Andrea Pitts, 2021-11-17

File

Identifier: HV-PI0005

Staff Only

Andrea Pitts oral history interview

Go to file

Scope and Contents

Dr. Andrea Pitts, Associate Professor of Philosophy at UNC Charlotte, discusses their personal background and how that has affected the way they think about the world and the current problems facing Latinx students at the University. On their mother's side, Dr. Pitts' family has Salvadoran and Nicaraguan ancestors who immigrated to Panama City during the 1940s and 1950s. On their father's side, Dr. Pitts' ancestors are ethnically Welsh and English people, who immigrated to the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries. They discuss the way that these two different heritages affected them as they grew up, and also how their multicultural friend group gave them an altruistic outlook on life. Dr. Pitts discusses how they fell in love with philosophy while studying Mexican philosophy in Mexico City for their masters in Philosophy with a Graduate Certificate in Latin American Studies. They talk about earning their Ph.D. in Philosophy from Vanderbilt University in Nashville Tennessee, and how they and their partner were both offered positions at UNC Charlotte. Dr.Pitts also describes their work on campus with the LGBTQ+ Staff and Faculty Caucus, digital justice advocacy, migrant studies, and other Latinx-serving partners on campus. They also speak of the hardships that Latinx Black and Brown students face on campus, including biased policing, and not having access to good internet services.

Dates

Creation: 2021-11-17

Creator

Pitts, Andrea J. (Interviewee, Person)
Campos, Paula De Maria (Interviewer, Person)

Language of Materials

From the Collection:

The material is in English

Conditions Governing Access

Original audiovisual materials are closed to patron use. Please contact Special Collections to request the creation of use copies for particular items; requests will be accommodated when possible. The remaining materials are open for research.

Biographical Note

Andrea Pitts was a 38 years old non-binary person at the time of the interview, which took place virtually in Charlotte, North Carolina. They were born in Panama City, Florida in 1983. They were educated at the University of South Florida in Tampa, and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where they received their PhD in Philosophy. They were employed as an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and and in addition they were affiliate faculty of the university’s Department of Africana Studies, Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies, Latin American Studies Program, School of Data Science, Social Aspects of Health Initiative, and the Women’s and Gender Studies Program.