What do migration and meteorology have to do with Latin American studies?: Bridges across disciplines at the United States naval academy

Abstract

This essay explores how faculty from three different disciplines (applied linguistics, history, and meteorology), all with expertise in Latin America, have promoted a multidisciplinary approach toward Latin American studies through their study of migration and climate. The essay begins by reviewing the history and significance of the U.S. Department of Defense’s LREC initiative on tertiary Spanish language education at one of the three military service academies, the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. The essay then describes one case where climate and migration interests in Latin America can be integrated into an undergraduate capstone course as a research project to leverage students’ intellectual interests (in their major subject) with other academic pursuits (via a minor in Spanish). Finally, the essay discusses how demographic changes in the U.S. have impacted higher education in Spanish. The essay concludes with the argument that many of these challenges facing Latin American studies can be overcome by a multidisciplinary perspective that unites specialists in different fields through their common interest in Latin American Studies.