The Puerto Rican Studies Hub (PRSH) at the University of Wisconsin Madison is closing its first year with a strong record of public programming, scholarly exchange, mentorship, campus collaboration, and institutional growth. Since its launch, the Hub has positioned UW–Madison as an important site for Puerto Rican Studies in the Midwest, creating spaces where scholars, …
CLS affiliate and budgeted faculty are prominent among those recently honored by the University with Vilas Awards. These include Aurora Santiago Ortiz (CLS/Gender & Women’s Studies) and Christopher Saldaña (Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis), who received Vilas Early Career Investigator Awards, and Jorell Meléndez-Badillo, (History), who received the Vilas Faculty Mid-Career Investigator Award. Both awards …
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, …
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has just launched a new hub for Puerto Rican Studies, thanks to the work of CLS affiliate faculty member Jorell Meléndez-Badillo and core faculty member Aurora Santiago-Ortiz (Gender & Women’s Studies). The pair secured a $3 million grant to fund three years of programming, including symposia, lecturers, and musical performances, and …
Reggaetón songs introducing millions to Puerto Rican history? A UW-Madison professor collaborating with an internationally recognized popular music star? Yes, and yes! Jorell Meléndez Badillo, a CLS affiliate faculty member in the History Department, recently created seventeen brief Spanish-language synopses of important moments in the island’s history from 1508 to the present that now accompany …
When PBS needed an expert on Puerto Rican history for its new series “Voces American Historia,” it reached out to CLS affiliate faculty Jorell Meléndez-Badillo. His interview, which is part of the program’s second episode, offers important perspective on the strategic importance of the island and the reasons the US was interested in possessing the …