LAS 150 Introduction to Latin American Studies (4 Credits)

This course is a multidisciplinary, thematically-organized introduction to the cultures and societies of Latin America and communities of Latin American descent in the United States that serves as a primary gateway to the Latin American Studies major. This course surveys a variety of topics in culture, geography, politics, history, literature, language and the arts through readings, films, music, discussions and guest lectures. The course is required for all majors in Latin American Studies. {A}{H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

LAS 201bh Colloquium: Topics in Latin American and Latino/a/x Studies- (De)Tangling the Meanings of Afro-Latinx & Black Women's Hair (4 Credits)

This colloquium interrogates the social and cultural meanings of Black women’s hair as a lens to understand race, gender, class, and identity. Utilizing feminist theories of color, this course examines how Black and Afro-Latinx women’s embodied experiences with hair can be understood through broader systems of power, as well as community and individual agency. Through theoretical and empirical texts, short films, and classroom discussions, students critically analyze hair as a site of beauty, power, and resistance, focusing on the experiences of Black and Afro-Latinx women in the United States navigating U.S. beauty standards. Enrollment limited to 20. (E) {S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

LAS 201br Colloquium: Topics in Latin American and Latino/a/x Studies-Banana Republics: Crops and Capitalism (4 Credits)

This colloquium explores the socio-environmental trajectories of four crops in Latin America. From the deep history of potatoes to the dawn of transgenics, this course centers crops as a pivotal lens for examining the dynamics of capitalist development in the hemisphere. The first unit studies the potato and its contribution to the major demographic trends that remade the modern world. The second unit discusses histories of colonialism, sugar, slavery and racialized capitalism. The third unit examines the establishment of banana agriculture as a mechanism of empire-making. The final unit unveils the emergence of GMOs and the centrality of Mexican maize. Restrictions: LAS 201 may be repeated once with a different topic. Enrollment limited to 20. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

LAS 201of Colloquium: Topics in Latin American and Latino/a/x Studies-Organizing Freedom: Domestic Worker History and Cultures of Resistance in the Américas (4 Credits)

This course explores women’s domestic labor, studying histories and cultures of resistance of Latin American and Latine domestic workers. It asks key questions: How do the legacies of colonialism, anti-Indigeneity and anti-Blackness shape domestic labor? What strategies have domestic workers deployed in different moments and diverse geographies to dismantle systems of oppression? How have they articulated concepts of liberation, autonomy and freedom to build alternative cultures of solidarity, mutuality and well-being? Students read key histories of domestic work in Latin America, study how domestic workers organize to build international networks and consider cultural digital projects that center domestic workers. Restrictions: LAS 201 may be repeated once with a different topic. Enrollment limited to 20. {H}{L}

Fall

LAS 244/ SOC 244 Feminisms and Women's Movements: Latin American Women's and Latinas' Pursuit of Social Justice (4 Credits)

Offered as SOC 244 and LAS 244. This course is designed to familiarize students with the history of Latin American and Latina (primarily Chicana) feminist thought and activism. A central goal of the course is to provide an understanding of the relationship between feminist thought, women’s movements, and local/national contexts and conditions. The writings of Latin American and Latina feminists comprise the majority of the texts. The course is limited to the work of those who write and publish in English; students who are proficient in Spanish or Portuguese have an opportunity to read feminist materials in those languages. Prerequisites: SOC 101, LAS 100 or SWG 150. Enrollment limited to 35. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

LAS 250 Colloquium: Knowing Latin America: Ethics, Methods and Debates (4 Credits)

In this course, students explore current perspectives central to the field of Latin American Studies, focusing on ethical and methodological questions—as they relate to research, publication, academia and activism. Students will read broadly in the humanities, social and natural sciences, developing a solid foundation for evaluating, contextualizing and applying current trends within Latin American Studies. Case studies illustrate diversity of thought, interdisciplinary approaches, and innovative directions in the field. Discussions address the roles and responsibilities of researchers, analysts and practitioners across a range of professions. Required for the major in Latin American Studies. Enrollment limited to 18. {A}{H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Annually

