LACS Minor Requirements
2024 - 2025 Catalog
Latin American and Caribbean Studies minor
A minor in Latin American and Caribbean studies may complement either a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree, and requires completion of at least 21 credits of LACS and related courses. In meeting the requirements of this interdisciplinary minor, a student must use at least nine credits that are not also used to meet the requirements of any other major or minor.
- Introduction: LACS 101
- Distribution: 9 credits selected from the following, with at least one course from two of the three areas. Additional courses may be used when the topic is relevant and the program head approves in advance.
- Literature: LACS 256 (LIT 256), 259 (WGSS 259), 265 (SPAN 265); LIT 259; SPAN 240, 398 and all SPAN numbered between 340 and 359; and, if appropriate and approved in advance, ENGL 262, 350, 351, 394; FREN 344; and LIT 180, 295; PORT 403
- Art and Humanities: ARTH 170, 271, 274, 276, 376, 378; HIST 130, 131, 232, 233, 235, 236, 237, 337, 366; SPAN 212; and, if appropriate and approved in advance, FREN 280, HIST 269, 395; PHIL 253; and SPAN 296
- Social Sciences: POL 247; SOAN 250, 263 (LACS 263), 264; and, if appropriate and approved in advance, ECON 255, 280, 295, 356; POL 215, 380, 381; SOAN 268, 277, 285, 290, 291
- Related: 6 credits from the following or from any course not used above in 2. Distribution: ECON 259; LACS 195, 257, 421, 422, 423, 451, 452, 453, 454; SPAN 201, 216, 217, 270, 290, 308; and if appropriate and approved in advance, BUS 305, 337, 347,390; DANC 215; ECON 288; SOAN 286, SPAN 295, 308, 392
- Capstone experience (typically after completion of other program courses): LACS 396
Students must complete the Foundation and Distribution (FL) language requirement in Spanish, French or Portuguese and students are also strongly encouraged to pursue advanced coursework in one or more of the appropriate languages. Students should also take advantage of opportunities that will offer firsthand knowledge of the target culture(s) through formal study abroad, internships, or individual research. Various departments, for example, periodically offer study abroad programs in Latin America, including Costa Rica, Mexico, Ecuador and Brazil. In addition to W&L and independent study abroad opportunities, the program also facilitates internship placement information.
- Introduction:
- LACS 101 - Introduction to Latin American and Caribbean Studies
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 A multidisciplinary, introductory course designed to familiarize students with the pertinent issues that determine or affect the concept of identity in Latin American and Caribbean societies through a study of their geography, history, politics, economics, literature, and culture. The purpose of the course is to provide a framework or overview to enhance understanding in the students' future courses in particular disciplines and specific areas of Latin American and Caribbean study.
- Distribution:
- The following may count towards the total count of 9 credits:
Additional courses may be used when the topic is relevant and the program head approves in advance.
- LACS 195 - Special Topics in Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Credits 3-4 A topical seminar that focuses on an interdisciplinary examination of a singular theme relevant to the overall understanding of Latin America and the Caribbean region, such as Hispanic Feminisms, the Indigenous Americas, or Shifting Borders, among others. As an introductory seminar, topics are selected with the purpose in mind to present the student with a broad, regional view within the scope of a restricted focus or medium.
- LACS 257 - Multiculturalism in Latin America: The Case of Brazil
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 4 This seminar studies Brazil as an example of a multicultural society. Students examine the meaning of multiculturalism and related concepts of identity, heterogeneity, and Eurocentrism, not only in regard to the Brazilian context, but also, comparatively, to that of US culture. The course focuses on the social dynamics that have engaged Brazilians of different backgrounds, marked by differences of gender, ethnicity, and class, and on how multiculturalism and the ensuing conflicts have continuously shaped and reshaped individual subjectivities and national identity. Some of the key issues to be addressed in class are: Brazil's ethnic formation; myths of national identity; class and racial relations; and women in Brazilian society. Readings for the class include novels, short stories, poetry, and testimonial/diary
- LACS 421 - Interdisciplinary Research
Credits 1 Prerequisite instructor consent Independent research into a topic centered within Latin America or the Caribbean, directed by two or more faculty representing at least two disciplines. Students are expected to share their work with the public through a public presentation.
- LACS 422 - Interdisciplinary Research
Credits 2 Prerequisite instructor consent Independent research into a topic centered within Latin America or the Caribbean, directed by two or more faculty representing at least two disciplines. Students are expected to share their work with the public through a public presentation.
- LACS 423 - Interdisciplinary Research
Credits 3 Prerequisite instructor consent Independent research into a topic centered within Latin America or the Caribbean, directed by two or more faculty representing at least two disciplines. Students are expected to share their work with the public through a public presentation.
- Literature:
- LACS 256 - Trans-American Identity: Images from the Americas
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite completion of FDR:FW requirement Same as LIT 256. A multi-genre survey of representative literary works from the Americas, defined as those regions that encompass Latin American and Caribbean cultures. In particular the course uses an interdisciplinary approach to show how exemplary artists from the region have crafted images to interpret and represent their American reality. Selected narrative, film, and poetic works by Spanish-American (Neruda, Garcia Marquez, Rulfo, and Carpentier), Francophone (Danticat), Lusophone (Amado), and Anglophone authors (Walcott, Brathwaite, and Naipaul), among others.
- LACS 259 - Gender and Sexuality in Latin American and Caribbean Literature and Film
(WGSS 259)
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite completion of FDR:FW requirement A multi-genre survey of representative works of literature and film from the Americas, defined as those regions that encompass Latin American and Caribbean cultures. In particular the course uses an interdisciplinary approach to have students examine, how creative artists interact with concepts from women's, gender, and sexuality studies. Selected narrative, film, and poetic works by Spanish-American and Caribbean authors and directors.
- LIT 256 - Trans-American Identity: Images from the Americas
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite completion of FDR:FW requirement Same as LACS 256. A multi-genre survey of representative literary works from the Americas, defined as those regions that encompass Latin American and Caribbean cultures. In particular the course uses an interdisciplinary approach to show how exemplary artists from the region have crafted images to interpret and represent their American reality. Selected narrative, film, and poetic works by Spanish-American (Neruda, Garcia Marquez, Rulfo, and Carpentier), Francophone (Danticat), Lusophone (Amado), and Anglophone authors (Walcott, Brathwaite, and Naipaul), among others. Counts toward the literature distribution requirement for the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program.
- LIT 259 - The French Caribbean Novel
FDR HL Credits 3 Prerequisite Completion of FW requirement A stylistic and thematic study of identity acquisition through exile, marginalization, struggle, reintegration and cultural blending or any other sociologically significant phenomenon reflected in the literary works of the most important post-colonial French West Indian authors. Spawned largely by Aimé Césaire's book-length poem, Notebook of a Return to My Native Land , French Caribbean novels have proliferated since the end of World War II. After taking a brief look first at this seminal poem, the course then focuses analytically on novels written by authors such as Haitian Jacques Roumain, Guadeloupeans Simone Schwarz-Bart and Maryse Condé, and Martinicans Joseph Zobel, Raphaël Confiant, and Édouard Glissant. Several films based on, or pertaining to, Césaire's poem and to certain novels are also viewed.
- LACS 265 - Rise Up! Indigenous Poetry and Resistance in the Hemispheric Americas
(SPAN 265)
FDR HL Credits 4 What, if anything, can poetry do in the face of injustice? How, if at all, can it influence shared experience? And in what ways can it inflect, and perhaps even constitute, identity, whether individual or collective? To approach such complex questions, this course engages poetries of resistance by Indigenous poets of the hemispheric Americas. Together we will read and discuss a road and scintillating diversity of periods, places, and peoples, all the while endeavoring to understand the potential intersections of poetry, identity, injustice, and resistance. Implicitly, this is also to say that we will be celebrating life. We will be exploring the potential of poetry to present and affirm diverse ways of being in the world, as well as its capacity to create new solidarities and communities, and to encourage equity and inclusion. To enhance such study, we also will read pertinent prose, drawing upon memoir, critical indigenous theory, gender theory, and trauma theory, among other interdisciplinary fields. Students will even try their hand at expressive writing (no experience needed), and they can look forward to a collaborative, vibrant, and supportive environment for the free and open exchange of creative thought.
- SPAN 240 - Introducción a la literatura hispanoamericana
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite SPAN 162, SPAN 164, or SPAN 200 placement Spanish-American literary masterpieces from colonial times through the present. Readings and discussions are primarily in Spanish.
- SPAN 398 - Spanish-American Seminar
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite SPAN 240 and SPAN 275 A seminar focusing on a single period, genre, motif, or writer. Recent topics have included "Spanish American Women Writers: From America into the 21st Century," "20th Century Latin America Theater," and "Past, Memory, and Identity in Contemporary Argentina's Cultural Products." May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
and all SPAN numbered between 340 and 359
- And, if appropriate and approved in advance:
- ENGL 262 - Literature, Race, and Ethnicity
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3-4 Prerequisite completion of FDR:FW requirement A course that uses ethnicity, race, and culture to develop readings of literature. Politics and history play a large role in this critical approach; students should be prepared to explore their own ethnic awareness as it intersects with other, often conflicting, perspectives. Focus will vary with the professor's interests and expertise, but may include one or more literatures of the English-speaking world: Chicano and Latino, Native American, African-American, Asian-American, Caribbean, African, sub-continental (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka), and others.
- ENGL 394 - Topics in Literature in English since 1900
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3-4 Prerequisite an English course numbered between 201 and 295 and another English course numbered between 222 and 299 A seminar course on literature written in English since 1900 with special emphasis on research and discussion. Student suggestions for topics are welcome.
- FREN 344 - La Francophonie
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite 3 French courses numbered between 200 and 299 An analysis of styles, genres, and themes in relation to particular cultural contexts, as represented in literary works written in French by authors from countries other than France. Of particular interest is French language literature from Africa, the Caribbean, and Canada.
- LIT 180 - FS: First-Year Seminar
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3-4 Prerequisite first-year student class standing First-year seminar. Prerequisite may vary with the topic.
- LIT 295 - Special Topics in Literature in Translation
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3-4 Prerequisite completion of FDR:FW requirement A selected topic focusing on a particular author, genre, motif or period in translation. The specific topic is determined by the interests of the individual instructor. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
- PORT 403 - Directed Individual Study
Credits 3 Prerequisite instructor consent The nature and content of the course is determined by the students' needs and by an evaluation of previous work.
- ENGL 262 - Literature, Race, and Ethnicity
- LACS 256 - Trans-American Identity: Images from the Americas
- Art and Humanities:
- ARTH 170 - Arts of Mesoamerica and the Andes
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 Survey of the art and architecture of Mesoamerica and the Andes before the arrival of the Europeans, with a focus on indigenous civilizations including the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, and Inca. Art is contextualized in terms of religious, social, political, and economic developments in each region under discussion. The class includes a trip to the Virginia Museum of fine Arts in Richmond or the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. This course fulfills the Arts and Humanities requirement for the LACS minor.
- ARTH 271 - Arts of Colonial Latin America
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 A survey of the art and architecture of Latin America from the 16th through 18th centuries. This course begins with an exploration of the art of the Aztec, Maya, Inca, and Spanish before cultural contact. Classes then explore the cultural convergence that resulted from the European military and spiritual conquest in the 16th century, focusing on the role of indigenous artists and traditions in the formation of early colonial culture. Later lectures consider the rise of nationalism and its effect on the arts. This course fulfills the Arts and Humanities requirement for the LACS minor.
- ARTH 274 - Art and Revolution: Mexican Muralism
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 A survey of public monumental art produced by Mexican artists Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros in Mexico and the United States from 1910 to the 1970s. Lectures focus on art that promotes social ideals and the role that art played in building a new national consciousness in Mexico. Students also examine the impact of Mexican muralism throughout Latin America and the United States. This course fulfills the Arts and Humanities requirement for the LACS minor.
- ARTH 276 - Chicana/o Art and Muralism: From the Street to the (Staniar) Gallery
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 4 This class examines the process by which Chicana/o artists have garnered public attention and respect, taking their artworks from the peripheries of the art world to museum and gallery spaces. Using the half-mile long mural entitled The Great Wall of Los Angeles as a connecting thread, this class considers the broad theme of identity creation and transformation as expressed by Chicana/o artists from the 1970s to the present. This course fulfills the Arts and Humanities requirement for the LACS minor. Open to all students.
- ARTH 378 - Border Art: Contemporary U.S. Latinx Art
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This seminar engages broad-ranging debates that have looked at the Mexico-US border as a fruitful site of identity formation. In this seminar, we examine artworks with an emphasis on location, critical standpoint, interrelatedness, and the geopolitics of identity. Through readings and class discussions, students investigate protest art and arts activism. Students develop methods of critical seeing through image analysis, art historical analysis, and cultural critique. We consider artworks produced by Chicanx, U.S. Latinx, and other transnational artists in a wide range of formats including printmaking, performance art, mural painting, photography, film and video, books, comics, public art projects, and an array of post-conceptual practices. This course fulfills the Arts and Humanities requirement for the LACS minor.
