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Latin American Studies
Program Adviser: Beatriz Riefkohl, Ky 308, 702-8420, clas@uchicago.edu
Program of Study
Students concentrating in Latin American Studies gain competence in Spanish
or Portuguese as a tool for further work; knowledge of one or more of the
social sciences as they deal with Latin American materials; and a thorough
grounding in selected aspects of Latin American history, politics, economics,
or related subjects. The Bachelor of Arts program in Latin American Studies
can provide an appropriate background for careers in business, journalism,
or government, or for graduate studies in one of the social sciences disciplines.
An alternative program of concentration in Romance languages and literatures
is available.
Program Requirements
Before entering the program in Latin American Studies, students are expected
to have completed the Common Core foreign language requirement with either
Spanish (Spanish 101-102-103-201 or Spanish 121-122-201) or Portuguese (Portuguese
101-102-103 or Portuguese 204-205); this requirement may be fulfilled by
taking the appropriate College courses or by satisfactory performance in
a placement examination. The concentration program requires an additional
two courses in Spanish or Portuguese, bringing the student's total language
courses to six (for students with Spanish) or five (for students with Portuguese).
Students are required to fulfill the Common Core civilization requirement
with the three-course sequence in Latin American Civilization (Latin American
Studies 345-346-347). This sequence of courses is the best introduction
to the concentration. In addition to the Latin American Civilization sequence,
the concentration program requires five further courses dealing with Latin
America. The Center for Latin American Studies publishes an up-to-date listing
of such courses, entitled "Courses to be Offered," available in
Ky 308. Of these five required courses on Latin America, at least four must
be in the social sciences. Courses that focus primarily on disciplinary,
methodological, or comparative topics (such as international relations)
may also be counted toward this requirement, provided the student successfully
completes a paper or other major project treating a Latin American theme.
The course instructor must certify the completion of such a project by means
of a form available from the Center for Latin American Studies. Students
are required to take two additional courses in the social sciences, bringing
the concentration course total to nine.
Concentration course requirements may be fulfilled in part through successful
completion of one of the College's academic programs in Costa Rica or Mexico.
To apply, see Lewis Fortner, the director of undergraduate foreign studies
(HM 286).
B.A. Essay. All students in the Latin American Studies concentration
are required to write a B.A. essay under the supervision of a member of
the concentration faculty. Registration for the B.A. essay preparation course
(Latin American Studies 299) is optional. Students who do register for Latin
American Studies 299 may count this course as one of the five they must
take dealing with Latin America. The grade students receive for this course
depends on successful completion of the B.A. essay.
Summary of Requirements
General Education
Introductory sequence in Spanish or Portuguese or equivalent
LatAm 345-346-347
Concentration
2 courses in Spanish or Portuguese (in addition to the Common Core requirement)
5 courses dealing with Latin America
(four in the social sciences)
2 courses in social sciences
- B.A. essay
9
Grading. All of the required courses for the Latin American Studies
concentration must be taken for a letter grade.
Honors. Students who have done exceptionally well in their course work
and on their B.A. essay are considered for graduation with special honors.
Candidates must have a grade point average of 3.0 or better overall and
3.25 or better in the concentration.
Faculty
ROBERT Z. ALIBER, Professor, Graduate School of Business
ANDREW H. APTER, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology and the
College
DONALD J. BOGUE, Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology
PASTORA SAN JUAN CAFFERTY, Professor, School of Social Service Administration
MANUELA CARNEIRO DA CUNHA, Professor, Department of Anthropology
THOMAS CUMMINS, Assistant Professor, Department of Art and the College
RENé DE COSTA, Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures
and the College
T. BENTLEY DUNCAN, Associate Professor, Department of History
PAUL W. FRIEDRICH, Professor, Departments of Anthropology and Linguistics
and Committee on Social Thought
SUSAN GZESH, Lecturer in Law, the Law School
GEORGE HALEY, Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures
and the College
WILLIAM F. HANKS, Associate Professor, Departments of Anthropology and Linguistics
and the College
ARNOLD C. HARBERGER, Gustavus F. and Ann M. Swift Distinguished Service
Professor Emeritus, Department of Economics
THOMAS HOLT, James Westfall Professor, Department of History and the College
FRIEDRICH KATZ, Morton D. Hull Distinguished Service Professor, Department
of History and the College
ALAN L. KOLATA, Professor, Department of Anthropology and the College; Director,
Center for Latin American Studies
CHARLES LIPSON, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and
the College; Director, Program on International Politics, Economics, &
Security
CLAUDIO LOMNITZ, Professor, Department of History
NORMAN A. MCQUOWN, Professor Emeritus, Departments of Anthropology and Linguistics
GUILLERMO MONDINO, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Business
SALIKOKO MUFWENE, Professor, Department of Linguistics
PAUL ROGERS, Assistant Professor, Department of Art History
MARIO SANTANA, Assistant Professor, Department of Romance Languages &
Literatures and the College
JULIE SAVILLE, Associate Professor, Department of History
JOSé SCHEINKMAN, Alvin H. Baum Professor, Department of Economics
and the College; Chairman, Department of Economics
PAUL SERENO, Associate Professor, Department of Organismal Biology &
Anatomy
LARRY A. SJAASTAD, Professor, Department of Economics and the College
RAYMOND T. SMITH, Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology
SUSAN C. STOKES, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and
the College
MARTA TIENDA, Ralph Lewis Professor, Department of Sociology, Irving B.
Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, and the College; Chairman,
Department of Sociology
ROBERT TOWNSEND, Professor, Department of Economics
TERENCE S. TURNER, Professor, Department of Anthropology and the College
LEIGH M. VAN VALEN, Professor, Department of Ecology & Evolution and
Committees on Evolutionary Biology, Conceptual Foundations of Science, and
Genetics
STEPHEN WALT, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and the
College
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