Latin American Development Studies Minor
Faculty
Dr. Callenes, Assistant Professor of Global Affairs
Description
The Latin American Development Studies minor is an academic program that focuses on the economic, social, cultural, and political aspects of development in Latin America. This interdisciplinary field of study explores the historical and contemporary issues facing the region and the various strategies and policies employed to promote development, sustainability, and social equity.
This minor can be a valuable addition to various majors, such as Global Affairs, Sociology, Economics, Education, Humanities, or Environmental Studies, as it provides a well-rounded understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the region. It equips students with the knowledge and skills needed to engage in development work, policymaking, advocacy, and research for developing nations. This interdisciplinary approach is valuable for addressing the complex issues surrounding inclusive governance, social justice, and sustainability in the Latin American context.
The Latin American Studies concentration is also available in the Global Affairs major program offered by the College of Arts and Sciences.
Minor Requirements (Total 18 Credits)
*Asterisk indicates courses that count toward General Education Requirement.
A student who elects to minor in Latin American Studies is required to complete the following:
Required Courses (6 credits)
* POLS 2## Gender, Politics and Development in Latin America (3 Credits)
POLS 230 Exploring Latin American PoliticsExplores political trends affecting Latin American economies and how they impact massive migration events across the region. Analyzes how political and economic events shape governments' abilities to respond to social demands in Latin America. Illustrates how politics and political institutions determine economic institutions, critical in the economic outcomes of nations. Compares Latin American economies to understand and assess various pathways to political development in the region.
Formerly POLS 338: Latin American Political Economy
Elective Courses – select from each category below (at least 12 Credits)
History (One of the following)
* HIS 128 Creation of the Atlantic WorldExamines the contacts and interactions that shaped the culture and history of the ?Atlantic World?, the vast pathway linking Africa, the Americas, and Europe after Europeans crossed the ocean in the 15th century. Tells the story of the peoples who moved across the Atlantic and the ideas, texts, goods, and microbes they carried - all of which changed the course of human history. Explores cultural collisions between Africans, Indigenous populations, and Europeans while examining the early political, cultural, and economic development of Africa, South America, the Caribbean basin, Canada, and the United States.
3 credits
General Education: Knowledge and Inquiry Area
FLC Area II, History Cluster
HIS 314 Modern Latin AmericaThis course traces the modern history of Latin America, focusing on the 19th and 20th centuries. Issues to be considered include Latin America in the global economy, relations between Latin America and the U.S., dictatorships and democracies in the twentieth century, Indigenous cultures, national revolutions in Mexico, Cuba, and Central America, and Latin American identity. Cross-listed with INAF 314.
3 credits
Prerequisites: None
HIS 349 The History of ImmigrationExamines the history of the United States from the perspective of immigrants, providing crucial historical background to contemporary debates.
3 Credits
Prerequisites: None
AFST/ LAS ### Afro-Latina History and Culture (3 Credits)
Global Affairs (At least one of the following)
* GLBL 250 Human Geography SeminarIntroduces world human geography with a partial emphasis on a particular region, such as Africa, Asia, the Middle East, or Latin America. Includes such concepts as the relationship between humans and the environment; gender; population; urbanization; globalization; and development.
3 credits
ECON 253 Economic DevelopmentExplores why some countries are rich and others are poor, and how countries make the transition from less developed to developed. Goes beyond standard theories of GDP and income growth to consider other dimensions of economic development, such as population growth, health, education, poverty, and internal migration. Examines how governments can choose a development strategy and conduct development-friendly macro policies.
3 credits.
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and ECON 102, or permission of instructor
BADM 210 Is Globalization Good?This course takes a systems approach to understanding and analyzing the complex forces that result in globalization. Students will explore competing definitions/concepts that are used to support as well as critique the consequences of increased global forces in economic, cultural and social terms. The material for this course will be drawn from current topical readings as well as analytic journals. (Note: Although the implications for global business will be discussed, this is not the primary focus of the course discussion. This course will be open to all students who have completed degree hours for sophomore status.)
3 credits
Prerequisite: ECON 100
GLBL 411 Model Assembly Org Amer StatesPrepares students for participation in the World Model Organization of American States, a simulation of the proceedings and deliberations of the actual OAS General Assembly. Students learn about the structure and function of the OAS and about diplomatic rules of procedure, while also practicing research, writing and debating skills required for participation in the model assembly. Formerly INAF 411
*3 credits
*Prerequisites: None
GLBL 491 InternshipProvides students in global affairs disciplines (including history and political science) with the opportunity to pursue an internship in the field of international affairs under the direction of a faculty member. Formerly INS 384 Internship in International Studies, INAF 491 Internship, POLS 491 Internship, HIS 491 Internship.
3 credits
GLBL 495 Global Solutions PracticumEngages students planning careers in global affairs in peace advocacy, including efforts to abolish war and violence in dispute resolution and in environmental restoration and sustainability, through the network of global organizations in and around Washington, DC.
Prerequisites: None
3 Credits
GLBL 498 Independent StudySupervised independent research on a specific topic or topics in global affairs. Formerly INAF 498
3 Credits
Prerequisites: None
Environmental Justice and Social Science (At least one of the following)
POLS 345 Environmental PoliticsExamines US and global environmental issues from a political science perspective. Introduces key concepts in environmental politics, including social costs, the tragedy of the commons, and ethical dilemmas such as the trade-off between individual and societal benefits or between economic development and environmental protections. Topics include pollution, climate change, deforestation, overfishing, and mineral extraction.
