LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES
175 Prince Lucien Campbell Hall
Phone: (541) 346-5051
E-mail: las@gladstone.uoregon.edu

Preparation. High school students who have taken courses in political science, economics, history, or other approaches to international affairs, or who have participated in extracurricular activities (such as the Oregon High School International Relations League) may well be interested in Latin American studies.

Community college students who have taken courses in international relations may be interested in specializing in Latin American studies.

Careers. Career opportunities for students completing Latin American studies are available through such avenues as the Peace Corps, the United States Foreign Service (including U.S. Information Agency), the foreign aid programs of the American government, the United Nations and other international organizations, private foundations, international businesses, and international nongovernmental organizations (including church, human-rights, and environmental organizations).

The University of Oregon offers a minor in Latin American Studies

Minor Requirements

Students who want to earn a minor in Latin American studies at the University of Oregon must satisfy the following requirements.

Language Requirement

All students must satisfactorily complete, with grades of P or C– or better, two years of college-level Spanish- or Portuguese-language courses. The University of Oregon does not offer Portuguese.

Language credits may be earned at the University of Oregon or on an approved overseas program, or transferred from another accredited college or university. Alternatively, students may satisfy the language requirement by examination, demonstrating a level of competence equivalent to two years of college Spanish or Portuguese. Students whose native language is either Spanish or Portuguese may substitute equivalent competence in English in lieu of this requirement.

Credit Requirement

In addition to the language requirement, all students must satisfactorily complete, with grades of P or C– or better, 28 credits of course work in Latin American studies. Latin American courses are, generally, those with a minimum of 50 percent content related to Latin America. Of these 28 credits:

• A minimum of 20 credits must be earned in University of Oregon courses; the other 8 credits may be earned through successful completion of preapproved courses in an approved overseas program at an accredited Latin American college or university. Transfer credits from universities outside Latin America are considered individually, following existing procedures in appropriate departments for determining their equivalence to UO courses

• A minimum of 16 credits must be in upper-division (300- or 400-level) courses

• A minimum of 20 credits must be taken for letter grades

Sample Courses that Satisfy Minor Requirements

Any 407 Seminar, in any department or program, that focuses on Latin America Anthropology. Native Central Americans (ANTH 433), Native South Americans (ANTH 434)

• A minimum of 4 credits must be earned through successful completion of a course or courses whose focus is on pre-20th-century Latin America

• A maximum of 8 credits can be in comparative, global, ethnic, and similar courses that are relevant to Latin American studies but lack a minimum of 50 percent content directly related to Latin America

• No more than 12 credits from any single department can count toward the minor

• Courses from no more than four departments, disciplines, or programs can count toward the minor

Advising

Students who want to minor in Latin American studies should frequently consult a Latin American studies adviser to determine which courses offered during any given academic year count toward fulfillment of the requirements for the minor.

In Spanish, only upper-division literature and culture courses count toward satisfaction of the 28-credit requirement. Below is a representative sample–not a comprehensive list–of regularly offered courses that count toward the minor.

History. Latin America (HIST 380, 381, 382),
Latin American Regional History (HIST 481),
Latin America’s Indian Peoples (HIST 482),
Latin America (HIST 483)

Political Science. Mexican Politics (PS 255), Government and Politics of Latin America Lfl (PS 463, 464)

Spanish. Survey of Spanish American Literature (SPAN 318, 319), Hispanic Literature in the United States (SPAN 328), Colonial Latin American Literature (SPAN 450), 20th-Century Latin American Literature (SPAN 490)

In addition, many departments and programs periodically offer courses that might satisfy minor requirements. Among these departments and programs are art history, ethnic studies, geography, international studies, sociology, and women’s studies.

Individual departments or programs may allow courses counted toward the minor in Latin American studies to count also toward the disciplinary major. Students should inquire at their major departments about this.