Latin American Studies
Program Adviser: Beatriz Riefkohl, Ky 308, 702-8420, clas@uchicago.edu
Center Director: Tom Cummins, Ky 308, 702-8420
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 College language requirement. 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 three courses in second-year Spanish or Portuguese.
Students are required to fulfill the civilization requirement in general education with the three-course sequence in Latin American Civilization (Latin American Studies 161-162-163). This sequence of courses is the best introduction to the concentration. In addition to the Latin American Civilization sequence, the concentration program requires five additional 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 ten.
Concentration course requirements may be fulfilled in part through successful completion of one of the College's academic programs in Costa Rica, Mexico, or Argentina. To apply, consult the director of undergraduate foreign studies (Lewis Fortner, 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| LatAm 161-162-163 | |
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demonstrated competence in Spanish or Portuguese equivalent to one year of college-level study |
|
3 |
Span 201-202-203 (second-year Spanish), or |
|
5 |
courses dealing with Latin America (four in the social sciences) |
|
2 |
courses in social sciences |
|
- |
B.A. essay |
|
|
|
| 10 |
† Credit may be granted by examination.
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, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology and the College
DELIA BOYLAN, Assistant Professor, Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies
PASTORA SAN JUAN CAFFERTY, Professor, School of Social Service Administration
ANNE CARR, Professor, the Divinity School and the College
MANUELA CARNEIRO DA CUNHA, Professor, Department of Anthropology
THOMAS CUMMINS, Associate Professor, Department of Art History and the College; Director, Center for Latin American Studies
RENÉ DE COSTA, Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures and the College
PAUL W. FRIEDRICH, Professor, Departments of Anthropology and Linguistics, and Committee on Social Thought
SUSAN GZESH, Lecturer in Law, the Law School
TAMAR HERZOG, Assistant Professor, Department of History and the College
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
ROBERT KENDRICK, Associate Professor, Department of Music and the College
ALAN L. KOLATA, Neukom Family Professor, Department of Anthropology and the College
CLAUDIO LOMNITZ, Professor, Departments of Anthropology and History, and the College
JOHN LUCY, Professor, Department of Psychology, Committee on Human Development, and the College
Norman A. McQuown, Professor Emeritus, Departments of Anthropology and Linguistics
PATRICK O'CONNOR, Assistant Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures and the College
LESLIE SALZINGER, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and the College
MARIO SANTANA, Assistant Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures and the College
SASKIA SASSEN, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College
JULIE SAVILLE, Associate Professor, Department of History and the College
PAUL SERENO, Associate Professor, Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy
LARRY A. SJAASTAD, Professor, Department of Economics and the College
SUSAN C. STOKES, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and the College
ROBERT TOWNSEND, Professor, Department of Economics and the College
DAVID TRACY, Andrew Thomas Greeley and Grace McNichols Greeley Distinguished Service Professor, the Divinity School, and Committees on Social Thought and Ideas & Methods
MICHEL-ROLPH TROUILLOT, Professor, Department of Anthropology and the College
Courses
Information about many course offerings was not available at the time this publication went to press. For more current information, including several special courses on Latin America offered each year by the Edward Larocque Tinker Visiting Professors of Latin American Studies, students should consult the quarterly Time Schedules. For descriptions of the following courses, consult the relevant concentration sections of the catalog.
Anthropology
Anthro 201/401. The Inca and Aztec States. PQ: Consent of instructor. A. Kolata. Autumn.
Anthro 218/312. Amazonian Local Knowledge. M. da Cunha. Winter.
Anthro 220/355. The Anthropology of Development (=EnvStd 220). A. Kolata, J. Fernandez, R. Fernandez. Spring.
Anthro 223. The Anthropology of Intellectuals. Class limited to twenty-five students. C. Lomnitz. Autumn.
Anthro 245/405. Indigenous Rights: Brazil. M. da Cunha. Winter.
Anthro 282/387. Archaeology of the Spanish Borderlands. M. Lycett. Spring.
