Founder of Chicano literary history to speak at Cal State SB

In celebration of Hispanic-Serving Institutions week, Felipe Ortego y Gasca, considered the principal scholar of the Chicano Literary Renaissance, will deliver a lecture titled “HSIs: The Expectation and the Reality” at CSUSB on Oct. 11.

The talk will be held in the university’s John M. Pfau Library, room PL-5005 (fifth floor), from 2-4 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public; parking is $6.

Ortego is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at Texas State University-Sul Ross, having retired in 1999. He currently serves as Scholar-in-Residence at Western New Mexico University, focusing on cultural studies, critical theory and public policy.

His doctoral dissertation, “Backgrounds of Mexican-American Literature” (1971), is the first academic study of Chicano literary history. This foundational work, coupled with his essay “The Chicano Renaissance” (1971), has inspired generations of scholars, writers, artists and activists.

“We are honored to host Professor Ortego as part of Hispanic-Serving Institutions week,” said Cesar Caballero, dean of the John M. Pfau Library. “He is a remarkable scholar who has made profound contributions to the study and teaching of American literature. His vanguard efforts, begun in the 1960s, to increase diversity in texts, both within and outside the academy, stand alone in the push for inclusivity in higher education and beyond. We invite everyone to attend his lecture and take part in the conversation.”

Founder of the Chicano Studies Program at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) – the first in the state – Ortego earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from Texas Western College (now UTEP), and a doctorate in English (British Renaissance Studies and Chicano Literature) from the University of New Mexico, in 1971.

A prolific writer, Ortego has published in The Nation, Saturday Review, New York Times, Texas Observer, Civil Rights Quarterly, Center Magazine, Denver Post, Albuquerque Journal, scores of community publications and peer-reviewed academic journals.

“My outlook as a professor of English can be characterized as a vision of inclusivity opening the aperture of the English curriculum so that it reflects the tapestry of the American people,” said Ortego.

For more information, contact Robie Madrigal, Pfau Library, at rmadriga@csusb.edu or (909) 537-5104.