RCMAR Lecture by Glenn Martinez, PhD MPH, UTSA - October 28, 2025

Abstract: Recent work in Latino Health suggests that a fuller understanding of the challenges facing Latina/o/x populations requires a more nuanced approach to latinidades and language (see Lebron and Borrell, 2024). In this talk, I will explore the historical conceptualizations of latinidad and language in Latino health and discuss alternative approaches that can open up new avenues for exploration in applied linguistics and public health. 

Bio: Glenn Martinez, PhD MPH is Dean of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts, Professor of Spanish, Bicultural/Bilingual Studies and Public Health, and Stumberg Distinguished University Chair at UT San Antonio. Dr. Martinez is author of Mexican Americans and Language: Del dicho al hecho (Arizona, 2006) and Spanish in Health Care: Policy, Practice and Pedagogy in Latino Health (2020), co-author of Recovering the US-Hispanic Linguistic Heritage with Alejandra Balestra and María Irene Moyna (Arte Público, 2008) and  Tension and Contention in Language Education for Latinxs in the United States with Robert Train (Routledge, 2020), and co-editor of The Handbook of Language in Public Health and Healthcare with Michou Lor, Pilar Ortega and Susana Ramírez (Wiley, 2024). His work has been funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the US Department of Education, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.