The Minor in Latin American Studies

Course Requirements for the Minor: 21-30 units

The following courses, or their approved transfer equivalents, are required of all candidates for this minor.

0-12 units required:

A minimum language proficiency through the level of SPAN 201 is required for the Latin American Studies minor. Students who can demonstrate language proficiency should see the minor advisor regarding completion of requirements.

2 courses required:

12-15 units selected from:

If language competency was established without taking any language courses, students must take 15 units from this category.

No more than 6 units may be selected from any one subject area.

SUBJ NUM	Title	Sustainable	Units	Semester Offered	Course Flags
ANTH 268	Indigenous People of Latin America		3.0	SP	GE  GC
Study of the Native peoples of South America, Mexico, and Central America from European contact to the present. The course emphasizes contemporary ethnography and interaction of indigenous people with colonialism and the modern nation-state. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (021187)
ANTH 367	Societies of Latin America and the Caribbean		3.0	INQ
Survey of the anthropology of Mexico, Mesoamerica, South America, and the islands of the Caribbean. This course emphasizes historical change, religious diversity, and transnational economic developments to understand the syntheses of indigenous, African, and European traditions in the region today. 3 hours lecture. (000521)
ANTH 422	Ancient Civilizations of Mexico and Peru		3.0	INQ
A comparative study of the prehistoric cultural traditions of the Mesoamerican and Andean regions. The Aztec, Inca, Maya, and their predecessors viewed as case studies in cultural evolution in the New World. 3 hours lecture. (000568)
ARTH 471	Ancient Mexican Art		3.0	INQ
A survey of ancient Mexican art and culture of formative, classic, conquest, including the Olmec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Mxtec, Classic Gulf Coast, Toltec, and Aztec. Sites discussed include El Tajin, La Venta, Monte Alban, Milta, Tula, and Tenochtitlan 3 hours lecture. (000841)
ARTH 472	Maya Art		3.0	INQ
An investigation of the art of the ancient Maya of Mexico and Central America prior to European contact, from the Preclassic to Postclassic periods. The relationship of art to religious beliefs and practices will be explored, as well as the development of local styles associated with royal courts. Sites discussed include Tikal, Palenque, Copan, Uxmal, and Chichen Itza 3 hours lecture. (020618)
ARTH 473	Meso-American/Colonial Art		3.0	INQ
Prerequisites: ARTH 120. This course is also offered as CHST 473. A survey of Mexican art and culture from the Cortesian Conquest, the Colonial Period of monastery- and church-building, the Revolution of 1810, the Revolution of 1910, and the painters of the great revolutionary mural movement that followed, Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueriros, to contemporary artists who have tended toward international pluralism. Attention is given to the process of acculturation that produced the modern Mexican peoples, their national character, and their contemporary art. 3 hours lecture. (000842)
ARTH 474	Ancient Andean Art		3.0	INQ
An investigation of the art of Peru and adjacent regions prior to European contact. The relationship of art to religious beliefs and practices, political ideologies, and the significance of styles and technologies are examined. Cultures surveyed include Chavin, Paracas, Nasca, Moche, Tiwanaku, and Inka, as well as the Northern Andean civilizations such as San Agustin. 3 hours lecture. (020619)
CHST 454	Chicano Literature		3.0	INQ
Prerequisites: SPAN 301; SPAN 341 or SPAN 342; or faculty permission. This course is also offered as SPAN 454. A study of the Chicano people as reflected in selected films and literature. Discussions will be in Spanish, readings in English and Spanish, reports in Spanish. 3 hours seminar. (001984)
CHST 473	Meso-American/Colonial Art		3.0	INQ
Prerequisites: ARTH 120. This course is also offered as ARTH 473. A survey of Mexican art and culture from the Cortesian Conquest, the Colonial Period of monastery- and church-building, the Revolution of 1810, the Revolution of 1910, and the painters of the great revolutionary mural movement that followed, Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueriros, to contemporary artists who have tended toward international pluralism. Attention is given to the process of acculturation that produced the modern Mexican peoples, their national character, and their contemporary art. 3 hours lecture. Formerly CHST 406. (000842)
GEOG 356	South America		3.0	INQ
A survey of the physical and cultural environments of South America. Emphasis will be given to the interrelationships between the people and the land, the cultural similarities and differences of Spanish and Portuguese South America, and the resulting contemporary environment. 3 hours discussion. (003907)
GEOG 357	Lands and Peoples of Latin America		3.0	FS	GE  GC
This course is also offered as LAST 357. Study of the physical environment, human settlement, development, and modern problems of the nations of Latin America. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (021143)
