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Latin American Studies
The Latin American Studies minor offers Sweet Briar students the opportunity to study the region composed of Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. The interdisciplinary approach allows students to explore various aspects of the area such as religion, history, politics, and literature. To provide a deeper cultural understanding and to insure a minimum level of communication skills in the major language of the region, one course taught in Spanish numbered above 202 is required. Students are encouraged to consider an approved study abroad experience in Latin America. This minor provides an excellent complement to majors in anthropology, environmental studies, government, international affairs, and religion, and prepares students for work in fields such as business, teaching, government and non-profits.
The Latin American Studies Minor
Course Descriptions
The Latin American Studies Minor
(21 semester hours)
Required:
GOVT 318 (3) Comparative Politics of Latin America
LAST 201 (3) Latin American Culture I
LAST 202 (3) Latin American Culture II
LAST 302 (3) Special Topics in Latin American Studies
RELG 235 (3) Latin American Religion
Choose 1 of the following:
HIST 308 (3) Encounters, Conquest, and European Expansion, 1350-1650
LAST 302 (3) Special Topics in Latin American Studies (can be repeated when content changes)
SPAN 255 (3) Topics in Hispanic Literature in Translation (when topic is appropriate)
SPAN 382 (3) The Latin American Novel
SPAN 384 (3) The Latin American Short Story and Essay
SPAN 386 (3) Latin American Theatre
SPAN 388 (3) Latin American Poetry
Choose 1 additional three-credit course taught in Spanish which is numbered above SPAN 202.
HIST 308
Encounters, Conquest and European Expansion, 1350-1650
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: HIST 143 or HIST 224. This course probes the economic, scientific, and territorial expansions that both fuelled and resulted from the “rebirth” of western Europe during the early modern era. Topics include Columbus’s voyages to the New World; the Portuguese slave trade in Africa; Italian and Ottoman commercial rivalries in the Mediterranean; Spanish, British and French colonization of the Americas; and Europe’s scientific responses to the new and strange environments being mapped and explored. Offered alternate years. III.W, V.1
LAST 201
Latin American Culture I
CR:
3.0 An introduction to the study of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean through an interdisciplinary approach to the history and culture of the area. The historical, political, social, artistic and economic complexities of the region will be emphasized. V.4
LAST 202
Latin American Culture II
CR:
3.0 An introduction to the study of South America through an interdisciplinary approach to the history and culture of the continent. The historical, political, social, artistic and economic complexities of the region will be emphasized. V.4
LAST 302
Special Topics in Latin American Studies
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: Sophomores with permission. An exploration of a specific topic in Latin American studies. Topics will vary by semester and the course may be repeated for credit when course content changes. Topic for Fall 2011: "The Southern Cone (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay)." This course will examine the cultures of the Southern Cone countries of South America: Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. We will focus on contemporary production in the areas of art, architecture, literature, and music. Topics will range from the tango to Andean mustic to Japanese, German, and indigenous influences on the art of the region. Short works by authors such as Borges, Neruda, and Quiroga will be studied. V.4
RELG 235
Latin American Religion
CR:
3.0 SPAN 255
Topics in Hispanic Literature in Translation
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: First-year students with permission. A study of significant Latin American and/or Spanish writers and the relationship between their work and society. This course may be counted as the one course in English allowed for the major in Spanish. Taught in English. Offered alternate years. V.2
SPAN 382
The Latin American Novel
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 222. A study of the Latin American novel with an emphasis on major twentieth-century authors and literary trends. Writers studied may include Bombal, Rulfo, Fuentes, Garcia-Marquez, Allende and Argueta, among others. Offered alternate years. III.W, V.2
SPAN 384
The Latin American Short Story and Essay
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 222. A study of the major writers and themes of the Latin American short story and essay (cultural, political and social commentary). Writers studied may include Palma, Echeverria, Marti, Quiroga, Borges, Donoso, Cortazar and Valenzuela, among others. Offered alternate years. V.2
SPAN 386
Latin American Theatre
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 222. A study of Latin American theatre with an emphasis on historical trends and social and political themes and contexts. Offered alternate years. V.2
SPAN 388
Latin American Poetry
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 222. A study of Latin American poetry from the colonial period through Romanticism and Modernism to the present. Poets studied may include Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Heredia, Dario, Mistral, Vallejo, Guillen, Neruda, Paz and Cardenal, among others. Offered alternate years. III.W, V.2
