University Advancement

Public Relations and Strategic Communications

NEWS RELEASE

Cal State Northridge to Launch Nation’s First
Degree Program in Central American Studies

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., March 7, 2007) — California State University, Northridge this fall will launch the first bachelor of arts degree program in Central American studies in the United States.

The university was given the go ahead by the California State University Chancellor’s Office last week to cement the program’s curriculum and begin admitting students interested in majoring in Central American studies as part of a five-year pilot effort. At the end of five years, university officials expect the major to become permanent, pending a full review.

"We are very happy that the Chancellor’s Office has approved this pilot program," said Elizabeth Say, dean of the College of Humanities, where Central American studies is housed. "I think Cal State Northridge is absolutely the appropriate place to have the first Central American studies major in the country. We believe this is a great example of our responsiveness to the interests and concerns of the community."

Douglas Carranza, interim program coordinator of CSUN’s Central American Studies Program, called the creation of the major an "important historical moment."

"Knowledge is power," Carranza said, "and the Central American community and everyone in our society has been empowered by the approval of the first B.A. in Central American studies."

Carranza said the program will explore a vision of Central America as a transnational region that encompasses a myriad of ethnic and cultural identities, the majority of which are non-Hispanic. Among the subjects students in the major will examine are the area’s cultural and ethnic diversity and its experiences of transnationalism, post-nationalism and immigration.

When the major officially launches this fall, it will inaugurate 10 new courses, including "Contemporary Indigenous People in Central America;" "Afro-Caribbean Cultures and Identities;" "Survey of Central American Visual, Performance and Installation Arts;" "Environment, Development and Social Exclusion in Central America;" "Urbanization in Central America;" "Culture and Violence in Central America" and "Central American Film."

The program, which currently offers a minor in Central American studies, has approximately 550 students taking its classes and includes three full-time professors and six part-time instructors.

The Central American studies program was created seven years ago as an outgrowth of the university’s Department of Chicana/o Studies after students and members of the community expressed an interest in learning more about Central America than what was offered in the university’s regular curriculum.

The program grew as students asked for more and more classes that addressed issues in and about the region as well as the Central American community here in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau records show more than 3 million Central Americans living in the United States, with more than one million living in California alone.

The program and its offices quickly became a home-away-from-home where students and members of the Central American community could share their experiences, collaborate on projects, organize events, network and socialize.

"Without a doubt, our program plays an important role in linking California State University, Northridge, as an institution, to the Central American community at large," Carranza said.

As interest in the program grew, so did a demand for a major in the subject from both CSUN students and Los Angeles’ growing Central American community.

"California State University, Northridge has been at the heart of the institutionalization of the discipline of Central American studies," said Beatriz Cortez, an associate professor of Central American studies and past coordinator of the program who played a key role in developing the major. "The mere fact that it is a place where large numbers of Central American students have access to the program is significant. At the same time, the program has emerged within the world of academia as a leader within the contexts of an immigrant imaginary, of transnationalism, diversity and difference and across disciplines."

Launching a new major takes a lot of work, but Carranza said he and his colleagues are up to the task. They realize that starting the first Central American studies program in the nation carries a lot of responsibility.

"In many ways, we see the Central American studies program as having a tri-fold mission: to empower the large and growing Central American community in the United States by promoting academic excellence, community involvement and cultural diversity; to open spaces of global citizenship and dialogue between academia and society at large which contribute to the construction of a Central American transnational identity; and to promote an understanding and appreciation of the diverse Central American cultures, ethnicities and world views from an interdisciplinary perspective," he said.

"It’s a lot," Carranza said, "but we look forward to accomplishing all of it."

For more information about the major, contact the Central American studies program at (818) 677-2736 or visit its Web site at http://www.csun.edu/~bc60904/CAS.html.