Latin American and Latinx Studies Concentration

Yamile Silva, Ph.D., Director

The Latin American and Latinx Studies (LALS) concentration is designed to advance students’ awareness and understanding of Latin America and people of Latin American heritage. It seeks to provide general knowledge of Latin America and its diaspora alongside in-depth knowledge of specific countries, regions, cultures, and communities. The concentration is open to all majors and consists of courses from a variety of disciplines with a primary focus on Latin America and/or its diaspora.

LALS courses fulfill general education requirements in the Humanities (World Languages, History, and Literature), Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Philosophy/Theology.  Many courses also carry Cultural Diversity and Level II EP Writing (EPW) designations along with other general education requirements.

The LALS concentration complements many existing majors, helping to prepare students for a wide range of careers. LALS concentrators have gone on to work in business, education, government, law, medicine, ministry, and the non-profit sector, among other fields.

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 Language Requirement

Demonstrate familiarity by earning a grade of “C” or better in SPAN 212  or beyond or by challenge exam.

Core Courses (9-18 credits):

• BIOL 195 - (E, D) Tropical Biology ¹
• BIOL 204 - (E, D) Environmental Issues in Latin America  
• ENLT 129 - (CL, D) Literature and Social Justice  
• ENLT 137X - (FYS, CL, D) Race & Social Justice  
• ENLT 252 - (CL, D, EPW) Latinx Literature  
• HIST 125 - (CH, D) Colonial Latin America  
• HIST 126 - (CH, D) Modern Latin America  
• HIST 213 - (CH, D, EPW) Gender and Family in Latin America  
• HIST 215 - (CH, D) Church and Society in Latin America  
• HIST 327 - (CH, D, EPW) Race in Latin America  
• HIST 490 - (EPW) Seminar in History ²
• LA/WS 395 - (S, D) Women and Development in Latin America  
• LAS 295 - (S, D) Mexican Culture and Language ³
• LIT 205 - (CL, D) Modern Latin-American Literature in Translation  
• MGT 474 - (D, EPW) Managing a Multicultural Workforce  
• PHIL 242 - (P, D) Latin American Thought  
• PS 219 - (S, D) Latin American Politics  
• PS 323 - (S, D) Central America  
• PS 333 - United States-Latin American Relations  
• SOC 224 - (S, D) Race and Ethnic Relations  
• T/RS 250 - (P, D) Latin American Liberation Theology and Beyond  

Supporting Spanish Language Courses (no more than 9 credits):

Spanish proficiency beyond SPAN 212  is not required but students can apply up to three courses (9 credits) towards the concentration from the following Spanish language offerings.

• SPAN 311 - (CF, D) Spanish Conversation  
• SPAN 312 - (EPW, CF, D) Spanish Composition  
• SPAN 314 - (EPW, D) Latin-American Culture and Civilization  
• SPAN 315 - Spanish for the Health Professions  
• SPAN 319 - Business Spanish  
• SPAN 320 - (CL) Introduction to Literary Studies  
• SPAN 324 - (D, CL) Latin American Fictions of the Body  
• SPAN 331 - (CL, D) Survey of Spanish-American Literature  
• SPAN 335 - (D) Service and the Hispanic Community  
• SPAN 413 - Topics in Hispanic Prose ¹
• SPAN 422 - Spanish-American Drama  
• SPAN 430 - (CL, D) Hispanic Women Writers  

Additional Information

¹May be used as a supporting course when course content is specific to Latin America and/or its diaspora.

²Restricted to senior History majors or students with a Latin American and Latinx Studies concentration or major, when course content is specific to Latin American and/or Latinx history.

³A three-credit intersession travel course to Mexico. Credit load and tuition are applied to Spring Semester.

^*Students who study abroad or take other appropriate classes with an emphasis on Latin America and/or its diaspora may petition to substitute classes and are encouraged to speak with the director of the program.