Director
Professor Jeffrey Gould

Graduate Faculty

Distinguished Professors
Willis Barnstone (Emeritus, Comparative Literature, Spanish and Portuguese), Richard Bauman (Folklore), Charles Heiser (Emeritus, Biology)

Rudy Professor
Albert Valdman (French and Italian, Linguistics)

Mendel Professor
Daniel James (History)

A. F. Bentley Professor
Lynton Caldwell (Emeritus, Political Science, Public and Environmental Affairs)

Professors
Robert Arnove (Education), J. Gordon Brotherston (Spanish and Portuguese), Richard Burke (Emeritus, Telecommunications), Keith Clay (Biology), Claus Clüver (Emeritus, Comparative Literature), Geoffrey Conrad (Anthropology), Dennis Conway (Geography), Della Collins Cook (Anthropology), Blaise Cronin (Library and Information Science), Jeffrey Gould (History), Jeffrey Hart (Political Science), Jack Hopkins (Emeritus, Public and Environmental Affairs), Heitor Martins (Emeritus, Spanish and Portuguese), John McDowell (Folklore), Emilio Moran (Anthropology), Carlos Ovando (Education), David Pletcher (Emeritus, History), Robert Quirk (Emeritus, History), Anya Peterson Royce (Anthropology), Darlene Sadlier (Spanish and Portuguese), Gustavo Sainz (Spanish and Portuguese), Merle Simmons (Emeritus, Spanish and Portuguese), George Stolnitz (Emeritus, Economics), Albert Wertheim (English), Richard Wilk (Anthropology), James Wood (Emeritus, Sociology), Frances Wyers (Emerita, Spanish and Portuguese)

Associate Professors
Bonnie Brownlee* (Journalism), Mary Clayton (Spanish and Portuguese), J. Clancy Clements (Spanish and Portuguese), Luis Dávila (Spanish and Portuguese, Chicano-Riqueño Studies), John Dyson (Spanish and Portuguese), Peter Guardino (History), Stephanie Kane (Criminal Justice), Catherine Larson (Spanish and Portuguese), Kathleen Myers* (Spanish and Portuguese), Muriel Nazzari (Emerita, History), Philip Parnell (Criminal Justice), Anne Pyburn (Anthropology), Russell Salmon (Emeritus, Spanish and Portuguese), Richard Stryker (Political Science)

Academic Advisor
Professor Jeffrey Gould, 1125 E. Atwater Avenue (812) 855-8920

Degree Offered
Master of Arts. Students working on the Ph.D. in other departments may also qualify for an area certificate or an outside minor in Latin American and Caribbean studies.

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies fulfills a direct teaching function through its M.A. program and its doctoral-level certificate and minor; as well as a highly important liaison and coordinating function among departments and schools with teaching, research, and contract responsibilities related to Latin America and the Caribbean.

The teaching mission aims toward interdisciplinary training in the Latin American and Caribbean area in a two- to three-semester (30 credit hours) M.A. program, specifically tailored to those preparing for business, government, foreign service, or secondary school and junior college teaching opportunities. Advanced work in at least two disciplines and one interdisciplinary seminar give depth and breadth to such an education. Students select their own fields of emphasis from the Departments of Anthropology, Fine Arts, Folklore, Geography, History, Linguistics, Political Science, and Spanish and Portuguese, as well as from the Schools of Business, Education, Journalism, Music, and Public and Environmental Affairs.

Return to Top

Special Program Requirements

(See also general University Graduate School requirements.)

Return to Top

Master of Arts Degree

Admission Requirement
Graduate Record Examination general test scores are required before candidates can be considered for admission.

Course Requirements
A total of 30 credit hours from graduate courses related to Latin America and the Caribbean. At least 12 credit hours in one discipline (major) and 9 credit hours in a second, related discipline either within the social sciences or the humanities block (minor); 3 credit hours of L501, an interdisciplinary seminar with variable topics and area focus; the remaining 6 credit hours from Latin American and Caribbean studies courses or related courses in other departments.

Grades
B (3.0) average or above must be maintained.

Foreign Language Requirement
Reading proficiency in Spanish or Portuguese or, in special cases, in an Amerindian language or Haitian Creole.

Final Examination
Written examination, which must be passed in the last semester of course work. At the discretion of the director, an oral examination may be required following the written examination.

Alternatively, a thesis may be written with prior approval of thesis proposal by the steering committee. Following approval of the completed thesis, an oral exam on the thesis is to be taken at least two weeks before the end of the semester in which degree is to be granted.

Return to Top

Dual Degree: Master of Arts in Latin American and Caribbean Studies and Master of Business Administration

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies and the School of Business jointly offer a three-year program that qualifies students for two master’s degrees. Study for these two degrees in the dual degree (M.A./M.B.A.) can be completed in a total of 64.5 credit hours rather than the 84 credit hours that would otherwise be required to take the two degrees separately (since certain courses contribute to both degrees). The two degrees must be awarded simultaneously.

The LTAM (Latin American and Caribbean Studies) M.A. degree requires a total of 30 credit hours, 24 hours of which must be taken in Latin American and Caribbean Studies under the requirements established for the M.A. Of these, the interdisciplinary seminar L501 must be taken, together with 21 credit hours in other LTAM courses or those Latin American and Caribbean Studies courses that are cross-listed with other departments or Schools, except the School of Business. All other requirements for completion of the Latin American Studies M.A., including language proficiency and thesis or oral examination remain as listed in this bulletin.

