USC is commemorating Latinx Heritage Month (September 15–October 15) with a series of vital cultural events. USC President Carol Folt kicks off the celebration on Sept. 15. Click here for a full calendar of events. The book titles below were selected by students and staff of the Latinx Chicanx Center for Advocacy and Student Affairs (La CASA), as well as by members of USC’s Latinx Heritage Month Committee members from the Latino Alumni Association, Center for Latinx American Studies, LGBTQ+ Center, University Relations, Athletics, and Visions & Voices. The books (most of which are held by the USC Libraries) were chosen to further conversation on the event topics.
The USC Libraries' Boeckmann Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies is home to a significant collection of primary sources related to the Latin American experience, and is available for consultation in Doheny Memorial Library's Special Collections. The best starting point for research in this area is our Latin American Studies Research Guide.
Latinx Heritage Month Reading List:
Audiotopia: Music, Race, and America by Josh Kun
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Boyle Heights: How a Los Angeles Neighborhood Became the Future of American Democracy by George J. Sánchez
Diary of a Reluctant Dreamer: Undocumented Vignettes from a Pre-American Life by Alberto Ledesma
Finding Latinx: In Search of the Voices Redefining Latino Identity by Paola Ramos
Fit to Be Citizens and How Race is Made in America by Natalia Molina
Inland Shift: Race, Space, and Capital in Southern California by Juan De Lara
Latino USA: A Cartoon History by Ilan Stavans
Lima: Limón by Natalie Scenters-Zapico
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
Nation of Women: An Early Feminist Speaks Out by Luisa Capetillo
Piñata Theory by Alan Chazaro
Race and Upward Mobility: Seeking, Gatekeeping, and Other Class Strategies in Postwar America by Elda María Román
South Central Dreams: Finding Home and Building Community in South L.A. by Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo and Manuel Pastor
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo