Major Requirements
The Latin American Studies major consists of 9 courses, as follows:
A. Introductory course - 1 course
One of the following courses taken during the first year or sophomore year (including First-Year Course versions of the courses):
ANTH 255 - Latin America in Motion
GEOG 249 - Environment and Society in Latin America
LATI 181 - Introduction to Latin America
LATI 141 - Latin America Through Women’s Eyes
LATI 151 - Caribbean Literature and Culture: Aesthetics of Resistance
B. Latin American Electives - 3 courses
Three Latin-America focused courses taken at Macalester, including at least 1 Humanities and 1 Social Science course (see list below). No more than 1 course at the 100 level may be counted as an LAS elective, and at least 1 course must be at the 300 level. Spanish courses may count for LAS electives, only at level SPAN-305 and above; Portuguese courses may count for LAS electives, only at level PORT-331 and above.
Social Sciences
LATI 141 - Latin America Through Women’s Eyes
SOCI 220 - Sociology of Race/Ethnicity
ECON 239 - Economics of Global Food Problems
LATI 244 - Urban Latinx Power in the U.S.
LATI 245 - Latin American Politics
LATI 249 - Environment and Society in Latin America
LATI 251 - Politics of Memory in Latin America
LATI 255 - Latin America in Motion
LATI 341 - Comparative Social Movements
LATI 342 - Urban Politics of Latin America
ECON 426 - International Economic Development Capstone
C. Research Methods course - 1 course
Students should choose a research methods course that will prepare them for their capstone project on their desired area of expertise. Select from 1 of the following courses:
ANTH 230 - Ethnographic Interviewing
ECON 381 - Introduction to Econometrics
GEOG 277 - Qualitative Research Methods in Geography
HIST 290 - History: Then and Now
SPAN 307 - Introduction to the Analysis of Hispanic Texts
POLI 269 - Empirical Research Methods
SOCI 269 - Social Science Inquiry
SOCI 270 - Interpretive Social Research
SOCI 275 - Comparative-Historical Methods for Social Science
D. Study Away - 3 courses
Latin American Studies majors must complete 1 semester of full-time study away in a Latin American country, or a program approved by the Latin American Studies director. Up to 3 study off-campus courses will be counted. In case fewer than 3 study away courses are counted, a student must take additional approved course(s) to complete the major.
E. Capstone-1 course
Majors normally complete their capstone during Fall semester in LATI 488 - Senior Seminar. Occasionally, a student may be approved to complete their capstone via an independent project or another appropriate course. Students participating in the Honors program normally take LATI 488 - Senior Seminar in the Fall and LATI 644 - Honors Independent in the Spring of their senior year.
F. Language Proficiency Requirement
Option A: Spanish proficiency to the level of SPAN 305 - Advanced Oral and Written Expression , demonstrated by successfully completing SPAN 305 or a higher-level Spanish course at Macalester, and Portuguese proficiency to the level of PORT 111 - Accelerated Beginning Portuguese .
Option B: Portuguese proficiency to the level of PORT 331 - Journeys through Brazil , demonstrated by successfully completing PORT 331 or a higher-level Portuguese course at Macalester, and Spanish proficiency to the level of SPAN 110 - Accelerated Beginning Spanish .
Macalester