Reimagining the Latinx Experience in America | Michael Rodríguez-Muñiz, Figures of the Future: Latino Civil Rights and the Politics of Demographic Change ♥ ★

A virtual presentation of the Reimagining the Latinx Experience in America book talk series

Michael Rodríguez-Muñiz

Figures of the Future:

Latino Civil Rights and the Politics of Demographic Change

For years, newspaper headlines, partisan speeches, academic research and even comedy routines have communicated that the United States is undergoing a profound demographic transformation—one that will purportedly change the “face” of the country in a matter of decades. But the so-called browning of America, sociologist Michael Rodríguez-Muñiz contends, has less to do with the complexion of growing populations than with past and present struggles shaping how demographic trends are popularly imagined and experienced. Offering an original and timely window into these struggles, Figures of the Future explores the population politics of national Latino civil rights groups.

Based on eight years of ethnographic and qualitative research, spanning both the Obama and Trump administrations, this book investigates how several of the most prominent of these organizations—including UnidosUS (formerly NCLR), the League of United Latin American Citizens and Voto Latino—have mobilized demographic data about the Latino population in dogged pursuit of political recognition and influence. In census promotions, get-out-the-vote campaigns and policy advocacy, this knowledge has been infused with meaning, variously serving as future-oriented sources of inspiration, emblems for identification and weapons for contestation. At the same time, Rodríguez-Muñiz considers why these political actors have struggled to translate this demographic growth into tangible political gain and how concerns about white backlash have affected how they forecast demographic futures.

Figures of the Future looks closely at the politics surrounding ethnoracial demographic changes and their rising influence in U.S. public debate and discourse.

Michael Rodríguez-Muñiz is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Latina/Latino Studies at Northwestern University’s Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences. He was born and raised on Chicago’s northwest side. Prior to graduate school, he led and participated in several Puerto Rican-focused grassroots and activist projects in the Humboldt Park/West Town area. He received his Ph.D. from Brown University, his M.A. from the University of Illinois-Chicago, and his B.A. from Northeastern Illinois University. Michael joined Northwestern’s Department of Sociology and Latina/o Studies Program in 2016.

Thursday, November 4, 2021

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Zoom details will be sent to those who register.

Register for this event and receive 30 percent off your purchase of Figures of the Future. Details will be in the registration confirmation e-mail.

The Reimagining the Latinx Experience in America book talk series is hosted by The Future of Latinos in the United States: Law, Opportunity, and Mobility initiative. This series will address the realities––past and present––of Latinx people in the U.S., and consider how the future may look different, including better access to justice, resources, and opportunities. The Future of Latinos Initiative is excited to spotlight these scholars and engage with their important new work.

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please email centers@law.uci.edu