The Latin American Studies Major

The Latin American Studies major requires 40 units of course work, including 20 units of core courses and 20 units of electives.

Required Core Courses (20 Units)

• LAS - 376 Latin American Perspectives (History 0115-140)
• LAS - 301 Religion in Latin America (Theology 0128-363)
• LAS - 310 Border Issues I or
• LAS - 320 Border Issues II or
• LAS - 311 El Salvador Today I or
• LAS - 321 El Salvador Today II or
• LAS - 330 Semester in Latin America
• SPAN - 202 Fourth Semester Spanish
• SPAN - 203 Latin American Literature or
• SPAN - 303 Latin American Literature I or
• SPAN - 304 Latin American Literature II

Elective Courses (20 Units)

Elective courses strengthen student understanding of various areas of Latin American Studies and--in some cases (e.g., History, Modern Languages, Politics, Sociology)--enable Latin American Studies majors to obtain a Major or Minor in another discipline.

Students select two courses from two of the following three areas and one from the third: Humanities; Literature and the Arts; Social Sciences.

Humanities

• HIST - 370 Colonial Latin America
• HIST - 371 Modern Latin America
• HIST - 372 Indigenous and Colonial Mexico
• HIST - 373 Modern Mexico
• HIST - 374 History of Central America and the Caribbean
• HIST - 375 Brazil and Amazonia
• HIST - 377 The Southern Cone
• HIST - 378 Andean Nations
• HIST - 379 Latinos in the U.S.
• HIST - 430 Undergraduate Seminar in Latin American History
• LAS - 361 Women and Religion in Latin America
• LAS - 362 History, Literature, and Film in Latin America
• LAS - 363 Latin American Philosophy
• LAS - 401 Latin American Seminar
• PHIL - 308 Liberation Philosophies

Literature and the Arts

• MUS - 210 Music of the Americas
• PASJ - 305 Theater and Culture
• PORT - 315 Brazilian Literature in Translation
• LAS - 317 Latin American Cinema
• SPAN - 242 Latino Literature and Film in the West or
• SPAN - 342 Latino Literature and Film in the West
• SPAN - 360 Studies in Latin American Culture
• SPAN - 271 Feminist Discourse and Feminist Theories in Latin American Literature or
• SPAN - 371 Feminist Discourse and Feminist Theories in Latin American Literature
• SPAN - 285 Language and Culture in Latin America (English)
• SPAN - 385 Language and Culture in Latin America (Spanish)
• SPAN - 332 Survey of Spanish-American Literature
• SPAN - 335 Twentieth Century Spanish-American Literature

Social Sciences

• ECON - 286 Economies of Latin America
• ECON - 370 International Economics
• ECON - 473 Development Microeconomics
• LAS - 340 Telenovelas/Soap Operas
• LAS - 390 Special Topics
• LAS - 395 Internship
• POLS - 325 Latino Politics in the U.S.
• POLS - 331 Latin American Politics
• POLS - 338 Gender and Politics in Comparative Perspective
• POLS - 345 Global Economic Justice
• POLS - 450 Political Economy of Developing Nations
• SOC - 233 Women in Developing Countries
• SOC - 313 Latin@-Chican@ Culture and Society 0190-313 Latina@-Chican@ Culture and Society
• THRS - 322 Liberation Theology
• SPAN - 402 Service Learning Project

Learning Goals/Outcomes for the B.A. in Latin American Studies

Students who complete the B.A. in Latin American Studies will be able to:

• develop an understanding of the main historical processes that have shaped the lives of Latin Americans.
• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the cultural values that characterize Latin America and their relationship to people's behavior and to the history of nations.
• Be able to explain the role that religions have played in the development of Latin American nations.
• Gain proficiency in the Spanish and/or Portuguese Language and develop appreciation and familiarity with Latin American literature and culture.
• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the complex relationships (social,political, economic) between the United States and Latin America and understand the ways in which Latin Americans, including Latino/as in the United States, have influenced different aspects of American society and culture.
• Understand the complex social, political, and economic processes that have shaped the lives of Latin Americans, including the ability to decipher the relationship between local regions and global processes.
• Learn and appreciate the various aspects of Latin American culture, including the use of audio and visual cultural expressions to address broader topics like gender and social inequality.
• Demonstrate the ability to collect and analyze information about Latin America using a variety of research tools and methodologies (e.g., sociological, economic, literary).
• Gain a personal understanding of the multiple experiences of Latin Americans through academic experiences that include personal interaction with people in Latin America or the Latino'a community in the San Francisco Bay Area.