In response to the United States’ growing Hispanic population, Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences is presenting several events on the theme of “citizenship,” Jan. 31-Feb. 1. The events are part of the yearlong Ray Smith Symposium titled “Moving Borders: The Culture and Politics of Displacement in and from Latin America and the Caribbean."

Events include keynote addresses by Suzanne Oboler and Gerald Torres—leading figures in critical race theory and professors at City University of New York and The University of Texas at Austin, respectively—on Thursday, Jan. 31, at 6 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium. The following day from 10 a.m. to noon, Olober and Torres will lead a mini-seminar in Maxwell Hall (204). Both events are free and open to the public; however, registration is required for the mini-seminar, which includes breakfast. To register, email Stephanie Fetta at safetta@syr.edu.

“Our fast-growing Latina/o population raises a lot of questions about what it means to ‘belong’ in the United States,” says Fetta, assistant professor of Spanish in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. She, along with Inmaculada Lara-Bonilla, director of La Casita Cultural Center, organized all the events, in addition to a dramatic performance by Carmelita Tropicana, a Cuban-American actress based in New York City. “Carmelita will explore the contentious nature of citizenship in the 21st century,” says Fetta. “She will specifically address problems of race, ethnicity, and citizenship.”

Tropicana’s program, “Border Beasts,” is Friday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. at La Casita (109 Otisco St., Syracuse). It is free and open to the public.

Oboler is professor of Latin American and Latina/o studies at CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice. An expert in Latina/o immigrant rights, she has edited multiple books on the subject, including “Latinos and Citizenship: The Dilemma of Belonging” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006) and “Neither Enemies nor Friends: Latinos, Blacks, Afro-Latinos” (Palgrave, 2005). From 2002-12, Oboler served as founding editor of the journal Latino Studies (Palgrave). She is also editor of the four-volume “Oxford Encyclopedia of Latino/as in the United States” (Oxford University Press, 2005) and the forthcoming “Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in Contemporary Politics, Law, and Social Movements.”