Puerto Rican Studies Association

Puerto Rican Studies Association
Name	Puerto Rican Studies Association
Formation	1970s
Type	Academic association
Headquarters	New York City
Region served	Puerto Rico; United States; Latin America; Caribbean
Leader title	President

Puerto Rican Studies Association is an academic and advocacy organization dedicated to the study and promotion of Puerto Rican history, culture, politics, and society. The association connects scholars, activists, artists, and institutions across Puerto Rico, the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean to advance interdisciplinary research and public scholarship. It organizes conferences, publishes research, and engages in community work linking universities, cultural centers, and civic groups.

History

The association emerged during the era of heightened activism and scholarship following the civil rights movements that intersected with events such as the Vietnam War, the Stonewall riots, and the Black Power movement. Founding members drew from networks tied to institutions like City University of New York, University of Puerto Rico, Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, and University of Chicago. Early gatherings featured scholars and activists with connections to Young Lords Party, United States Congress, and community organizations in East Harlem, The Bronx, San Juan, and Cambridge. Influences included literary figures associated with Nuyorican Poet's Café, historians citing Juan Bosch, and cultural activists referencing Celia Cruz and Ismael Rivera. The association’s formative conferences occurred alongside broader events such as the Caribbean Studies Association meetings and symposia hosted by National Endowment for the Humanities and foundations linked to Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation.

Mission and Objectives

The association’s mission aligns with goals pursued by scholars at Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe, activists from Movimiento Pro Independencia, cultural organizers at Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, and educators from Inter-American University of Puerto Rico. Objectives include producing scholarship comparable to work published in journals associated with Latin American Studies Association, promoting research about figures like Roberto Clemente, Julia de Burgos, Rafael Hernández Marín, Pedro Albizu Campos, and Luis Muñoz Marín, and fostering partnerships with institutions such as Princeton University, Brown University, Rutgers University, and University of Michigan. The association emphasizes collaborations with community organizations like Centro Law, Casa Pueblo, Hispanic Federation, and cultural sites such as El Museo del Barrio and Museo de Arte de Ponce.

Organizational Structure and Governance

Governance typically mirrors academic associations with an elected executive committee including a president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary drawn from faculty at institutions such as University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras. Advisory councils often include members from National Hispanic Heritage Month committees, representatives of Puerto Rico Department of Education, and delegates from organizations like American Historical Association, Modern Language Association, Association of Caribbean Historians, and American Studies Association. Committees oversee publications, conferences, awards, and partnerships with archives such as Archivo General de Puerto Rico and libraries like Library of Congress and Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Conferences, Publications, and Programs

Annual or biennial conferences gather scholars from Stanford University, Duke University, Cornell University, Boston University, Florida International University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Georgia State University. Proceedings and special issues appear in journals allied with Hispanic American Historical Review, Callaloo, Journal of Latin American Studies, Centro Journal, and university presses including University of North Carolina Press and Duke University Press. Programs often partner with festivals like Puerto Rican Day Parade, exhibitions at Museum of the City of New York, and commemorations of events such as Ponce Massacre and Grito de Lares. The association sponsors symposia featuring scholars who have written on Esmeralda Santiago, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gloria Estefan, Sonia Sotomayor, Oscar López Rivera, and Nuyorican movement figures.

Research and Scholarly Impact

Research promoted by the association addresses topics studied by authors who have appeared at Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and in edited volumes produced with collaborators from Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños and archives like Archivo Histórico de Puerto Rico. Scholarship intersects with work on migration patterns to New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Orlando, Miami, and Boston and links to studies of diasporic communities examined by researchers at New York University and Rutgers–Newark. Influential studies cite historical actors including Antonio S. Pedreira, Luis Raúl Torres, Antonio Corretjer, Pablo Casals, Manuel Zeno Gandía, and Rosario Ferré, and engage with legal and political events such as Jones–Shafroth Act and debates involving the United States Supreme Court.

Advocacy and Community Engagement

Advocacy initiatives have partnered with advocacy groups like American Civil Liberties Union, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Make the Road New York, Community Service Society, and labor organizations such as SEIU and AFSCME. Community engagement projects coordinate with relief and recovery efforts after natural disasters like Hurricane Maria and collaborate with public health institutions including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local hospitals like Hospital del Niño. The association’s public-facing work involves collaborations with media outlets such as The New York Times, El Nuevo Día, The Washington Post, NPR, and documentary producers linked to PBS and HBO.

Membership and Affiliates

Membership comprises faculty, graduate students, independent scholars, artists, and activists affiliated with universities and organizations including University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Florida, University of Arizona, Temple University, CUNY Graduate Center, Hunter College, Lehman College, St. John’s University, Colgate University, Queens College, Baruch College, Brooklyn College, Mercy College, City College of New York, International Rescue Committee, National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust, Casa de España, and cultural centers like El Taller Latino Americano.

Category:Scholarly societies Category:Puerto Rican culture Category:Latin American studies