By Emma Weidmann | Arts and Life Editor
Dr. Felipe Hinojosa considers his appointment as the first John and Nancy Jackson Endowed Chair for Baylor in Latin America to be the culmination of 20 years of research and a “calling” to spread the privilege of education.
“The education that you get now puts you in a position of having a deep responsibility to work to help people that are on the outside who don’t have the kind of access that we’ve had to education,” Hinojosa said.
Having been a professor at Texas A&M University for 14 years, Hinojosa comes to Baylor for his first semester as the author of two books on Latino politics and the intersection of faith and the civil rights movement. Hinojosa’s research centers around the impact of Latinos on the history of the U.S., and it gives him a unique position in the history department, according to Dr. Julie deGraffenried, chair of the history department.
DeGraffenried said Hinojosa’s appointment as endowed chair ties into the Office of the Provost’s Baylor in Latin America research initiative. The initiative is an effort to lead “research, scholarship and service across Latin America and along the Texas border,” according to the Office of the Provost.
“We’re super excited to have a professor of Latino history of such reputation and stature in the department,” deGraffenried said. “We think this is the first time we’ve ever had a historian of Latino history in our department, so that is incredibly important. Latino history is American history, so we’re just really excited for all Baylor students to have the opportunity to learn with [Hinojosa] and work with him. It’s particularly important for a university in Texas, for us to make sure that we’re able to offer Latino history to students.”
Currently, Hinojosa teaches graduate seminars on Latino history. But starting in the spring, Hinojosa will also teach a section of History 1300 — one of the general education courses that all Baylor students must take. This section of “The United States in Global Perspective” will focus on the relationship with Latin America, dating from colonial days into the modern era.
Hinojosa said he is excited to teach the course because of the opportunity to mix pop culture and politics in a way that will land particularly well with students.
“I can bring in Bad Bunny, you know, bring in pop culture, bring in art,” Hinojosa said. “I can bring in things that I know young people are in tune with today and get them excited to trigger these ideas about history and social change, pop culture, politics, how they all intersect.”
Hinojosa said an education in history is often an awakening for students who may be learning for the first time about the dynamics of U.S. foreign policy and “how people have fought to be included as Americans.”
“I value that and take that very seriously,” Hinojosa said. “When our worlds are opened in that way, the best we can do is to give it away. Nobody can take away your education, and nobody’s going to take it away, but you have the freedom to give it away to as many people as you want and to share it with the world.”
