Please join the LAIPA Funnel for an informal brainstorming discussion on the topic of the LCSH Hispanic Americans and Latin Americans and the terms Latina/o/x/e. We’ll be deciding if this is the time to move forward with proposing changes to these headings. If it is, we’ll work on figuring out a plan for proposing changes in LCSH, breaking this large project into manageable tasks.
No cataloging expertise required. For those from this heritage, your lived expertise is welcome! For those who are not Latinx/Hispanic, please be sure to read about this topic before the meeting, there are many popular scholarly articles that discuss the complexity of this terminology.
Can’t join the meeting? Feel free to leave comments below or contact the LAIPA Funnel coordinator (see below).
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Meeting info: Thursday August 3 at 1 pm Eastern (noon Central, 11 am Mountain, 10 am Pacific)
https://unc.zoom.us/j/99050156649 (Meeting ID: 990 5015 6649)
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Relevant LCSH as they currently exist and their scope notes.
- Latin Americans – Here are entered works on citizens of Latin American countries.
- Latin America – Here are entered works on the area and/or countries of the Americas south of the United States, as well as works dealing collectively with the Spanish-speaking countries of this area.
- Latin Americans–United States – [Here are entered works on citizens of Latin American countries in the United States.]
- Hispanic Americans – Here are entered works on United States citizens of Latin American descent.
- Spanish Americans – Here are entered works on citizens or permanent residents of the United States who trace their heritage directly to Spain.
- Spanish Americans (Latin America) – For Spanish-speaking Latin Americans.
- Latinos/Latinxs (cross-reference) – These terms are not established subject headings, but cross-references to the headings Latin Americans and Hispanic Americans.
- Chicanos – This term is not an established subject heading, but cross-references to the heading Mexican Americans.
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About the LAIPA Funnel: The LAIPA funnel provides a mechanism for proposing the creation of new subject headings and the changing or updating of old subject headings relating to Latin America and to the experience of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The goal is to improve access to materials on Latin America and the indigenous peoples of the Americas and to propose new subject headings and correct old headings that the communities being described to not feel accurately represent them. The current coordinator is Sara Levinson (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). If you would like to participate or have questions about the funnel, please email: Sara Levinson at saralev@email.unc.edu.
This is a very interesting discussion. One aspect that doesn’t seem to be addressed is whether Portuguese-speaking countries’, i.e., Brazil, citizens are included in those terms. (Latin Americans, Hispanic Americans)
Tread very lightly here. The “Latinex” terminology is not typically well-accepted by the Latino community and lest we change things to “not offend” it would do well to study this in depth.
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/many-latinos-say-latinx-offends-or-bothers-them-here-s-ncna1285916
I heard a talk by this author, who proposes “Latin*”–which can be pronounced “Latin” or “Latin-estrella”: Salinas, Cristobal. “The Complexity of the “x” in Latinx: How Latinx/a/o Students Relate To, Identify With, and Understand the Term Latinx.” Journal of Hispanic Higher Education 19, no. 2 (2020): 149-68. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192719900382
Some questions for consideration: Which countries comprise Latin America in these definitions? Is the United States included? What of the Caribbean nations?
The maternal side of my family is from northern New Mexico and considers itself “Hispanic” or “Spanish.” The older generations do not consider themselves Latino/a/es because their ancestors have been U.S. citizens since the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. “Latino/a/e/x” to them would signify that a person or their ancestors immigrated to the U.S. from a country south of the United States in the Western Hemisphere. They also do not consider themselves to be Chicano because the territory was only part of Mexico for a few decades, and they maintain land grants from the Spanish crown to this day. While older generations emphasized their European heritage only, my sense is that most of them now use the term “Hispanic” to convey acknowledgement of both Iberian Peninsula and American Indigenous heritage.
I don’t quite know where my family would fit in the definitions given above. “Hispanic American” is closest, except that we can infer that the U.S. is not considered “Latin America” in the definition, otherwise all people descended from U.S. Citizens would be Hispanic. The “Spanish American” term, by focusing on Spain, excludes Indigenous American heritage common to many and central to the history and cultures of the U.S. southwest.
Thanks for the comment, Lisa. As you can see from the scope note for the LCSH Latin America, in this context Latin America refers to “the area and/or countries of the Americas south of the United States, as well as works dealing collectively with the Spanish-speaking countries of this area.”
Not sure if you are aware, but the Medical Library Association Latinx Caucus has been doing similar work over the last few years addressing Latinx/Hispanic American terminology and subject headings in MeSH. As one of the co-leads for this project, I am happy to have a conversation about the work we have done and accomplished, we would be happy to chat!
Link to our OSF project website: https://osf.io/9mgwq/