- HIST 130 - Latin America: Incas/Aztecs to Independence
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 An introduction to the Indian and Iberian people active from Florida to California through Central and South America between 1450 and 1750.
- HIST 131 - Modern Latin America: Independence to Today
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 This course surveys Latin American history from the 1791 Haitian Revolution to the present. It covers important cultural, political, economic, and social developments in conversation with topics such as class, race, gender, sexuality, religion, and governance. We will examine an array of secondary and primary sources including podcasts, documentaries, and poetry/music lyrics to understand localized experiences within the context of regional historical developments such as the Cold War.
- HIST 232 - Popular Culture in Latin America
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 This course explores Latin America's diversity in cultures, focusing on the everyday expressions and experiences of working-class, Indigenous, Black, and Asian descent peoples. The course will first examine how economic and social relationships related to class, race, gender, and religion are experienced through labor, dance, dress, and forms of worship. The second half of the course examines the cultural
expressions of those relationships by scrutinizing themes such as music, sports, beauty, film, protest culture, and the internet. We will analyze the syncretic reality of cultural mixing, as well as the tension between the desire to maintain an authentic popular culture and the pressure to conform to the global culture industry. - HIST 235 - Historical Memory in Latin America
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 This course will examine the complex role of historical memory in the 19th and 20th c. Latin America. We will study collective, official, counter, and living memory as analytical concepts, as well as specific memory battles and historical trauma. Readings explore the impact of Holocaust memory studies in Latin America and the erasure of indigenous and African stories from national histories. However, a special focus will be given to how historical memory is used to remember the military regimes of the 1970s and 1980s and why historical memory has emerged as the political language of expanding democratic rights.
- HIST 236 - The Indigenous South
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 This course is about the history of Indigenous people and nations in the Southeast from the pre-contact period to the present. Comprised of diverse peoples, speaking different languages, and with a range of customs and beliefs, the people of the Native South nevertheless share common cultural traditions, social systems, and histories. In this course, we will cover the Mississippian mound building civilizations; Native southerners encounters with Europeans; the American Revolution, Civil War, and Jim Crow as experienced in the Native Southeast; and contemporary struggles over for Native sovereignty and identity. Students will be introduced to the methodologies used by archeologists, historians, ethnohistorians and those working in the discipline of Native American and Indigenous Studies, to recover Indigenous perspectives and history. Students will develop a research project of their choosing about the Native Southeast that examines issues of Indigenous sovereignty, representation, erasure, resistance, cultural adaptation, and resilience.
- HIST 237 - Gender and Sexuality in Latin America
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 This course examines how gender and sexuality shaped Latin American history from the late colonial period to the current day. Class materials cover themes such as femininity, masculinity, queerness, machismo, and transgender experiences that intersect with topics of nation-building, suffrage, racial equality, religion, authoritarian governments, and revolutions. Through an interdisciplinary approach, students will learn about regional patterns as well as specific case studies. Students will study gender-related laws that highlight local developments as well as regional conversations about gender and sexuality, culminating in a gender code group project.
- HIST 337 - Seminar: Revolutions in Latin America
FDR HU Credits 3 Prerequisite Junior or senior standing Detailed analysis of 20th-century revolutionary movements in Latin America. Examines historical power struggles, social reforms, and major political changes, with in-depth exploration of Mexico, Bolivia, Cuba, Peru, Chile, and Nicaragua. Explores the social movements and ideologies of under-represented historical actors, such as peasants, guerrillas, artists, workers, women, students, and indigenous people.
- HIST 366 - Seminar: Slavery in the Americas
FDR HU Credits 3 Prerequisite Junior or senior standing An intensive examination of slavery, abolition movements and emancipation in North America, the Caribbean and Latin America. Emphasis is on the use of primary sources and class discussion of assigned readings.
- SPAN 212 - Spanish-American Civilization and Culture
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite SPAN 162, SPAN 164, or SPAN 200 placement A survey of significant developments in Spanish-American civilizations. The course addresses Spanish-American heritage and the present-day cultural patterns formed by its legacies. Readings, discussions and papers primarily in Spanish for further development of communication skills.
- And, if appropriate and approved in advance:
- FREN 280 - Civilisation et culture francophones
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite FREN 162, FREN 164, or FREN 200 placement A study of significant aspects of culture and civilization in francophone countries. Topics may include: contemporary Africa, pre-colonial Africa, West Indian history and culture, and Canadian contemporary issues. Readings, discussion and papers in French further development of communication skills.
