando Ibarra and affiliate faculty member Sara McKinnon recently shared their thoughts on immigration enforcement with the hosts of WORT community radio’s A Public Affair. On Wednesday, Prof. McKinnon and host Ali Muldrow reviewed the second Trump Administration’s year of mass deportations, noting that the speed and scale of current enforcement efforts …
For CLS faculty member Marla Ramírez’s, Fall 2025 saw the publication of her highly successful first book and a notable research award from the Department of History. Her book Banished Citizens: A History of the Mexican American Women who Endured Repatriation (Harvard University Press 2025) promises to change the conversation about the expulsion of as …
In December of 2025, the Modern Language Association awarded its sixteenth Prize in United States Latina and Latina and Chicana and Chicano Literary and Cultural Studies to CLS Director Theresa Delgadillo for her 2024 book Geographies of Relation: Diasporas and Borderlands in the Americas. The Association’s press release notes that Geographies of Relation “masterfully combines …
Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor Theresa Delgadillo, who is also the Director of Chicanx/e and Latinx/e Studies, was recently interviewed about her latest book, Geographies of Relation: Diasporas and Borderlands in the America, published by University of Michigan Press, for the international scholarly books podcast New Books Network. Professor Delgadillo was interviewed about her research by Shodona …