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Article from UConn Momentum, Summer 2006, Newsletter
Number 6, by John Sponauer
Through a two-year grant
from the Ford Foundation of New York, UConn’s Institute
of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies is conducting an extensive
study of research into Latina/o
sexuality.
Spearheaded by Dr. Marysol Asencio, associate professor of Family
Studies/Puerto Rican & Latino Studies, the $304,400 grant will
enable an assessment of research in the field of Latina/o sexuality.
It will also promote the assembly of a 10-member, nationally acclaimed
peer board of scholars to identify uncharted research areas, Latina/o
scholars in the field, and eventually disseminate the findings
through publication and other venues.
"Sexuality is a lens. In the same way that gender, socioeconomic
status, and race allow us to examine society and social interaction,
so does sexuality. We view a number of broader issues through it,” says
Dr. Asencio, a national expert in issues of Latina/os, sexuality,
gender, migration and race/ethnicity issues. “The study of
Latina/o sexualities examines practices, meanings and contexts,
not only because they provide information to assist in health related
issues and social concerns such as HIV/AIDS and pregnancy but for
what they tell us about the larger culture and societal organization.
Research with Latina/os in the broad field of sexuality is still
rather limited and many areas are still unexplored. Moreover, there
has been a history of pathologizing Latina/os and sexualities which
needs to be addressed.”
The Institute of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies (PRLS) is now
in its 12th year of operation on the Storrs campus, and serves
as a multipurpose, interdisciplinary research and teaching program
with a focus on the Puerto Rican, Mexican and other populations
of Latin American origin across the state and nation.
Dr. Asencio notes that PRLS is an ideal setting for coordination
of the project because of its focused work on Latina/o populations,
its multi-and interdisciplinary approaches and the tremendous support
and commitment by the University’s Office of Multicultural
and International Affairs where PRLS is housed to further this
type of research. Through the support of this grant, Dr. Asencio
believes there is wonderful opportunity to move the field of Latina/o
sexualities research to a new level.
"Through the Ford Foundation, we have a wonderful commitment and
chance to engage scholars across the nation, assess the field,
and encourage dialogues and mechanisms to move it forward” she
says.
Two major components of the grant will be to publish the research
analysis for wider dissemination in the second year of the grant
and a national conference based on this work in October 2007. Broadening
the field of experts in the topic of Latina/o sexualities will
be a priority, as well as linking the research to policy and programmatic
initiatives.
"We view this as a mentoring opportunity, to identify junior researchers
and pair them with senior experts in the field, as well as cultivate
an entirely new generation of students and scholars, in particular
Latina/o students and researchers,” says Dr. Asencio.
The Ford Foundation grant fulfilled some of the needs discussed
at an earlier PRLS conference coordinated by Dr. Asencio in 2005,
when six nationally known Latina/o scholars convened to discuss
the state of research in the field. The Ford Foundation was supporting
sexualities research and was also interested in filling in the
gaps in sexualities research in particular among minority populations.
This convergence of issues and interest served to build the momentum
for moving this initiative forward, Dr. Asencio says.
"The grant is about bringing all of the pieces together,” she
says. “It’s assessing what we already know, and allowing
us to look into the future.”
The Ford Foundation is an independent,
nonprofit grant-making organization, now in its 70th year of
operation. For more than half a century
it has been a leading resource for innovative people and institutions
worldwide, guided by its goals of strengthening democratic values,
reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation
and advancing human achievement. With headquarters in New York,
the foundation also has offices in Africa, the Middle East, Asia,
Latin America and Russia. More information about the Ford Foundation
is available at http://www.fordfound.org.
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"The grant is about
bringing all of the pieces together,” she says. “It’s
assessing what we already know, and allowing us to look into
the future.”
-Dr. Marysol Asencio |
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Marysol Asencio