- HIST 269 - Topics in United States, Latin American or Canadian History
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3-4 A course offered from time to time, depending on student interest and staff availability, on a selected topic or problem in United States, Latin American or Canadian history.
- HIST 395 - Advanced Seminar
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite 15 credits in History courses or at least junior class standing A seminar offered from time to time depending on student interest and staff availability, in a selected topic or problem in history.
- PHIL 253 - Philosophy of Race
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 In this course, students will explore philosophical questions about race and ethnicity. Possible topics include the experiences of racism targeting members of different racial groups, colonialism, the concept of "whiteness," the value of diversity, epistemic issues surrounding stereotypes and profiling, metaphysical questions about the nature of race, hate speech, and resistance to racial oppression.
- SPAN 296 - Topics in Hispanic Culture and Expression
Credits 3-4 Prerequisite SPAN 162, SPAN 164, or SPAN 200 placement This course offers students the opportunity to further their understanding of Hispanic cultures and their expression by focusing on a relevant cultural, linguistic or literary topic, on an historical period, or on a region of Spain, Latin America or the U.S. Readings, discussions, and assignments are primarily in Spanish.
- FREN 280 - Civilisation et culture francophones
- ARTH 170 - Arts of Mesoamerica and the Andes
- Social Sciences:
- POL 247 - Latin American Politics
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 This course focuses on Latin American politics during the 20th and 21st centuries. Major topics include: democracy and authoritarianism; representation and power; populism, socialism, and neoliberalism; and economic development and inequality. The course places particular emphasis on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, and Cuba. In addition, the course examines political relations between the United States and Latin America.
- SOAN 250 - Revolutions and Revolutionaries
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 An exploration of the experiences of activists, radicals, and revolutionaries in a wide variety of settings. Throughout history, individuals have organized with others to bring about different forms of social change. What is it like to be on the front lines fighting for social transformation? Why do people risk life and limb to do so? How do activists advance their goals? We examine sociological research, biographical studies, political theory, and historical sources for insights into the lives of those who make social and revolutionary movements possible.
- SOAN 263 - Poverty and Marginality in the Americas
(LACS 263)
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 In recent decades, some global transformations have increased inequality and marginality in various regions of the world. Neoliberalism has generated both opportunities and challenges to human development In different countries. This course focuses on how the undermining of safety nets, the decline of models of economic growth centered on state intervention, and the internationalization of labor markets have affected societies in Latin America and the United States. Students analyze the structural causes of marginality and how the experience of poverty varies for people in both regions. We rely on anthropological and sociological studies to address key questions. How do disadvantaged individuals and families in the Americas deal with the challenges brought about by deindustrialization, violence, and environmental degradation? How do their communities struggle to sustain public life? What are the processes causing many people to migrate from one region to the other?
- SOAN 264 - States, Data, and Population Policies in the Americas
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite SOAN 101, SOAN 102, POV 101, or LACS 101 While concentrating on the societies of the Americas, students focus on two of the main domains within which states seek to understand and influence populations: policies governing the collection of information about their residents, such as the census, and those governing migration. The course is made up of two interwoven parts, a traditional seminar portion that examines such policies from the perspective of historical sociology and a data-lab portion in which we perform exploratory visualization of historical and contemporary census and migration data from the region, using the "tidyverse" suite of R packages. We reflect critically on our own work, making use of perspectives afforded by the historical sociology portion of the course.
- And, if appropriate and approved in advance:
- ECON 255 - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 100, 180, 180A, or both ECON 101 and ECON 102 The course serves as an introduction to environmental and natural resource economics. Economic principles are used to evaluate public and private decision making involving the management and use of environmental and natural resources. Aspects pertaining to fisheries, forests, species diversity, agriculture, and various policies to reduce air, water and toxic pollution will be discussed. Lectures, reading assignments, discussions and exams will emphasize the use of microeconomic analysis for managing and dealing with environmental and natural resource problems and issues.
- ECON 280 - Development Economics
Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 180, or ECON 180A; or both ECON 101 and ECON 102 A survey of the major issues of development economics. Economic structure of low-income countries and primary causes for their limited economic growth. Economic goals and policy alternatives. Role of developed countries in the development of poor countries. Selected case studies.
