Five CLA Professors Awarded Inaugural HSI Mini Grants
At the inaugural Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Symposium last October, the Office of University Diversity and Inclusion (OUDI) announced the HSI Mini-Grant Program to further the university's mission of becoming an HSI that thinks critically and holistically about serving the Latine/x community.
Out of 39 applications, OUDI selected 16 projects for funding including five CLA projects led by five CLA faculty members and one student ranging from English to communication studies to music to psychology and child development.
Learn more about the CLA-related projects below.
English Department
Project Lead: Associate Professor Jason Peters
Research and Innovation: This project aims to assess what, if any, anti-racist pedagogical approaches are present within Cal Poly's First-Year Composition Program and identify any potential inclusivity gaps. By gathering insights from both instructors and students, the research will inform possible pedagogical enhancements and improve culturally relevant curricula, benefiting historically marginalized communities within the program, including Latinx/e students. This effort supports the creation of an inclusive campus environment that recognizes and values the diverse cultural backgrounds of Cal Poly's students.
The project seeks to contribute to the broader academic discourse on anti-racist pedagogy and critical language awareness in composition programs. The data collected will be used for conference presentations and published work, promoting discussions about systemic inequalities in the classroom which not only empowers Latinx/e students to address issues affecting their community, but encourages them to stand for change as well. The research will employ three methods: surveys, focus groups/interviews, and classroom observations. For the purpose of this project, the researchers will be grounding their discussion surrounding anti-racist pedagogical approaches through the following definition: anti-racist pedagogy, a form of Disruptive Teaching, critically examines the role of education in disrupting white supremacy (University of Michigan, Inclusive Teaching: Practicing Anti-Racist Pedagogy).
Communication Studies Department
Project Leads: Communication studies student Lilianna Rivas and Assistant Professor Leslie Nelson
My senior project is a podcast with different guests each episode to explore identities and issues within the Latine community. Some topics would include the Latine trans experience, colorism, how loss of the Spanish language affects self identity, and Machismo culture. My project focuses on the question, “How do Latine individuals navigate and communicate their identities in society and within the Latine community?” The podcast brings diverse Latine voices to light as my podcast will focus on intersectionality. Latinx/e is not a monolith, the culture is rich and diverse and it causes conflict. To support a community includes addressing the issues in the community to ensure that all members are seen and supported. Issues regarding identities such as gender and sexuality are not addressed in Latine spaces like in the household. By making my podcast, I bring these issues to light and give people with intersectional identities a voice. The podcast will be a miniseries that I plan to premiere each episode in La CASA along with a discussion about the topics included in the podcast.
Music Department
Project Lead: Assistant Professor and Director of Bands Christopher Woodruff
Residency for Mariachi Voces Tapatías
The multi-day residency of local professional mariachi ensemble "Mariachi Voices Tapatías" will include presentations on history and style of the musical genre of western Mexico. The residency will also include masterclasses sharing the techniques of playing in the style for players of wind, brass and string instruments. The residency will culminate in a public performance by the group along with those students who have participated in the masterclasses and rehearsals.
The residency goes beyond providing entertainment service for campus events. It is intended to engage with current students of Hispanic heritage through this rich musical tradition, to illuminate in some depth for students who have had only superficial exposure to this cultural practice, and to develop skills for those campus students (not just music majors) who possess some skill on the relevant instruments.
Outreach for participation will be campus wide as well as to Hancock and to Cuesta. Depending on interest, Bldg. 45 (Music & Theater Building) may be insufficient to facilitate, in which case we would need to identify appropriate rental space (PAC Pavilion) for classes and performance.
Psychology & Child Development
Project Leads: Assistant Professor Susana Lopez and Associate Professor Jay Bettergarcia
The Psychology and Child Development Department is committed to supporting our Latine students via educational initiatives that center Latine students and foster a sense of belonging across campus. For the purposes of this HSI mini-grant, two Latine faculty will co-create Cal Poly’s first-ever Latine Psychology course with a group of Latine psychology students. In line with HSI-taskforce recommendations, this course provides opportunities for Latine students to engage in servingness through the co-creation of decolonial approaches to psychology education.
Decolonial approaches and Liberation Psychology explicitly name power imbalance and structures that perpetuate inequities. Liberation Psychology’s roots are in Latin America, and it aims to further understand oppression while working toward liberation of oppressed groups. This is in stark contrast with traditional psychological approaches that address the downstream mental health consequences for individuals rather than the structures causing harm.
The Latine student’s voices and experiences will be centered when developing the course, however, all students will benefit from Latine-focused courses as we expand our curriculum to reflect more closely the breadth and nuance of human experience and development. Additionally, the development of this course and future similar courses also increases future opportunities for hiring and retaining faculty with expertise in Latine psychology.
Psychology & Child Development
Project Lead: Associate Professor Jay Bettergarcia
While research about Latinx students’ experiences with belonging and servingness at HSI’s has increased, little is known about the specific needs and experiences of LGBTQ+ Latinx students. Latinx LGBTQ+ students’ sense of belonging and connectedness to community is often affected by the racism experienced in predominantly White queer and trans spaces, while also simultaneously navigating cultural gendered norms, heterosexism, and cissexism in predominantly Latinx spaces. Students living at these intersections are likely to have varied experiences navigating life on-campus and in the community, however, these experiences are not well documented or understood.
In my previous work with Latinx students, undocumented students, and LGBTQ+ students at Cal Poly, we focused on campus health and wellbeing (Mansager, Williams, & Bettergarcia, 2021) and barriers to accessing basic needs services (Mansager, Bettergarcia, Williams, 2022). To date we have not meaningfully examined the experiences of students at the intersections of these identities.
The proposed project provides mixed-method research experiences for bilingual Latinx LGBTQ+ students that centers community-based participatory research methods and a critical qualitative approach. The results of this work will inform the development of programs and services for students living at these intersections while simultaneously supporting queer and trans Latinx to develop as co-researchers.