HIST 380	Colonial Latin America		3.0	FA	GC
An historical survey of pre-Columbian and colonial Latin America, with emphasis on Aztec and Inca societies, Iberia's military, economic, and spiritual conquest, and the ways in which diverse colonial subjects resisted, adapted to, and assimilated colonial rule. Concludes by considering popular and elite culture in the late colonial period and tensions leading toward independence. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (004568)
HIST 381	Modern Latin America		3.0	SP	GE  GC
A survey of Latin America since independence from Iberia, highlighting the chaotic years of post-independence state building, the region's integration into the global capitalist economy and the age of mass politics and revolutionary ferment after 1930. The final weeks focus on Latin America's experience with military dictatorship and current transitions to democracy. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (004495)
HIST 382	Modern Mexico		3.0	FA	GE  GC
This course is also offered as LAST 350. An interdisciplinary approach to the history and politics of Mexico. This course will introduce students to the panorama of Mexican history while delineating the roots and development of the current Mexican political system. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (004558)
HIST 480	Social Revolution in Latin America		3.0	INQ
This course explores twentieth-century social revolutions in Mexico, Cuba, Chile and Nicaragua. Additional consideration will be given to more recent phenomena in Venezuela and the Mexican state of Chiapas. Evaluates the role played by class, ethnicity, and gender in these movements and considers whether the driving force of social revolution in Latin America is Marxism or nationalist/anti-imperialism. 3 hours seminar. (004647)
INST 301	International Forum		1.0	FS
A series of presentations on a wide variety of topics of international concern. Lectures, debates, and panel discussions on areas of current international importance. 1 hour lecture. You may take this course more than once for a maximum of 6.0 units. Credit/no credit grading. (004875)
LAST 120	Latin American Film and Culture		3.0	SP	GE
This course examines films made by Latin American and non-Latin American filmmakers as a means of introducing students to the history of cultures of Latin America from the pre-conquest to the present. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. (021121)
LAST 150	Orientation to Mexico Program		1.0	FA
Introduction to the Mexico Program of intercultural experiential learning in Mexico. The course will survey Mexican geography, anthropology, development, culture, adjustment to cultural differences, and intercultural communication. The course is intended to prepare the student for the six-week program in Mexico. 1 hour lecture. (005373)
LAST 321	Comparative Politics of Central America and the Caribbean Basin		3.0	INQ	GC
This course is also offered as POLS 321. An interdisciplinary survey of the politics of Central America and the Caribbean Basin. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (005381)
LAST 350	Modern Mexico		3.0	FA	GE  GC
This course is also offered as HIST 382. An interdisciplinary approach to the history and politics of Mexico. This course will introduce students to the panorama of Mexican history while delineating the roots and development of the current Mexican political system. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (004558)
LAST 351	Natural History and Ecology of Mexico and Central America		3.0	FS	GC
Prerequisites: Completion of the lower-division GE Pathway Foundation Physical Sciences and GE Pathway Foundation Life Sciences or faculty permission. LAST 351 explores the natural and human-modified environments of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. It introduces students to the biological and physical processes that create the natural environments of the region and examines the complex interactions between people and these environments, both past and present. This course is designed to be the Area B course in the General Education Upper-Division Theme I: Mexico and Central America. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (005379)
LAST 352	Mexico: Literature and Arts		3.0	FS	GC
An interdisciplinary examination of how Mexican literature and the arts reflect the social and cultural roots of the people of Mexcio. This course is a component of the General Education Upper-Division Thematic Program on Mexico and Central America. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (005377)
LAST 357	Lands and Peoples of Latin America		3.0	FS	GE  GC
This course is also offered as GEOG 357. Study of the physical environment, human settlement, development, and modern problems of the nations of Latin America. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (021143)
LAST 489	Intercult Experiential Lrng		1.0 -6.0	FS