- ECON 295 - Special Topics in Economics
Credits 3-4 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 180, or ECON 180A; or both ECON 101 and ECON 102 Course emphasis and prerequisites change from term to term and are announced prior to preregistration. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. A maximum of nine credits chosen from all special topics in economics courses may be used, with permission of the department head, toward requirements for the economics major. Prerequisites may vary with topic. Preference to ECON majors during the first round of registration. Other majors are encouraged to add to the waiting list after registration re-opens for all class years.
- ECON 356 - Economics of the Environment in Developing Countries
Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 203 and either ECON 255 or ECON 280 This course focuses on the unique characteristics of the relationship between the environment and the economy in developing nations. Differences in economic structure, political structure, culture, social organization and ecosystem dynamics are emphasized as alternative policies for environmental and resource management are analyzed.
- POL 215 - International Development
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 A study of international development and human capability, with a focus on Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The course analyzes theories to explain development successes and failures, with a focus on the structures, institutions, and actors that shape human societies and social change. Key questions include measuring economic growth and poverty, discussing the roles of states and markets in development, and examining the role of industrialized countries in reducing global poverty. The course explores links between politics and other social sciences and humanities.
- POL 380 - Seminar in Global Politics
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite POL 105 Examination of selected topics dealing with international and comparative politics.
- POL 381 - Seminar in International Political Economy
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 102, ECON 180, ECON 180A, or POL 105 This course provides an intermediate-level introduction to the major actors, questions, and theories in the field of international political economy (IPE). Course participants discuss political and economic interactions in the areas of international trade, fiscal and monetary policy, and exchange rates; discuss globalization in historical and contemporary perspectives; and examine the international politics of the major intergovernmental organizations, multinational corporations, states, and other institutional actors in the global economy.
- SOAN 268 - Migration, Identity, and Conflict
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite SOAN 102, POV 101, or POL 105 Same as POL 268. This course focuses on the complex relationship between migration, political institutions, group identities, and inter-group conflict. The course is a hybrid of a seminar and research lab in which students (a) read some of the key social-scientific literature on these subjects, and (b) conduct team-based research making use of existing survey data about the integration of migrant populations into various polities.
- SOAN 277 - Seminar in Medical Anthropology
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 Despite radical differences in theory and procedure, the diagnosis and treatment of diseases are human cultural universals. This seminar first examines the beliefs and practices that comprise the medical systems found among a wide variety of non-western peoples. We then investigates the responses of a number of non-western communities to the introduction of western, biomedical practices. We finish by considering such ethical issues as whether or not non-western peoples who supply western doctors and pharmacologists with knowledge of curing agents should be accorded intellectual property rights over this information; in what situations, if any, should western medical personnel impose biomedical treatments on populations; and should anthropologists make use of indigenous peoples as medical trial subjects as was allegedly done by Napoleon Chagnon.
- SOAN 285 - Introduction to American Indian Religions
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Same as REL 285. This class introduces students to some of the dominant themes, values, beliefs, and practices found among the religions of North America's Indian peoples. The first part of the course explores the importance of sacred power, landscape, and community in traditional Indian spiritualities and rituals. It then examines some of the changes that have occurred in these traditions as a result of western expansion and dominance from the 18th through early 20th centuries. Lastly, the course considers some of the issues and problems confronting contemporary American Indian religions.
- SOAN 290 - Special Topics in Sociology
Credits 3-4 A discussion of a series of topics of sociological concern. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
- SOAN 291 - Special Topics in Anthropology
Credits 3-4 A discussion of a series of topics of anthropological concern.
- ECON 255 - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
- POL 247 - Latin American Politics
- LACS 195 - Special Topics in Latin American and Caribbean Studies
- Related:
- ECON 259 - Supervised Study Abroad: The Environment and Economic Development in Amazonas
Credits 4 Prerequisite instructor consent Amazonas is a huge Brazilian state of 1.5 million sq. kilometers which retains 94 percent of its original forest cover. This course examines the importance of the forest for economic development in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy, and how policies can be develop to promote both environmental protection and an increase in the quality life in both the urban and rural areas of Amazonas. The learning objectives of this course integrate those of the economics and environmental studies majors. Students are asked to use economic tools in an interdisciplinary context to understand the relationships among economic behavior, ecosystems and policy choices. Writing assignments focus on these relationships and look towards the development of executive summary writing skills. Spring Term Abroad course.
- LACS 195 - Special Topics in Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Credits 3-4 A topical seminar that focuses on an interdisciplinary examination of a singular theme relevant to the overall understanding of Latin America and the Caribbean region, such as Hispanic Feminisms, the Indigenous Americas, or Shifting Borders, among others. As an introductory seminar, topics are selected with the purpose in mind to present the student with a broad, regional view within the scope of a restricted focus or medium.