3 Credits
Prerequisites: None
* ENVS 280 Environmental Justice SeminarThis course explores the connections between environmental justice, local and global communities, and different career fields. In this course, students will find and attend local environmental justice events during the semester. The class meets once per week to discuss topics including: defining environmental justice, how environmental justice connects to different careers, how to attend a scientific meeting, what they learned from events attended, and applying knowledge to solving real-world environmental justice problems.
*3 credits
SOCY 231 International MigrationSurveys key issues in international migration. Provides basic information about issues such as the intersection and implications of international migration and race/ethnicity within the destination, the brain drain, the socioeconomic adaptation of immigrants, transnationalism, the economic and cultural impacts of international migration, and the trafficking and exploitation of women and children, among others. Formerly SOC 259 International Migration.
Prerequisite: SOCY 100.
SOCY 333 Women and the Developing WorldExamines insights that the feminist perspective brings to the issues of development, challenging the assumption that "integrating women into development" will solve problems caused by plans and policies that neglect women. This course is meant to be a guide to recent thinking and literature about women and development, and to the feminist critique of these. The course focuses on multinationals, rural development, and food production, including appropriate technology and income generation, health, migration, education, and communication. Formerly SOC 310 Women and Third World Development.
3 credits
Prerequisite: SOCY 100.
* SOCY 131 Global Social IssuesSurveys the global problems of hunger, overpopulation, energy, pollution, war, and extremism (slavery, apartheid, relocation, genocide), and how they are built into society. Formerly SOC 254 Global Social Issues.
3 credits
FLC Area V
General Education Curriculum: Knowledge and Inquiry
SSC 350 Interdisciplinary Research MethodsThis course introduces students to research methods used in a variety of social science and interdisciplinary studies. It is designed for undergraduate students in sociology, political science, international affairs, and other disciplines. Topics of emphasis include crafting research questions, hypothesis formation, quantitative and qualitative research techniques, data collection, and initial/basic data analysis. As part of the course, students will complete a number of mini-projects to practice these skills. (Formerly SSC 250)
Language & Culture (One of the following)
SPAN 202 Spanish for Professional CommunicationDevelops basic effective communication with Spanish-speaking co-workers, clients, students, their parents and others who don't master the English language. Specific professional focuses of the course will vary according to students' needs. Class materials centers on simulated communication situations to build listening and oral comprehension through simple and clear linguistic structures. Generates a useful communication style generated from cross cultural understanding to be acquired from readings and class discussions. Formerly SPA 202 Intermediate Spanish II.
* SPAN 213 Latina VoicesFosters awareness and understanding among women of the Americas, their different cultures and traditions as told through their own stories. Students will also reach a better understanding of the ethnic and racial diversity that characterizes the whole American continent including the United States, thus becoming more able to participate in a multicultural environment, both in the labor force and in their personal lives. Readings and discussions will be in English. Native speakers of Spanish may choose to do written assignments in Spanish. Formerly SPA 210 Latina Voices.
3 credits
FLC II
General Education Requirements: Knowledge and Inquiry
SPAN 223 An Introduction to Latin American LiteratureThe course will serve as an introduction to Latin American authors through the study of short tales and poetry. The readings will always be in Spanish, though the instruction will be in both Spanish and English.
3 credits
Prerequisites: SPAN 102 or Permission of Instructor.
SPAN 301 Reading and Writing for Advanced or Native SpeakersDesigned for Spanish speakers whose dominant language is English, this course draws from the students' linguistic background in both languages in order to teach them to write effectively in Spanish. Activities include news reporting, book reviews, essays, and business and formal letters. Students may suggest their own topics of interest to be used in three out of the six papers required. Grammar explanations including accentuation, orthography, verb tenses and uses of the subjunctive mood will be used in relation with vocabulary and idiomatic expressions to enhance language development. Readings based on the cultural life and experience of Spanish-speaking people in the U.S. Formerly SPA 401 Advanced Composition.
3 credits
Prereq: Native or near-native proficiency in Spanish
SPAN 302 Reading and Writing for Advanced or Native Speakers IIServes as a continuation of SPAN 301, expanding and refining many of the grammar explanations and raising the writing activities to a higher level of proficiency and sophistication. Students may suggest their own topics of interest to be used in three out of the six papers required Formerly SPA 401 Advanced Composition.
* ENGL 475 Immigration, Identity, and PoliticsExplores the intersection between citizenship and identity in the work of Edwidge Danticat, Junot Diaz, and Chimamanda Adichie. Prerequisites: Formerly ENGL 475, Seminar on Edwidge Danticat.
3 credits
Prerequisites: ENGL 107
General Education: Civic Knowledge
* FNAR 313 Art of the AmericasExamines the art of the Americas and considers influences of Europe, Africa, and American Indigenous civilizations. Includes the visual heritage of indigenous cultures and explores the impact and legacy of migration, ethnicity, and colonization in the art world.
3 Credits
Prerequisites: None
HUM 300 Women in Love: The Novel in Europe and the AmericasAnalyzes the social construction of gender and gender roles in the contexts of marriage and heterosexual and lesbian relationships as explored in the 19th and 20th century novels drawn from canonical and non-canonical literature and film produced in Europe and the Americas. Representative readings may include such works as Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Bombal's Shrouded Woman, Minot's Evening, and Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate.
3 credits
FLC Seminar II