(file last updated: [8/10/1998 - 15:26:11])
Latin American studies providesa field of concentration and a program (open to students in anyconcentration) for those who wish to structure their studies ofLatin America. It offers an interdisciplinary approach to understandingthe area from Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean to SouthAmerica. Students with widely ranging interests are welcome.
Students in the concentrationand the program work closely with an advisor to develop an individualizedplan of study that combines breadth with a focus in one discipline(usually history, politics, or Spanish). Students whose interestsdo not easily fit the courses available at Brandeis may arrangeindependent study with members of the staff. Students may alsotake advantage of the resources of neighboring institutions throughthe Boston Area Consortium on Latin America. Courses may be takenat Boston College, Boston University, Tufts, and Wellesley. Studyin Latin America for a term or a year is encouraged. In the past,concentrators have studied at universities in Argentina, Mexico,Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Peru, andBrazil, and other possibilities are available. Credit may alsobe obtained for internships in Boston-area organizations relatedto Latin America. Transfer students and those studying abroadmay obtain credit for up to half the required courses from coursestaken elsewhere, with the approval of the program chair.
Silvia Arrom, Chair
(History)
Lynette Bosch
(Fine Arts)
Roxanne Davila
(Romance and Comparative Literature)
Donald Hindley
(Politics)
Robert Hunt
(Anthropology)
James Mandrell
(Romance and Comparative Literature)
Ricardo Morant
(Psychology)
Wellington Nyangoni
(African and Afro-AmericanStudies)
Dora Older
(Romance and Comparative Literature)
Angela Pérez
(Romance and Comparative Literature)
Benson Saler
(Anthropology)
Faith Smith
(African and Afro-AmericanStudies and English and American Literature)
Ibrahim Sundiata
(African and Afro-AmericanStudies)
Dessima Williams
(Sociology)
Luis Yglesias
(Romance and Comparative Literature)
Robert Zeitlin
(Anthropology)
A.Passing grade in any 30-level Spanish course or the equivalent,or reading competency examination in Spanish or Portuguese (administeredby LAS). Another foreign language spoken in Latin America or theCaribbean may be substituted with the permission of the LatinAmerican Studies Committee.
B.LAS 100a. (For 1998-99 only, HIST 175a will satisfy this requirement.)
C.HIST 71a or b; POL 144a or b; and one semester course on LatinAmerican or Caribbean Literature.
D.At least six additional semester courses from the listing providedbelow.
E.No more than five of the 10 required courses may be from the samedepartment.
F.Candidates for the degree with honors in Latin American studiesmust be approved by the committee and complete LAS 99d, a two-semestersenior thesis.
A.LAS 100a. (For 1998-99 only, HIST 175a will satisfy this requirement.)
B.At least two courses from either HIST 71a and b, POL 144a andb, or the offerings on Latin American or Caribbean literature.
C.Two additional semester courses from the list provided below.
D.No more than two of the five required courses may be from thesame department.
LAS 98a Independent Study
Signature of the instructorrequired.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
LAS 98b Independent Study
Signature of the instructorrequired.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
LAS 99d Senior Research
Signature of the instructorrequired.
Independent research and writing,under faculty director, of a senior thesis. Usually offered everyyear.
Staff
LAS 100a Seminar: Topicsin Latin American Studies
For 1998-99 only, HIST 175areplaces LAS 100a. Signature of the instructor required. May berepeated for credit.
Examines major themes and problemsin Latin American studies from an interdisciplinary perspective.Topics vary from year to year. Usually offered every year.
Staff
Elective Courses
The following courses may becounted toward the concentration or program if approved by thestudent's advisor as fitting into the individualized plan of study.Courses marked with an asterisk (*) are entirely on LatinAmerica or the Caribbean; the others, which include Latin Americaor the Caribbean as one of several areas studied, normally counttoward the concentration or program only if students write a paperon Latin America or the Caribbean. Students may apply no morethan two non-starred courses to their Latin American studies concentrationor program. Not all are given in any one year, so the CourseSchedule for each semester should be consulted.
Comparative Race and EthnicRelations
Third World Ideologies
Political Economy of the ThirdWorld
The Literature of the Caribbean
African and Caribbean ComparativePolitical Systems
Development and the Third World
The Rise of Mesoamerican Civilization
Topics in New World Studies:The Empire Writes Back
Latin America's Economy
Introduction to the Economicsof Development
Twentieth-Century and ContemporaryLatin American Art
Topics in Francophone Literatures
Latin American History, Pre-Conquestto 1870
Latin American History, 1870to the Present
The Legacy of 1898: U.S.-CaribbeanRelations Since the Spanish-American War
The Making and Unmaking ofthe Mexican Revolution
The Politics of Revolution:State Violence and Popular Insurgency in the Third World
Latin American Politics I
Latin American Politics II
Research Seminar: Topics inLatin American Politics
Seminar: Nationalism and Development
Seminar: The Low-Income Statesand the Global System
Seminar: Politics and Hunger
Columbus: Encounters and Inventions
Global Apartheid and GlobalSocial Movements
Topics on Women and Development
U.S.-Caribbean Relations
Women Leaders and Transformationin Developing Countries
Introduction to Latin AmericanLiterature
Modern Latin American Poetry
Modern Latin American Fiction
Studies in Latin American Literature
Latin American Fiction in Translation
Contemporary Hispanic Women'sFiction in Translation