- LACS 257 - Multiculturalism in Latin America: The Case of Brazil
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 4 This seminar studies Brazil as an example of a multicultural society. Students examine the meaning of multiculturalism and related concepts of identity, heterogeneity, and Eurocentrism, not only in regard to the Brazilian context, but also, comparatively, to that of US culture. The course focuses on the social dynamics that have engaged Brazilians of different backgrounds, marked by differences of gender, ethnicity, and class, and on how multiculturalism and the ensuing conflicts have continuously shaped and reshaped individual subjectivities and national identity. Some of the key issues to be addressed in class are: Brazil's ethnic formation; myths of national identity; class and racial relations; and women in Brazilian society. Readings for the class include novels, short stories, poetry, and testimonial/diary
- LACS 421 - Interdisciplinary Research
Credits 1 Prerequisite instructor consent Independent research into a topic centered within Latin America or the Caribbean, directed by two or more faculty representing at least two disciplines. Students are expected to share their work with the public through a public presentation.
- LACS 422 - Interdisciplinary Research
Credits 2 Prerequisite instructor consent Independent research into a topic centered within Latin America or the Caribbean, directed by two or more faculty representing at least two disciplines. Students are expected to share their work with the public through a public presentation.
- LACS 423 - Interdisciplinary Research
Credits 3 Prerequisite instructor consent Independent research into a topic centered within Latin America or the Caribbean, directed by two or more faculty representing at least two disciplines. Students are expected to share their work with the public through a public presentation.
- LACS 451 - LACS Practicum
Credits 1 Prerequisite instructor consent Supervised experience in a Latin American or Caribbean setting (including domestic U.S.), such as an agency, research organization, or other venue that offers insight into Latin American and Caribbean issues.
- LACS 452 - LACS Practicum
Credits 2 Prerequisite instructor consent Supervised experience in a Latin American or Caribbean setting (including domestic U.S.), such as an agency, research organization, or other venue that offers insight into Latin American and Caribbean issues.
- LACS 453 - LACS Fieldwork
Credits 3 Prerequisite instructor consent Supervised experience in a Latin American or Caribbean setting (including domestic U.S.), such as an agency, research organization, or other venue that offers insight into Latin American and Caribbean issues.
- LACS 454 - LACS Fieldwork
Credits 4 Prerequisite instructor consent Supervised experience in a Latin American or Caribbean setting (including domestic U.S.), such as an agency, research organization, or other venue that offers insight into Latin American and Caribbean issues.
- SPAN 201 - Supervised Study Abroad: Costa Rica
Credits 4 Prerequisite SPAN 162, SPAN 164, or SPAN 200 placement Direct exposure to the language, people, and culture of Costa Rica. Designed to improve grammar and vocabulary of the advanced student through intensive training in Spanish with special emphasis on oral proficiency. The program also includes a home-stay with a Costa Rican family, excursions to local and national sites of interest, cultural activities, and a service-learning component at the local elementary school, hospital, law and accounting firms, or other community agencies.
- SPAN 216 - Living on the Edge: Identities in Motion in Argentina and Uruguay
Credits 4 Prerequisite SPAN 162, SPAN 164, or SPAN 200 placement Conducted in Spanish in Argentina and Uruguay, this course comprises a study of Argentine culture, language, and identity. Students live in Buenos Aires with Spanish-speaking families while pursuing coursework on identity in local, national, and international contexts. What does geography have to do with identity? How might a nation redefine its policies and peoples over time? Where does the line exist between an economic system and its individual constituents? And what insights can art offer into domestic and international conflict? This course engages such questions through the study of Argentine historiography, literature, economics, and art. Coursework is accentuated by visits to sites of cultural importance in Argentina and Uruguay, including museums, banks, literary presses, political centers, meat markets, parks, and tango houses.
