Curriculum

Latino/Latin American Studies Minor

Students majoring in any discipline can enroll in the Latino/Latin American Studies Minor. The minor consists of four required courses on Latino and Latin American history, politics, literature, and culture. Students also complete a one-credit project their senior year and take two electives from a wide range of choices in History, Spanish, Political Science, English, and Theology.

Students can fulfill many of the Latino/Latin American Studies Minor requirements on the Saint John’s and Saint Ben’s study abroad programs in Chile and Central America.

The Latino/Latin American Studies Minor is an interdisciplinary curriculum that explores the histories and cultures of the peoples of South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. The minor is also designed to give students an opportunity to develop an understanding of the diverse groups that comprise the U.S. Latino populations.

The Latino/Latin American Studies Minor requires Spanish-language proficiency and twenty-five (25) credits of Latino/Latin American Studies courses: seventeen credits, required; and eight units, elective. Classes will be conducted in English and Spanish, depending on the department which offers them. Students will complete a one-credit senior capstone project.

Required Courses

HIST 120 –Latin American Experience
POLS 347 – Latin American Politics
SPAN 336 – Latin American Culture
SPAN 337 – Latino Identity in the United States
LLAS 399 – Senior Project (1 credit)

Special Requirements

Demonstrated proficiency in Spanish by completing Spanish 311 (or 310) and 312 or by approval of the Spanish faculty.

Electives

Plus two of the following courses:

HIST 321 Colonial Mexico
HIST 322 Modern Mexico
HIST 323 Religion in Latin America
HIST 324 Issues in Modern Latin American History (Costa Rica)
SPAN 340 Latin American Literature: Pre-Columbian to Independence
SPAN 342 Latin American Literature: Independence to Modernismo
SPAN 345 Latin American Literature: Modernismo to Present
SPAN 355 Topics in Hispanic Literature (Costa Rica)

and the following courses when taught by an appropriate faculty member (The approval of the Latino/Latin American Studies Program Director is necessary for these courses to count toward the minor.)

HIST 200 History Colloquium
HIST 389 Historiography and Methods
ENGL 355 Studies in Individual Authors
ENGL 365 Capstone: Comparative Literature of the Americas
ENGL 381 Literature by Women
ENGL 382 Multicultural Literature of the Americas
HIST 397 Internship
SPAN 397 Internship
THEO 397 Internship
SA 398 Field Experience/Practicum (Costa Rica)