BA Major
Program Adviser: Joshua Beck, Kelly 109A, 702.8420, jpbeck@uchicago.edu
B.A. Adviser: Dain Borges, Social Sciences 507, 702.8420
Email: clas@uchicago.edu
Web: clas.uchicago.edu
Listserve: listhost.uchicago.edu/mailman/listinfo/clas-boletin
Students who major in Latin American Studies gain a thorough grounding in selected aspects of Latin American history, politics, economics, or related subjects; knowledge of one or more of the social sciences as they deal with Latin American materials; and competence in Spanish or Portuguese as a tool for further work. The B.A. program in Latin American Studies can provide an appropriate background for careers in business, journalism, government, teaching, or the nonprofit sector, or for graduate studies in one of the social sciences disciplines.
Students who are more interested in the languages and/or literatures of Latin America may wish to consider the major in Romance Languages and Literatures. Students in other fields of study may also complete a minor in Latin American Studies. Information follows the description of the major.
Application to the Program
Students who plan to apply for the major in Latin American Studies should follow the guidelines below. An informational meeting is held each spring to describe the program and its requirements, as well as to explain and facilitate the application process.
(1) As early as possible in their studies and in consultation with their College adviser and the program adviser, students should prepare a preliminary plan of study that would meet program requirements.
(2) In their third year, students should choose a suitable faculty adviser to supervise the development of their B.A. essay project.
(3) Students must then submit an application with a Third-Year Statement to the program adviser for approval. This statement is a brief proposal for their B.A. essay that identifies their research topic and includes a list of proposed summer readings that are relevant to the B.A. essay project. The deadline for submission of the Third-Year Statement is Monday of ninth week of Spring Quarter.
NOTE: Students who plan to study abroad during Spring Quarter of their third year should meet with the program adviser before leaving campus.
Program Requirements
Students who are majoring in Latin American Studies should complete the general education requirement in civilization studies with Latin American Civilization (LACS 16100-16200-16300) or Latin American Civilization in Latin American Studies (sscd) 351 Oaxaca (SOSC 24302-24402-24502). Either of these sequences provides an excellent introduction to the program. These students should also complete three courses in second-year Spanish or Portuguese, by enrollment in courses or with examination credit, to meet the language requirement for the major. To meet requirements for the specialization in Latin American Studies, students must also take five courses that focus on Latin America or the Caribbean (at least four of the five must be in the social sciences) and two additional courses that cover any social science topic. All students who are majoring in Latin American Studies are required to participate in the B.A. Colloquium and to submit a B.A. essay.
As early as possible in their studies, students should obtain a worksheet from the program adviser that will assist them with course selection. Any LACS course will qualify as one of the five required courses. Courses that focus primarily on disciplinary, methodological, or comparative topics (e.g., international relations) may also be counted toward this requirement, provided that the student successfully completes a B.A. essay project with a Latin American theme. The course instructor must certify the completion of such a B.A. essay project by means of a form available from the Center for Latin American Studies.
Depending on whether the student counts two or three Latin American civilization courses toward the general education requirement, the major requires either eleven or twelve courses. Students who use all three quarters of a Latin American civilization sequence to meet the general education requirement will complete an eleven-course major. Students who fulfill the general education requirement with two quarters of the sequence will count the third quarter of the sequence toward the major, for a total of twelve courses in the major.
Students participating in a study abroad program may petition to have courses accepted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the major.
B.A. Essay
All students who are majoring in Latin American Studies are required to write a B.A. essay under the supervision of a faculty member. The B.A. essay is due Friday of seventh week of Spring Quarter. Registration for a B.A. essay preparation course (LACS 29900) is optional. Students who do register for LACS 29900 may count this course as one of the five they must take dealing with Latin America. The grade students will receive for this course depends on the successful completion of the B.A. essay. This program may accept a B.A. essay project used to satisfy the same requirement in another major if certain conditions are met and with the consent of both program chairs. Students should consult with the chairs by the earliest B.A. proposal deadline (or by the end of their third year, if neither program publishes a deadline). A consent form, to be signed by both chairs, is available from the College adviser. It must be completed and returned to the College adviser by the end of Autumn Quarter of the student’s year of graduation.
B.A. Colloquium
The B.A. Colloquium in Latin American Studies (LACS 29801) is a yearlong course led by the preceptor and B.A. adviser. Fourth-year students are required to participate in all three quarters, although they register 352 Latin American Studies (sscd) only once in Autumn Quarter. The colloquium assists students in formulating approaches to the B.A. essay and developing their research and writing skills, while providing a forum for group discussion and critiques. Graduating students present their B.A. essays in a public session of the colloquium during Spring Quarter.
Summary of Requirements
| General Education | LACS 16100-16200 or SOSC 24301-24402 |
| Major 0-1 |
LACS 16300 or SOSC 24502 (if not taken to meet the general education requirement) |
| 3 | SPAN 20100-20200-20300* or PORT 20100-20200-21500* |
| 2 | courses in the social sciences** |
| 5 | courses dealing with Latin America (four in the social sciences) |
| 1 | LACS 29801 (B.A. Colloquium) |
| - | B.A. essay |
| ___ | |
| 11-12 | Total credits |
* Credit may be granted by examination.
** These courses must be chosen in consultation with the program adviser.
Grading
Each of the required courses for the Latin American Studies major must be taken for a quality grade.
Honors
Students who have done exceptionally well in their course work and on their B.A. essay are considered for honors. Candidates must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher overall and 3.25 or higher in the major.
Faculty
F. Alvarez, F. de Armas, K. Austin, D. Borges, T. Bruguera, M. Carneiro da Cunha, R. Coronado, R. de Costa, S. Dawdy, P. Friedrich, K. Fikes, R. Gutiérrez, S. Gzesh, J. Heckman, T. Holt, D. Hopkins, M. Huanca, F. Katz, R. Kendrick, A. Kolata, E. Kourí, A. M. Lima, H. Lopes, M. C. Lozada, J. Lucy, A. Lugo-Ortiz, A. Menendez, S. Palmié, M. Rangel, M. Santana, J. Saville, P. Sereno, R. Shoaps, A. Simpser, L. Sjaastad, R. Smith, M. Tenorio, R. Townsend, D. Tracy, M.-R. Trouillot, L. Voigt
For a tentative list of 2009-2010 Latin American Content courses (LACS), please click here.