- SPAN 217 - Somos Mas: Poetry, Ecology and Sovereignty in Puerto Rico
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 4 Prerequisite SPAN 162, 164, or equivalent Conducted in Spanish in Puerto Rico, this course combines the close reading of literature with pertinent
site visits as a means to examine ecological politics across the island, paying special attention to its rain forest, desert, ocean, rivers, and urban centers. Through the geographical specificity of our ecopolitical inquiries, we will paradoxically be examining the world, gaining insights into such fundamental sociopolitical concepts as sovereignty, coloniality, and autonomy. That is, foregrounding an awareness of the US annexation of Puerto Rico in 1898, as well as questions of indigeneity and slavery, we will continuously rethink how the local and the global are at once interwoven in distinct and consubstantial instantiations in Puerto Rican ecopolitics. This will help us in turn to deepen our understanding of the processes and legacies of colonialism, slavery, modernity, and neoliberal capitalism in the hemispheric Americas. - SPAN 290 - Topics in Latin American Culture and Literature
Credits 4 Prerequisite SPAN 162, SPAN 164, or SPAN 200 placement This course offers students the opportunity to further their knowledge of the culture and literature of a specific Latin American country, and their awareness of Latin America in general, through the study of special cultural and literary topics. Readings, discussions, and assignments occur primarily in Spanish.
- SPAN 308 - Power and Ideology: (Critical) Discourse Perspectives
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite SPAN 215 or SPAN 275 This course explores different theoretical approaches to account for the relationship between language and power, and therefore the relationship between language use and social processes. In particular, it observes how meaning is constructed and reconstructed in the discourse manifested in different settings and platforms ranging from social media to institutional and official communication (political discourse, media discourse, academic discourse, etc.).
- And, if approved:
- BUS 305 - Seminar in International Business
Credits 3-4 Offered from time to time when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Preference to BSADM or JMCB majors during the first round of registration.
- BUS 390 - Supervised Study Abroad
Credits 4 Prerequisite instructor consent These upper-level courses cover topics of current interest in business administration for which international travel provides a unique opportunity for enhancing understanding. Emphasis changes from year to year. Prerequisites as specified by the instructor and approval of the International Education Committee.
- DANC 215 - World Dance Technique
Credits 2 This dance class reflects the world dance form that is the specialty of the dance artist-in-residence. The basic dance techniques of that specific form are taught and movement is tied to the historical narrative of the country.
- ECON 288 - Supervised Study Abroad
Credits 4 Prerequisite instructor consent For advanced students, the course covers a topic of current interest for which foreign travel provides a unique opportunity for significantly greater understanding. Likely destinations are Europe, Latin America, Africa, or Asia. Emphasis and location changes from year to year and is announced each year, well in advance of registration. This course may not be repeated. Other prerequisites as specified by the instructor(s).
- SOAN 286 - Lakota Land Culture, Economics and History
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 4 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 101, ECON 180, or ECON 180A Same as ECON 286. This class focuses on the cultural, economic, and historical dimensions of the Lakotas' (Titonwan tawapi ) ties to their lands as expressed in their pre- and post-reservation lifeways. It includes a 10 day field trip to western South Dakota to visit and meet with people in the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations and the Black Hills.
- SPAN 295 - Special Topics in Conversation
Credits 3-4 Prerequisite SPAN 162, SPAN 164, or SPAN 200 placement Further development of listening and speaking skills necessary for advanced discussion. Acquisition of both practical and topic-specific vocabulary. Appropriate writing and reading assignments, related to the topic, accompany the primary emphasis on conversational skills. Recent topics include: Hispanic Cinema and La Prensa.
- SPAN 308 - Power and Ideology: (Critical) Discourse Perspectives
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite SPAN 215 or SPAN 275 This course explores different theoretical approaches to account for the relationship between language and power, and therefore the relationship between language use and social processes. In particular, it observes how meaning is constructed and reconstructed in the discourse manifested in different settings and platforms ranging from social media to institutional and official communication (political discourse, media discourse, academic discourse, etc.).
- SPAN 392 - Spanish Language Theory and Practice
Credits 3 A topics course that approaches language study through theories of language use and meaning, as well as their practical application through extensive writing exercises. Topics may include translation theory, analysis of theoretical approaches to language study, and advanced grammar.
- BUS 305 - Seminar in International Business
- Capstone experience (typically after completion of other program courses):
- LACS 396 - Capstone Seminar in Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Credits 3 Prerequisite Latin America and Caribbean Studies minor This capstone course builds upon the foundations developed in LACS 101 and related coursework in the distribution areas. Students discuss assigned readings centered around a key theme or themes of Latin American Studies in connection with an individualized research project. This project is carried out with continual mentoring by a faculty member and in collaboration with peer feedback. Each student presents his/her findings in a formal paper, or other approved end-product, and summarizes the results in an oral presentation.
9 credits selected from the following, with at least one course from two of the three areas.
6 credits from the following or from any course not used above in 2. Distribution: