Chicano Studies Institute

A report published in 2000 by the American Philosophical Association Committee on Hispanics/Latinos, found little more than 2 percent of the graduate student body in the field of philosophy was Latina/o. Latina/o students are dispersed throughout many different programs across the country, often leaving them isolated from other under-represented students who may share similar perspectives and concerns. Being isolated often leads to introspection and, in particular, questions regarding how one fits into the profession. The problem of under-representation prompts the following questions. First, could this problem be rooted historically in the discourse of canonical philosophers studied by contemporary graduate students? Then, what is some of the content of this historically-rooted prejudice? Further, what seems to be the contemporary trend in dealing with questions of under-representation in the field? Finally, what can under-represented minority students do in order to address this problem? The author offers various proposals to address the situation.