Latin American Studies

Program of Study

Loyola offers both a major concentration (officially this is: a Major in Languages and Cultures with a Concentration in Latin American Studies) and a minor in Latin American Studies. The requirements depend on the original level of placement in Spanish.

Coursework Requirements

Among the most exciting aspects of our LAS program are:

  • The freedom to take classes in a wide variety of departments
  • The ability to select those classes that concentrate on a particular region of Latin America if the student should so wish.

The distribution of classes required for both the minor and the major in Languages and Cultures with a Concentration in Latin American Studies depend on the level of Spanish that the student has attained coming in to the program. No matter what the student’s starting level in Spanish, upon completing the Lation American Studies degree, the student will have both an ability to negotiate the Spanish language and an expertise in various other aspects of the continent’s make-up, such as history, politics, business, biology, religion, film, literature and philosophy.

Study abroad substitutions

The Lation American Studies program strongly encourages students to participate in study abroad programs. Many of the course requirements below may be fulfilled by taking similar courses in Latin American universities in conjunction with approved study abroad programs.

Language Requirement

We enthusiastically welcome students at all levels of Spanish ability: from students with absolutely no Spanish to completely fluent, native Spanish speakers. The course requirements differ because of the number of language classes that the new speaker of Spanish will need. In general the native speaker (or second-language speaker who has already attained a high level of competency) will take more classes from the Latin American Studies list of options below, while the new speaker’s program will consist of more Spanish classes in the early semesters in order to achieve a competency in the major language of Latin America. The following lays out the programs course requirements based on those criteria.

Courses used in the major cannot also be used to satisfy requirements for a minor.

To see the requirements for the major degree, please see the Languages and Cultures LAS page:  http://chn.loyno.edu/languages-cultures/latin-american-studies

Minor Requirements

The Latin American Studies minor requires the following 18 hours:
SPAN A100 First Year Spanish I* (May omit course if student tests out) 3
SPAN A101 First Year Spanish II* (May omit course if student tests out) 3
SPAN A200 Second Year Spanish I (May omit course if student tests out) 3
SPAN A201 Second Year Spanish II (May omit course if student tests out) 3

Choose one of the following:

  • SPAN A300 Syntax and Composition
  • SPAN A301 Intensive Conversation
 3

Choose one of the following:

  • HIST A220 Latin America I
  • HIST A221 Modern Latin America
  • SPAN A350 Culture of Spanish America to 1850
  • SPAN A351 Culture of Spanish America from 1850
 3
   

Choose two of the following:

  • SOCI A258 People of Latin America
  • SOCI A260 Women in Latin America
  • SOCI A400 Third World Repression/Revolution
  • SOCI X250 Encountering the Caribbean (Special project required)
  • HIST A220 Latin America I
  • HIST W266 Quest for Empire
  • HIST A221 Modern Latin America
  • HIST A410 History of Mexico
  • HIST A414 Northern South America
  • HIST Slavery/Race Relations in the Americas
  • HIST X241 Drugs, Terrorism, and Democracy in the Americas
  • HIST X243 Social Revolutions in Latin America
  • RELS Liberation Theology
  • SPAN Latin American Thought (in English)
  • SPAN A455 20th Century Latin American Women Writers (in English)
  • SPAN A305 Introduction to Hispanic Literature
  • SPAN A350 Culture of Spanish America I
  • SPAN A351 Culture of Spanish America II
  • SPAN A456 Spanish-American Narrative
  • SPAN A455 Mexican Film and Fiction
  • SPAN A410 Literature of Puerto Rico
  • SPAN A455 Fantastic Literature of Spanish America
  • BIOL A118 Tropical Ecology (Trip to Belize for two weeks at the end of the course)
  • INTB B340 Business Environment and Practices in Latin America
 6

* Course does not count toward minor requirements

Students beginning with SPAN A201 are required to take SPAN A201, SPAN A300 or SPAN A301, HIST A220 or HIST A221, SPAN A350 or SPAN A351, and three elective courses.

Students placed at SPAN 300 are required to take four elective courses.

Students who are native Spanish speakers are not required to take HIST A220 or HIST A221, SPAN A350 or SPAN A351, and four elective courses.