Fall 2025 SPANISH HERITAGE LANGUAGE EDUCATION VIRTUAL LECTURE
Wednesday, November 19, 2025 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM EST
Online Location
On the Puertoricanization of US Higher Education:
or, The Awkward Constraints of Using One Language
Dr. Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera, Universidad de Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Dra. Cora Monroe González, Universidad de Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
*Registration is required for this event. See below for link to register.
Considering some unique Puerto Rican “best practices” in higher education, this lecture considers methods to undo part of the structural exclusions embedded in the US university system's monolingual, English-centric knowledge. If it is possible to comprehend and critique these structures of the US academy from a standpoint external to the cultures that produce them, Puerto Rican education can be characterized by metalinguistic (specifically: non-English-centric) and experiential qualities that are grown and cultivated from a space of domination — and in that sense, our experiences provide nuances that are to a degree inaccessible in mainland universities. Within this framework, this lecture asks questions like: What do marginalized people know? What languages do we use in academic settings, and why? How do the imperial language demands attempt to distort Puerto Rican knowledges, and when do they fail? This roundtable explores coloniality, language, higher education, the academic press, and the ways knowledge is restricted by the structures that many US university practices protect and reproduce. Through a conversation with two faculty at the university that graduates more Latinas in STEM than any other in the world, the SHLE community will participate in a decolonial and contemporary task: to look beyond the limits of US “best practices” y cultivar conocimiento en esos huecos.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://gmu.zoom.us/meeting/register/8q7y4SJxRo-lQZom85jVJQ
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