LAS 291 Colloquium: Decolonize This Museum? (4 Credits)

What does it mean to de-colonize a museum? How does such work happen, and who actually does the "decolonizing?" With these questions as guide, this class considers Latin American museums--of art, natural history, local and other histories--through comparative lenses. Decolonizing conversations are taking place in many parts of the world, and so this course addresses Latin American and Latinx projects in relation to those taking place in Africa and the Pacific Islands, in western Europe and North America. Independent research projects figure prominently. At least one class in Latin American and Latino/a Studies, art history or anthropology is recommended. Enrollment limited to 18. {A}{H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

LAS 301ae Seminar: Topics in Latin American and Latino/a Studies-Contesting Space: Art, Ecology, Activism (4 Credits)

What do artists have to say to activists and scientists? This course immerses students in case studies drawn from Latin American and Latinx geographies (1970s to the present) to explore the promises and pitfalls of cultural experiments across boundaries of knowledge-making in art, ecology and activism. The class works with a range of public culture technologies--including digital storytelling, social and print media--to illuminate these “activist ecologies” for diverse publics outside academia. Prerequisite: Some background in the study of the Latinx/Latin America(s). Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {A}{H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

LAS 301hw Seminar: Topics in Latin American and Latino/a Studies-Deep History of Water (4 Credits)

The earth is largely covered by water. Physical bodies are considerably made of water. Channeled water is a primary sign of civilization, and there is a search of water beyond planetary frontiers. This course interrogates how hydric and hydraulic narratives may inform the understanding of past, present and future visions of power and society. Grounded in Latin America and global in its aim, this course is structured in four larger sections: the hydraulic origins of ancient city states, colonialism and the control of waterscapes, the hydric demise of nation-states and the future quest for water. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required.

Fall, Spring, Variable

LAS 301ir Seminar: Topics in Latin American and Latino/a Studies--The Political Ecology of the Industrial Revolution (4 Credits)

This seminar is an exploration of the relationship between industrialization, the environment, and political power. It aims to examine how industrial processes such as resource extraction, mechanization, and commodification were both influenced by and, shaped environments and sociopolitical structures. The course also addresses broader questions related to colonialism, inequalities, and the emergence of political ideologies. The course is structured into three main sections. The first examines foundational canonical interpretations of the Industrial Revolution as one of the most transformative processes in human history. The second focuses on the concepts of “transformation” and “acceleration” of the material world as key dynamics of industrialization. The final section grounds the preceding discussions in central Latin American issues. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

LAS 301iw Seminar: Topics in Latin American and Latino/a Studies-Colonial and Postcolonial Indigenous Worlds (4 Credits)

This seminar explores the historical trajectory of the First Peoples and Nations of the Americas and their worlds, from their inception as Indigenous at the dawn of colonialism to their subjection as the “rural poor” amidst modernizing paradigms of progress. Following a chronological sequence, the course covers issues such as genetics and the deep history of Indigeneity in the Americas, the age of demographic collapse during the Columbian Exchange, the rise of colonial Indigenous livelihoods and ecologies, Indigenous struggles for autonomy and land as communities and campesinos and their enduring quests for Indigenous citizenship and plurinational recognition in a neoliberal age. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {H}{S}

Fall, Spring, Variable

LAS 310 Seminar: Senior Capstone (4 Credits)

This course studies how people trained in the field of Latin American and Latino/a Studies "do their work," asking: what constitutes a compelling research topic and what methodologies are required to complete such research. Focus rests on the last decade. The course explores a wide range of authors, from those interested in the arts to those who study immigration or climate change. Students consider and debate the implications of working in this field--both inside and outside academic settings. Required for the major in Latin American Studies and the minor in Latino/a Studies. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {A}{L}{S}

Spring

LAS 400 Special Studies (1-4 Credits)

Instructor permission required.

Fall, Spring

LAS 404 Special Studies (4 Credits)

Instructor permission required.

Fall, Spring

LAS 430D Honors Project (4 Credits)

Department permission required.

Fall, Spring

LAS 431 Honors Project (8 Credits)

Department permission required.

Fall, Spring