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For the past fifteen years, faculty from the Department of Latino and Caribbean Studies have developed projects and programs that explore Latinos/as/x in the United States. We call this work the Latino Studies Research Initiative. Multiple colleagues have shared in these initiatives.
As a result of our engagement with New Jersey and New York communities, our work turned towards a local focus. This site highlights the results of these efforts, including a major book on Latino communities in New Jersey. This site also hosts additional research blogs created by the book chapter authors and many others–including former students–on New Jersey and New York.
LSRI Coordinators
Recent News
The Mexican Aviator in the Pine Barrens
LATINO HISTORY IN NEW JERSEY The Mexican Aviator in the Pine Barrens A stone eagle in Wharton State Forest and the New Jersey story that keeps it standing By Luis … Read More
Call for Contributions: Latina/o Studies Research Blogs and Essays
Dear Colleagues, Our Rutgers University Press book on Latinas/os in New Jersey has been out for a year and a half, and we continue to develop the companion website for … Read More
New Scholar Reflection: Douglas S. Massey on a Career in Latino studies
News Rutgers Latino Studies Research Initiative · April 9, 2026 We are pleased to share a new addition to our Scholar Reflections series. Douglas S. Massey, Henry G. Bryant Professor … Read More
When They Came for Our Vote: Revisiting the Vargas Case 40 Years Later
The Rutgers Latino Studies Research Initiative is sharing news of an upcoming public event organized by the Latino Action Network and civil rights attorney Juan Cartagena. When They Came for … Read More
Panel Event: The Archives Speak – A Lens on Jersey’s Latino History
The Archives Speak: A Lens on Jersey’s Latino History The Rutgers Latino Studies Research Initiative is sharing news of an upcoming public panel hosted by the New Jersey Hispanic … Read More
LSRI Co-Coordinator Receives 2025 New Jersey Historical Commission Award
Dear colleagues, We are pleased to share that Latinas/os in New Jersey: Histories, Communities, and Cultures (Rutgers University Press, 2025), co-edited by Aldo A. Lauria Santiago and Ulla D. Berg, … Read More
New on the LSRI Blog: Brazilian Community in Newark’s Ironbound
The LSRI blog features a new post by Gilson Mateus, M.A. in History in the Graduate Program in History at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), titled … Read More
New LSRI Blog on the 1985 Jersey City Voter Suppression Case
Dot density maps of Jersey City showing Puerto Rican residents in 1980 and Latino residents in 1970. Each red dot represents 10 people. Source: Social Explorer. The Rutgers Latino Studies … Read More