Global Latin(X) AmericanXs: Charting new ontological and epistemological cartographies beyond US LatinX studies

Abstract

This article examines how situating our academic inquiry from geographic vantage points outside of the United States allows scholars to recast epistemological and ontological assumptions in the field of US Latina/o Studies. It asks how, from a global reorientation of the cognitive map of US Latina/o Studies, we might reconsider the experience of the Latin American and Caribbean diaspora and the notion of Latinidad in places such as Jordan, Spain, and Canada. This analysis places Latina/o Studies and Latin American and Caribbean Studies into conversation by reconsidering their status as traditionally isolated epistemic sites of US ethnic and area studies. In addition, it explores how new “Latino” and diasporic identities are forged through hybrid ethnic interactions among minoritized populations in the Global South.