Latinx & Latin America Studies (LLAS)

This course is designed to introduce students to the field of Latinx and Ethnic Studies. As a survey course, Intro to Latinx Studies explores a wide range of interdisciplinary topics. Drawing on a variety of historical, literary, political, philosophical, ethnographic, and artistic texts, this course serves as a foundation for students wishing to pursue more advanced courses in Latinx and Latin American Studies, as well as an introduction to relevant topics in Latinx studies for all students interested. Letter grade only. Not challengable.

Latinos have been documenting their stories of richness, cultural identity, and living in the US since the late sixteenth century. In this course, we will examine and introduce students to how Latino identity is developed and negotiated in the United States through multiple cultural expressions such as literature, music, films, and social media. Students will explore the relationship and role cultural practices play in the development of agency, activism, and transformation. Students will have an opportunity to explore values of bilingualism, identity, and cultural assets from their home countries. Lastly, students will learn and develop a blueprint of skills in social agency, activism, and transformational pedagogy. Letter grade only. Not challengeable.

In this course, students are exposed to the history of Latin America and the Caribbean, and of Latinx in the United States and abroad. It explores, though not exclusively, the periods of colonization, independence movements, nation building, neo-colonization, migration, and re-settlement. It seeks to study the contributions, challenges, cultures, languages, and ways of thinking of Latin Americans and Latinx through the engagement of disciplines such as history, literature, language, religion, political science, and philosophy. Letter grade only. Not challengeable.

This course is designed to give the student the means to grasp the politics of Latin American countries from a comparative perspective. It focuses on the study of institutions, transitions and democratic and authoritarian regimes in the region. We will focus our attention on all of the above, as well as on regional economic and political agreements and organizations, and migration patterns. Letter grade only. Not challengeable.