Anthro 364. Archaeological Field Studies: Southwestern Archaeology. PQ: Must be taken together with Anthro 365. Consent of instructor. Class limited to sixteen students. M. Lycett. Summer.
Economics
Econ 256. Problems of Economic Policy in Developing Countries (=PubPol 286/375). PQ: Econ 201 and 202, or consent of instructor. L. Sjaastad. Winter.
Environmental Studies
EnvStd 242. Environmental Ethics and Policy (=NCD 215, PolSci 210, PubPol 242). M. Scully. Autumn.
EnvStd 243. Environmental Politics (=NCD 211, PolSci 211, PubPol 243). M. Scully. Spring.
EnvStd 244. Is Development Sustainable? (=HiPSS 234, NCD 273, PolSci 212, PubPol 244). PQ: Fourth-year standing and consent of instructors. M. Scully, T. Steck, W. Sterner. Spring.
History
Hist 165. Latin American Political Imagination. C. Lomnitz. Winter.
Latin American Studies
LatAm 161-162-163/346-347-348. Introduction to Latin American Civilization I, II, III (=Anthro 231-232-233, Hist 161-162-163, SocSci 261-262-263). This sequence fulfills the civilization studies requirement in general education. This course is offered in alternate years. Not offered 1999-2000; will be offered 2000-2001.
LatAm 202. Sociocultural Dynamics of Precolumbian Civilization (=Anthro 202, ArtH 184). T. Cummins, A. Kolata. Spring.
LatAm 252/352. Brazilian and International Economic Issues (=Econ 259). PQ: Econ 203 or permission of instructor. Staff. Autumn.
LatAm 255/355. The African Diaspora in the Caribbean. M. Barnet. Spring.
LatAm 265/365. Human Rights Issues in Latin America. J. Zalaquett. Winter.
LatAm 268/368. El territorio invisible: Cultura, esfera pública, e identidad en América Latina (=Span 268/368). G. Montaldo. Spring.
LatAm 297. Reading and Research in Latin American Studies. PQ: Consent of instructor and College Program Chair. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring.
LatAm 299. Preparation of the B.A. Essay. PQ: Consent of faculty supervisor and program adviser. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Normally taken for a letter grade. Staff. Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring.
LatAm 301-302-303. Intensive Aymara I, II, III. This course is offered on a rotating basis with other less frequently taught languages such as Nahuatl and Quechua during the summer session. Staff. Summer. Not offered 1999-2000; will be offered 2000-0001.
Romance Languages and Literatures
Portuguese
Portu 101-102-103. Elementary Portuguese I, II, III. Staff. Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Portu 201/301. Intermediate Portuguese. PQ: First-year Portuguese or consent of instructor. Extra weekly meeting designed to provide additional practice and review optional. A. M. Lima. Autumn.
Portu 202/302. Advanced Portuguese. PQ: Portu 201/301 or consent of instructor. Extra weekly meeting designed to provide additional practice and review optional. A. M. Lima. Winter.
Portu 215/315. Estilística da língua portuguesa. PQ: Portu 201/301 or consent of instructor. A. M. Lima. Spring.
Portu 297. Readings in Special Topics. PQ: Portu 103 or 202/302, depending upon the requirements of the program for which credit is sought. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Spanish
Span 101-102-103. Beginning Elementary Spanish I, II, III. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Span 121-122. Continuing Spanish I, II. PQ: Placement. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Span 201-202-203. Language, History, and Culture I, II, III. PQ: Span 103, 122, or placement. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Span 209. Literatura hispánica: textos hispanoaméricanos. Staff. Winter.
Span 211/311. Curso de perfeccionamiento. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. Staff. Autumn.
Span 212/312. Fonética y fonología. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. Staff. Spring.
Span 213. Curso de perfeccionamiento para hablantes nativos. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. Staff. Winter.
Span 267/367. Islas de historia: Literatura cubana y puertorriqueña. P. O'Connor. Autumn.
Span 283/383. Invención de la decadencia. P. O'Connor. Winter.
Span 297. Readings in Special Topics. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
