Mar 28, 2024  
College Catalog 2017-2018 
    
College Catalog 2017-2018 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Latin American Studies Major


Major Requirements


The Latin American Studies major consists of 10 courses, as follows:

I. Introduction to Latin American Studies-one course

Latin American Studies majors preferably should take the introductory course by the end of the sophomore year. Choose one of the following courses:

ANTH 255 - Latin America in Motion  
GEOG 249 - Regional Geography of Latin America  
LATI 141 - Latin America Through Women’s Eyes 
LATI 151 - Caribbean Literature and Culture: Aesthetics of Resistance 
LATI 171 - Susurros del Pasado: Whispers Toward the 21st Century 
LATI 181 - Introduction to Latin America  

II. Language-1 or more courses

Competency in Spanish to the level of HISP 305  or Portuguese to the level of HISP 331 . Students already competent at one of these levels must either achieve competence in the other language or take at least one 300- or 400-level Spanish or Portuguese course at Macalester, which will also count toward their “Across the Disciplines” requirement.

III. Latin America Across the Disciplines-6 courses

Choose seven courses, including at least one Arts in Context, one Humanities, and one Social Science course. At least one course must be an advanced 300-level seminar (400-level in Hispanic Studies). Up to three courses taken while on Study Away can count toward this requirement.

Latin American Arts in Context

LATI 282 - Latin America: Art and Nation 
LATI 422 - Modern Hispanic Novel and the Visual Arts  

Humanities

HISP 331 - Journeys through Brazil: Oral and Written Expression 
HISP 414 - Here and There: Superando Límites/Crossing Boundaries 
HISP 419 - “Neither Saints Nor Sinners”: Women Writers of the Early Modern Hispanic World 
HISP 420 - One Hundred Years of Plenitude: Modern and Postmodern Hispanic Fiction 
HISP 325 - Dictators, Revolutions and Insurrections 
HISP 435 - History of the Spanish Language 
LATI 307 - Introduction to the Analysis of Hispanic Texts  
LATI 151 - Caribbean Literature and Culture: Aesthetics of Resistance 
LATI 171 - Susurros del Pasado: Whispers Toward the 21st Century 
LATI 181 - Introduction to Latin America 
LATI 281 - The Andes: Race, Region, Nation 
LATI 283 - Amazon: A Cultural History 
LATI 285 - Cold War Latin America  
LATI 308 - Introduction to U.S. Latino/a Studies 
LATI 381 - Transnational Latin Americas 
LATI 415 - Cultural Resistance and Survival: Indigenous and African Peoples in Early Spanish America 
LATI 316 - Mapping the New World: Exploration, Encounters, and Disasters 
LATI 436 - Spanish Dialectology 
LATI 445 - Frontera: The U.S./Mexico Border  
LATI 446 - Constructions of a Female Killer 
LATI 494  (topics), Varies each semester.

Social Sciences

ANTH 487 - Theory in Anthropology 
ECON 333 - Economics of Global Food Problems  (paper must focus on Latin America)
LATI 141 - Latin America Through Women’s Eyes 
LATI 244 - Urban Latino Power 
LATI 245 - Latin American Politics 
LATI 246 - Comparative Democratization 
LATI 249 - Regional Geography of Latin America 
LATI 255 - Latin America in Motion 
LATI 341 - Comparative Social Movements 
LATI 342 - Urban Politics of Latin America  
POLI 140 - Foundations of Comparative Politics  (when taught by Paul Dosh)

IV. Methods-1 course

In consultation with their advisor, Latin American Studies majors choose a methods course that will prepare them for their senior Capstone project. This class should be taken before studying abroad. Possible courses include:

ANTH 230 - Ethnographic Interviewing 
ANTH 232 - Field Methods and Research Design  
ANTH 368 - Life Histories/Cultures/Selves  
ECON 381 - Introduction to Econometrics  
GEOG 377 - Qualitative Research Methods  
HIST 379 - The Study of History 
POLI 269 - Empirical Research Methods 
SOCI 269 - Social Science Inquiry   
SOCI 270 - Interpretive Social Research 
SOCI 275 - Comparative-Historical Sociology 
THDA 110 - Introduction to Theatre Studies 
THDA 489 - Seminar in Performance Theory and Practice  

V. Study Abroad in Latin America-3 courses

Latin American majors must complete one semester of full-time study on a study abroad program approved by the Latin American Studies Director. Up to three study abroad courses may count toward the Latin America Across Disciplines requirement.

VI. Capstone-1 course

Majors normally complete their capstone via the senior seminar, which is offered every fall. Occasionally, a student may be approved to complete their capstone via an independent project or another appropriate course. Students participating in the honors program take LATI 488 - Senior Seminar  in the fall and LATI 644  (Honor Independent) in the spring of their senior year.

VI. Curricular Overlap

Due to the high degree of potential overlap between major plans in Latin American studies and international studies, students seeking to complete both majors must list, on each plan, at least six courses that do not appear on the other plan.