Students must also take 40.5 credit hours in the School of Business under the requirements of the M.A./M.B.A. degree, including the Foundations and Functional Cores through the M.B.A. program, L506, L509 and the Strategy Component. Up to six credit hours taken in the School of Business may be counted as part of the 30 credit hours normally required for the M.A. degree in LTAM.

Application for admission to the dual M.A./M.B.A. degree program must be made to the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies and the University Graduate School for study toward the M.A. and to the School of Business for study toward the M.B.A. Students must be accepted by all three units in order to be admitted to the program.

Return to Top

Dual Degree: Master of Arts in Latin American and Caribbean Studies and Master of Library Science

The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies jointly offer a three-year program that qualifies students for two master’s degrees. Study for these two degrees in the dual degree (M.A./M.L.S.) can be completed in a total of (51) credit hours rather than the (66) credit hours that would otherwise be required to take the two degrees separately. During the dual degree, specific courses contribute to both degrees. The two degrees must be awarded simultaneously.

Students must take 21 credit hours of advanced courses relating to Latin American and Caribbean Studies. The interdisciplinary seminar L501 (3 credits) must be taken, together with 18 credit hours in other LTAM courses or those Latin American and Caribbean Studies courses that are cross-listed with other departments. All other requirements for completion of the Latin American Studies M.A., including language proficiency and thesis or oral examination remain as listed in this bulletin. A further 6 credit hours may be taken in SLIS and will count towards both degrees: L620 Topics in Information, Literature, and Bibliography (topic: Latin American Bibliography) and L596 Internship in Library and Information Science (under the supervision of the Latin American Bibliography).

For the M.L.S. degree, admission requirements remain as listed in the School of Library and Information Science Bulletin, and the proposed dual program requires 30 credit hours of SLIS graduate courses. These must include three courses (9 credits) from the common core (which must include L507 and L509), and four courses (12 credits) from the specific core (L520, L524, L526 and L528). Three other courses (9 credits) may be taken as library science electives and should include L570.

Application for admission to the dual M.A./M.L.S. degree program must be made to the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies for study toward the M.A. and to SLIS for study toward the M.L.S. Students must be accepted by both units in order to be admitted to the program.

Return to Top

Ph.D. Area Certificate

Admission Requirement
Acceptance into a Ph.D. program. Area certificate awarded only upon completion of the Ph.D. degree.

Areas of Concentration
Latin America and the Caribbean.

Course Requirements
A total of 18 credit hours with Latin American and/or Caribbean emphases, including one graduate seminar in the L501 series and 9 credit hours outside the student’s major discipline and a dissertation on a Latin American or Caribbean topic.

Grades
A minimum grade of B (3.0) is required in each course that is to count toward certificate requirements.

Foreign Language Requirements
Reading proficiency in Spanish or Portuguese.

Return to Top

Ph.D. Minor in Latin American and Caribbean Studies

The requirements for the Ph.D. minor are flexible. Each program is developed in consultations between the student, the academic advisor of the student’s major department, and the director of Latin American and Caribbean studies, though certain basic requirements are common to all programs.

Course Requirements
Fifteen (15) credit hours of course work directly related to Latin American or Caribbean subject matter, including at least one graduate seminar or readings course (3 credit hours) and 12 credit hours in two disciplines outside the student’s major. Courses in the student’s major department and language courses below the 500 level may not be applied to the Ph.D. minor.

Examination
If a grade point average of at least 3.7 A is maintained, no examination will be required. Otherwise, the director of Latin American and Caribbean studies may stipulate that the student take a written examination.

Program Certification
Certification that all requirements for the program have been met must come from the director of Latin American and Caribbean studies.

Return to Top

Courses

The following courses complement the offerings of Latin American and Caribbean studies within related departments. Each is an interdisciplinary survey of the people, politics, economics, society, and culture.

L400 Contemporary Mexico (3 cr.)
L402 Contemporary Brazil (3 cr.)
L403 Contemporary Central America (3 cr.)
L406 Contemporary Peru and Chile (3 cr.)
L425 Latin American and Caribbean Languages (1-4 cr.) Languages of Latin America and the Caribbean, other than Spanish and Portuguese. The following languages are regularly offered: Nahuatl and Haitian Creole. May be repeated with different language or higher level for a maximum of six hours in any one language.
L501 Seminar: Contemporary Latin America (3 cr.) Two regions will be studied: one topic for each region, or one topic for the two regions. Regions to be cycled: Mexico, Caribbean and Central America, Andean countries, Southern Cone, Brazil. May be repeated once for credit.
L520 New Latin American Cinema (3 cr.) Survey of the Latin American film from the 1950s to the present. Taught in English, the course is interdisciplinary and cross-cultural, emphasizing the socioeconomic and political issues that gave rise to a specific movement.
L526 Special Topics in Latin American and Caribbean Studies (1-3 cr.) Intensive study and analysis of selected Latin American and Caribbean studies problems of limited scope within an interdisciplinary format. Topics will vary and will ordinarily cut across fields, regions, or periods. May be repeated for credit.
L803 Individual Readings in Latin American Studies (1-6 cr.) Draws upon materials from anthropology, business, economics, education, fine arts, folklore, geography, history, political science, sociology, and Spanish and Portuguese literature. May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits (or 10 credits if 6 are used for the thesis option).

For courses in other departments acceptable for degree and certificate requirements, consult the director of Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

Return to Top