L U I S. A. F I G U E R O A

The following feature story appeared in the campus publication MOSAIC in September, 1998.

SUBVERTING THE DOMINANT PARADIGM

The slogan, "Subvert the Dominant Paradigm," emblazoned on a favorite T-shirt worn by Assistant Professor of History Luis A. Figueroa, could describe his approach to history. Figueroa, who believes that the influence of the Caribbean and Latin America on the evolution of the United States has been overshadowed by that of Europe, is determined to set the record straight.

Figueroa challenges his students' assumptions about history. "The history of America is told as if the major historical link in the evolution of this country's culture and economy is only with Europe," Figueroa says. "That's not true. The relationship between the United States and the Caribbean and Latin America goes back to the very beginning of the country. People think the relationship between Latin America and the United States began in the 20th century, or when the United States took over land from Mexico in the middle of the 19th century. I tell my students they have to rethink American history from an 'American in the hemispheric perspective.'"

A native of Puerto Rico and the son of educators, Figueroa holds a doctoral degree from the University of Wisconsin. He joined the faculty two years ago after teaching for six years at the University of Connecticut. He teaches courses in Caribbean, Latin American, and Latino history and also participates in the Latin American and Caribbean Studies concentration within the International Studies program, as well as in the American Studies program.

Innovative teaching methods

Figueroa often punctuates his lectures with personal experience. For instance, he explains how residents of Puerto Rico are prohibited from voting in federal elections despite the fact that they are American citizens under a 1917 act of Congress enacted two decades after the United States took over the island from Spain. The law, says Figueroa, leaves Puerto Ricans in a colonial state of limbo: second-class American citizens who cannot participate in federal elections while living on the island, while at the same time, a distinct society unable to achieve political sovereignty. This semester, Figueroa will guide students in his survey course on Puerto Rico as they collaborate with members of a Hartford community organization, La Casa de Puerto Rico, in comparing the status of Hartford's Hispanic population over time with its current socio-economic profile.

To foster a sense of intellectual community among students outside of the classroom, Figueroa's students post their papers on Trinity's electronic document exchange program, called DOCEX, and respond to assigned readings via the College's campus-wide electronic conferencing system called Yapp Forum. The electronic dialogue encourages students to become more careful in their thinking and writing, Figueroa contends.

Figueroa believes that because today's students have grown up in an environment saturated with visual and electronic information, they are aided in their learning when the same vehicles are used as pedagogical tools. "The World Wide Web," he asserts, "is as important to the exchange of information as the invention of the printing press."

Last year, Figueroa employed the use of information technology as a central organizer of the yearlong co-curricular program on decolonization, which examined the events that transformed the world from an arrangement of colonial powers to a new world order through a series of film, lecture-discussion sessions, and courses. He hopes to apply his interest in technology to a major co-curricular initiative focused on a global theme again this year: "Migrations, Diasporic Communities, and Transnational Identities." This project will explore how the movement of people, capital and goods; the development of instantaneous forms of communication and exchange of cultural commodities; and international competition and global integration have brought new migration patterns and new challenges to ethnic and national identities.

A passionate teacher

Students in Figueroa's classes say his approach works. Alicia F. Cacchione '00, a Latin American and Caribbean Studies major, whose mother was born in Cuba, says Figueroa's course on "The Cuba Revolution: Historical Origins" helped her "to develop my opinion of the Cuban Revolution and look at a really personal event from a critical and analytical perspective." The course also gave Cacchione a new appreciation for the professional contributions of her great-great grandfather, Fernando Ortiz, the founder of ethnography in Cuba. "Professor Figueroa is the most passionate, dynamic, and intelligent professor I've ever had!" she exclaimed.

International Studies major Romae S. Gordon '00 describes Figueroa as being "passionate about history and interested in sharing his ideas." Figueroa acknowledges his passion by saying, "If you believe in what you're doing and that what you're doing is important, it almost becomes a mission. My mission is to have my students understand that when they view or support something in the United States, the positions they take have ramifications not only here but also in Latin America and elsewhere."

An important scholar

Associate Professor of History and department chair Michael E. Lestz says of his colleague, "Luis' presence has permitted the department to provide a new array of courses that have much amplified history offerings covering the Spanish-speaking societies of the Western hemisphere."

A devoted scholar, Figueroa has presented papers at various international conferences. His latest book-manuscript, which focuses on the transition from slavery to free labor in Guayama, Puerto Rico from 1850 to 1924, is under consideration for publication by the University of North Carolina Press. It is a work, says Lestz, "that promises to be an important contribution to Caribbean history. He is a scholar to be reckoned with in the Spanish-speaking world."

-Suzanne Zack