Prerequisites: LAST 150, faculty permission. This course will provide students with a genuine cross-cultural experience which will enable them to understand Latin American life from the point of view of the Latin American family with which they will live and the Latin American people with whom they will work. Students will live with a Latin American family and work in a Latin American organization for a six-week period. Students will keep a log of their experiences and prepare a written evaluation of their families and jobs. 6 hours discussion. You may take this course more than once for a maximum of 15.0 units. Special fee required; see the Class Schedule. (005385)
POLS 321	Comparative Politics of Central America and the Caribbean Basin		3.0	INQ	GC
This course is also offered as LAST 321. An interdisciplinary survey of the politics of Central America and the Caribbean Basin. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (005381)
POLS 415C	Comparative Government: Latin America		3.0	FA
A study of the similarities and differences of the Latin American republics, concentrating on structures of government, historical traditions, political parties, and the role of the military. After a general introduction to these topics and the area, the class will emphasize an in-depth study of selected Latin American nations. 3 hours lecture. (007534)
POLS 446C	Inter-American Relations		3.0	SP
Patterns of inter-American relations will be explored, with special attention to the effects of dependency on the American states and their reactions to it. Collaboration, avoidance, and resistance by Latin Americans will be examined within the context of the use of diplomacy and of military, political, and economic force by differing groups on both sides. 3 hours lecture. (007567)
SPAN 341	Introduction to Latin American Literature		3.0	FS
Prerequisites: SPAN 301. Introduces students to the study of Hispanic literature and culture, and develops their skills in language comprehension and analysis of prose, poetry, and drama. The works studied will be short stories, full-length plays, and Hispanic-American narrative and lyric poetry. SPAN 341 and SPAN 342 are required of all majors and count as electives for the minor. Either fulfills the prerequisite for all other upper-division literature courses. 3 hours discussion. (009140)
SPAN 441	Hispanic Short Story		3.0	INQ
Prerequisites: SPAN 301; SPAN 341 or SPAN 342; or faculty permission. Study of leading short story writers from Spain and Latin America, with background readings and reports on representative authors. Emphasis on contemporary works. 3 hours seminar. (009159)
SPAN 442	Hispanic Theater		3.0	INQ
Prerequisites: SPAN 301; SPAN 341 or SPAN 342; or faculty permission. Readings, discussions, reports, and oral interpretation of major dramatic works of Latin America and Spain. 3 hours discussion. (009161)
SPAN 443	Hispanic Novel		3.0	INQ
Prerequisites: SPAN 301; SPAN 341 or SPAN 342; or faculty permission. Analysis of representative novels from Latin America and Spain. 3 hours discussion. (009167)
SPAN 451	Literature of Mexico		3.0	INQ
Prerequisites: SPAN 301; SPAN 341 or SPAN 342; or faculty permission. Readings and reports on literature of Mexico from pre-Columbian to contemporary literature. 3 hours discussion. (009168)
SPAN 452	Viewing the Hispanic Caribbean		3.0	INQ
Prerequisites: SPAN 301, SPAN 302; either SPAN 341 or SPAN 342 (may be taken concurrently). Critical analysis of literature and culture of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, utilizing reading, discussion, oral reports, and written projects. 3 hours lecture. (009170)
SPAN 454	Chicano Literature		3.0	INQ
Prerequisites: SPAN 301; SPAN 341 or SPAN 342; or faculty permission. This course is also offered as CHST 454. A study of the Chicano people as reflected in selected films and literature. Discussions will be in Spanish, readings in English and Spanish, reports in Spanish. 3 hours seminar. (001984)
SPAN 471	Women and Literature in the Hispanic World		3.0	INQ
Prerequisites: SPAN 301; SPAN 341 or SPAN 342; or faculty permission. Women in Spanish-speaking society. An approach to culture via a study of women as literary subjects and as writers. The idealization and reality of their existence as reflected through Spanish and Latin American literature. 3 hours discussion. (009182)
SPAN 472	Oral and Written Traditions of the Spanish Speaking World		3.0	INQ
Prerequisites: SPAN 301; SPAN 341 or SPAN 342; or faculty permission. Study of the diverse oral and written traditions that both predate and coexist with the literary tradition in Spanish. Topics may include oral narrative such as legends, myths, proverbs, religious beliefs; oral practices in verse such as the troubadour tradition, anonymous epic poetry, popular songs and ballads, and corridos; and written practices such as testimonies, autobiographies, and epistles. 3 hours seminar. (009178)
SPAN 481	Film and Literature in Spain and Latin America		3.0	INQ
Prerequisites: SPAN 301; SPAN 341 or SPAN 342; or faculty permission. Students will consider the elements that constitute literary and cinematic masterpieces by examining films based on a variety of texts: epic poetry, drama, short story, legend, novel, zarzuela, and filmscript. The films will represent the cultural and linguistic diversity in areas of Spain and Latin America. 3 hours discussion. (009183)