This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Notes
The total undergraduate enrollment for the fall of 2007 was 9454 students (UVM, 2007b), of which 640 were ALANA (Native American, Asian American, African American, Latino/a, multi-racial). Of the 640 ALANA students, 155 were Latino/as (UVM, 2007a).
Word of mouth among students of color can affect enrollment, as has been the case in my course.
As course evaluations are anonymous, the ethnicity or race of the student is unknown. However, based on the small percentage of students of color in the course the first time I taught it, I would venture to guess that the student was white.
It is important to note that a white body is not visually unmarked, but that white students may perceive the white body as the unmarked body and the racial/ethnic “other” as the marked body.
Mexicans are a heterogeneous group as a result of the many groups in Mexico throughout its long history, including, but not limited to, indigenous populations, Spaniards (who included Jews and Moors), other Europeans (including French, German, Irish, English), Asians and Africans (brought as slaves).
Angela Valenzuela examines the connection between language and identity (1999, 163–172).
References
Cress, C . 2008. Creating Inclusive Learning Communities: The Role of Student–Faculty Relationships in Mitigating Negative Campus Climate. Learning Inquiry 2: 95–111.
DeSoto, A.M . 2005. A Canvas of Desire: The Racialized and Sexualized Professor in the Classroom. MELUS 30: 209–223.
Maher, F. and M.K. Tetreault . 1993. Frames of Positionality: Constructing Meaningful Dialogues about Gender and Race. Anthropological Quarterly 66: 118–126.
Mitchell, R. and J. Rosiek . 2006. Professor as Embodied Racial Signifier: A Case Study of the Significance of Race in the University Classroom. The Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies 28: 395–408.
Tatum, B.D . 2003. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations about Race. New York: Basic Books.
TuSmith, B . 2002. Out on a Limb: Race and the Evaluation of Frontline Teaching. In Race in the College Classroom: Pedagogy and Politics, eds. Bonnie TuSmith and Maureen T. Reddy, 112–125. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
University of Vermont. Office of Institutional Services. 2007a. ALANA Enrollments, Fall 1989–2007. Burlington, VT. http://www.uvm.edu/∼isis/?Page=addenr0.html.
University of Vermont. Office of Institutional Services. 2007b. Undergraduate Enrollment by College by Major: Fall 2001 – Fall 2007. Burlington, VT. http://www.uvm.edu/∼isis/sbinfo/ugfive.pdf.
University of Vermont. Office of Institutional Services. 2008. Trends in Full-Time Headcount Faculty and Staff by Race/Ethnicity, Fall 2001 to Fall 2007. Burlington, VT.
US Census Bureau. 2007. 2007 Population Estimates, Vermont, http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-state=qt&-qr_name=PEP_2007_EST_DP1&-ds_name=PEP_2007_EST&-CONTEXT=qt&-redoLog=true&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=04000US50&-geo_id=NBSP&-format=&-_lang=en.
Valenzuela, A . 1999. Subtractive Schooling: US-Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Katzew, A. “Hello Profesora”: Teaching as a Chicana at a predominantly white university. Lat Stud 7, 252–261 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1057/lst.2009.7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/lst.2009.7