WMU News

Latin American historian to speak during Chicano observance

February 10, 1998

KALAMAZOO -- Latin American historian Dr. Dennis N. Valdes will present a lecture at Western Michigan University Friday, Feb. 20, to mark the observance of Chicano History Week.

Valdes, an associate professor in the Department of Chicano Studies at the University of Minnesota, will speak at noon in Rooms 158-159 of the Bernhard Center. His topic will be "The History of Migrant Farmworkers in the Midwest."

Valdes holds his bachelor's and master's degrees in history from Central Michigan University and his doctoral degree in Latin American history from the University of Michigan. In 1979-80, while a faculty member at Wayne State University, he directed a project funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education titled "History of Latinos in Michigan and the Midwest." He compiled an annotated bibliography on the history of Latinos in the Midwest and wrote a monograph on Chicano history in Michigan.

Valdes also is the author of a book, "Al Norte: Agricultural Workers in the Great Lakes Region, 1917-1970," published in 1991 by the University of Texas Press.

Valdes' free address is being sponsored by the Division of Minority Affairs and the Hispanic Student Organization. For more information, persons may contact Miguel A. Ramirez in the Division of Minority Affairs at (616) 387-3329.


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