We are thrilled to announce that our very own Dr. Nicole M. Guidotti-Hernández will serve as the inaugural chair for the newly formed Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies (MALS) here at UT. Dr. Guidotti-Hernández is an Associate Professor of American Studies, and she holds the Alma Cowden Madden Centennial Professorship at the University of Texas at Austin. Her book, Unspeakable Violence: Remapping U.S.  and  Mexican National Imaginaries (Duke University Press 2011), was a finalist for the 2012 Berkshire Women’s History First Book Prize and won the Modern Language Association 2011-12 Prize in United States Latina and Latino and Chicana and Chicano Literary and Cultural Studies.Just today over on NBCNews.com there is an article about the newly formed department, and Dr. Guidotti-Hernández had the following to say in the article:

This is a really important moment for us in the curriculum. This is a recognition of the Mexican-American population in Texas, as well as the immigrant community from Central and Latin America. Having the two disciplines together, for the first time in the nation, is a move to create a more inclusive, rigorous intellectual community.