BA Minor
Minor Program in Latin American Studies
The minor program in Latin American Studies provides students majoring in other disciplines the opportunity to become familiar with Latin American social, cultural, economic, and political history, and a major language(s) of the region. It can provide an appropriate cultural background for careers in business, journalism, government, teaching, or the nonprofit sector, or for graduate studies in one of the social sciences. The course of study is designed to be flexible so as to serve students in the humanities, social sciences, biological sciences, and physical sciences. The minor, which can be completed in one year, requires five to six courses, depending on how the student meets the general education requirement in civilization studies.
No courses in the minor can be double counted with the student’s major(s) or with other minors, nor can they be counted toward general education requirements. They must be taken for quality grades and more than half of the requirements for the minor must be met by registering for courses bearing University of Chicago course numbers.
Program Requirements
Students should complete the general education requirement in civilization studies with Latin American Civilization (LACS 16100-16200-16300) or Latin American Civilization in Oaxaca (SOSC 24302-24402-24502). Students who use all three quarters of a Latin American civilization sequence to meet the general education requirement will complete a five-course minor. Students who meet the general education requirement with two quarters of the civilization sequence will count the third quarter of the sequence toward the minor, for a six-course minor.
The minor requires two courses in Spanish or Portuguese at the level of the second year or beyond. Credit may be granted by examination for one of these courses. The minor also requires three Latin American content courses. Students must submit a research paper treating a Latin American topic for one of their Latin American content courses. The research paper is of intermediate length (ten to fifteen pages) in a course with Latin American content. Each student is responsible for making appropriate arrangements with the faculty member. Completion of the course research paper must be demonstrated to the program adviser in Latin American Studies.
Students who elect the minor program should meet with the program adviser in Latin American Studies before the end of Spring Quarter of their third year to declare their intention to complete the program. The program adviser’s approval for the minor should be submitted to the student’s College adviser, on a form obtained from the College adviser, no later than the end of the student’s third year. The following groups of courses would comprise a minor in Latin American Studies. Other programs may be designed in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies. Minor program requirements are subject to revision.
Sample Five-Course Minor in Latin American Studies
SPAN 20100-20200 or PORT 20100-20200
Three Latin American content courses
Sample Six-Course Minor in Latin American Studies
LACS 16300
SPAN 20100-20200 or PORT 20100-20200
Three Latin American content courses
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.
