The Area of US Hispanic Studies at the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) is participating in the organization and the scientific committee for the Second Conference for Hispanic / Latinx / Chicanx Studies.

This biennial international event was held for the first time on the UMH Elche Campus in 2019. It attracted more than 50 academics, mainly from North America, who reflected on and debated, from many disciplines and areas of knowledge, about borders, human rights, and migration.

The conference resumes this year under the coordination of Eastern Kentucky University and its professor, José Juan Gómez Becerra, along with retired professor and coordinator of the Area of US Hispanic Studies at the UMH, Armando Miguélez. Other participants include professor Adrian Suárez, who is director of the Area of International Projection at the University of León, which is the physical venue for this edition that is being held in a dual manner, both in-person and virtually.

Prominent North American academics, such as Adalberto Guerrero (University of Arizona), Rudy Acuña (California State University, Northridge), and Patricia Preciado (Arizona Historical Society) are part of the honor and scientific committees. Representing this group from the UMH are Vice Rector for International Relations at the UMH, Vicente Micol, and professor of journalism and Deputy Vice Rector for International Projection at the UMH, José Luis González.

Tino Villanueva, a Chicano poet and retired professor from the University of Boston, is also participating on the scientific committee at this year’s event. He was conferred Doctor Honoris Causa by the UMH in 2018.

This conference will offer several round tables on the border and its contexts, cross-border discourse and Spanish as a language of resistance from May 26 – 28. The opening presentation is being given by Manuel Martín-Rodríguez, Literature and Cultures Professor from the University of California, Merced, and a permanent member of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language. The closing speech is being presented by Gabriela Gutiérrez, Professor of Women and Gender Studies at Seattle University.