Latino/a and Latin American Studies

Overview

The Latino/a and Latin American Studies (LLAS) major offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the societies and cultures of Latin America and the Latino and Chicano experience in the United States. By extending the study of "Latin America" beyond the geopolitical borders of the region to include the Caribbean and the United States, the major emphasizes the importance of migrations, interethnic interactions, and cultural exchanges of Indigenous, European, African, and Asian peoples throughout the Americas. The LLAS program engages students with a variety of perspectives on the socio-political complexities and cultural traditions of the Americas, and the historical development of unique regional societies and cultures. The transnational perspective of our curriculum distinguishes the LLAS major from more traditional area studies programs.

Students in the major develop proficiency in Spanish and take courses from a broad range of academic disciplines and departments, including history, Spanish, sociology, English, music, politics, economics, psychology, and education. LLAS majors are strongly encouraged to participate in study abroad and summer research programs in Latin America or Spain. Our program also encourages students to engage in community-based learning through the different activities available in the Latino and Latin American communities that are integral to the city of Los Angeles. The major prepares students for graduate school as well as for a variety of career paths, including community organizing, social work, education, public history (museums and cultural centers), government, law, public service, and business.

Major Requirements

COURSEWORK

The Latino/a and Latin American Studies Major requires ten courses (40 units) plus SPAN 202 OR SPAN 211. Students are strongly encouraged to take a one unit-course in United States Latino or Latin American Performance Art (Music or Dance) before they graduate. The ten course distribution requirements are:

Introductory course:

Latin American survey courses

Students must complete HIST 150 and one of the following two courses:

U.S. Latino survey courses:

Students must take the following two courses:

Additional Electives:

Students must also select four additional electives from the following list of courses (not counting courses used to satisfy the "Latin American survey"   requirement above). Two of these must be at the 300 level. One of the four electives must be an arts or humanities course. 

Senior Seminar

SECOND-STAGE WRITING REQUIREMENT

The second-stage writing requirement for the LLAS major may be satisfied by taking any of the elective courses listed below and earning the grade of B- or better. Course offerings will vary by year, so if a student is not able to take a designated course (due to study abroad, exceeding the departmental elective limit, etc), he or she can petition in advance to take an alternate course.

COMPREHENSIVE REQUIREMENT

To satisfy the comprehensive requirement students will produce a Senior thesis in the Senior Seminar. Declared majors propose the topic of their thesis before the end of their Junior year. The thesis is a research based essay of approximately 30 pages integrating both primary and secondary source materials. Successful completion of the Senior thesis along with a public presentation of it in the spring semester will satisfy the LLAS comprehensive requirement.

Minor Requirements

Five courses (20 units) are required to complete the LLAS minor. One of these must be at the 300 level.

COURSEWORK

Introductory course

Latin American History and Politics courses

Students must complete one of the following:

Latino Studies:

Students must select two courses from the list below:

Additional Elective

Students must select one additional Latin American Studies course from the lists above.

Courses

Faculty

Regular Faculty

Lisa Sousa, chair

Professor, History; Chair, Latino/a and Latin American Studies

B.A., M.A., Ph.D., U.C. Los Angeles

Jaclyn Rodriguez

Professor, Latino/a and Latin American Studies

B.A., Occidental College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Michigan

Advisory Committee

Adelaida López

Professor, Spanish and French Studies; Advisory Committee, Latino/a and Latin American Studies; Advisory Committee, Group Language

B.A., Wellesley College; M.A., Ph.D., Columbia University

Shanna Lorenz

Assistant Professor, Music

B.A., Reed College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh; Ph.D., New York University

Jennifer Piscopo

Assistant Professor, Politics; Advisory Committee, Latino/a and Latin American Studies

B.A., Wellesley; M.Phil., University of Cambridge; Ph.D., U.C. San Diego

Dolores Trevizo

Professor, Sociology; Advisory Committee, Latino/a and Latin American Studies

A.B., Occidental College; M.A., Ph.D., U.C. Los Angeles

Raul Villa

Professor, English; Advisory Committee, American Studies; Advisory Committee, Latino/a and Latin American Studies

B.A., Yale University; M.A., University of Michigan; Ph.D., U.C. Santa Cruz

Affiliated Faculty

Elizabeth Braker

Professor, Biology; Advisory Committee, Kinesiology; Advisory Committee, Urban and Environmental Policy; Affiliated Faculty, Latino/a and Latin American Studies

B.A., Colorado College; Ph.D., U.C. Berkeley

Lan T. Chu

Associate Professor, Diplomacy and World Affairs; Affiliated Faculty, Latino/a and Latin American Studies

B.A., M.A., New York University; Ph.D., George Washington University

Robert Ellis

Norman Bridge Distinguished Professor of Spanish, Spanish and French Studies; Affiliated Faculty, Latino/a and Latin American Studies; Advisory Committee, Group Language

B.A., Pomona College; M.A., Ph.D., U.C. Los Angeles

Salvador Fernández

Professor, Spanish and French Studies; Affiliated Faculty, Latino/a and Latin American Studies; Advisory Committee, Group Language

B.A., U.C. Riverside; M.A., Indiana University; Ph.D., U.C. Los Angeles

Felisa Guillén

Professor, Spanish and French Studies; Affiliated Faculty, Latino/a and Latin American Studies; Advisory Committee, Group Language

B.A., M.A., University of Madrid; Ph.D., U.C. Santa Barbara

Sanjeev Khagram

John Parke Young Chair in Global Political Economy

B.A., M.A., Ph.D. Stanford

Mary Lopez

Associate Professor, Economics; Affiliated Faculty, Latino/a and Latin American Studies

B.A., U.C. Riverside; M.A., Ph.D., University of Notre Dame

John McCormack

Associated Professor, Biology; Affiliated Faculty, Latino/a and Latin American Studies

B.S., University of Arizona; Ph.D., U.C. Los Angeles

Richard Mora

Associate Professor, Sociology; Affiliated Faculty, Latino/a & Latin American Studies

B.A., Harvard College (Sociology); M.A., University of Michigan (Education); M.A., Harvard University (Sociology); Ph.D., Harvard University (Sociology & Social Policy)

Jaclyn Rodríguez

Professor, Latino/a and Latin American Studies

A.B., Occidental College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Michigan

Michael Shelton

Associate Professor, Spanish and French Studies; Cognitive Science; Affiliated Faculty, Linguistics; Affiliated Faculty, Latino/a and Latin American Studies; Advisory Committee, Group Language

B.S., St. Cloud State University; M.A., Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University

Ronald Solórzano

Professor, Education; Affiliated Faculty, Latino/a and Latin American Studies

B.S., M.Ed., Loyola Marymount University; Ph.D., U.C. Los Angeles