Latin American Studies
Source: https://histlit.fas.harvard.edu/latin-american-studies Parent: https://histlit.fas.harvard.edu/hl90s
History & Literature’s field of Latin American Studies gives students the opportunity to study the history and literature of Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Brazil and the Southern Cone in a global context. Students explore topics such as indigenous cultures, conquest and colonization, global latinidad, migration, diaspora, colonial institutions, literary documents such as crónicas and poetry, independence movements, novels and poetry of the period of national self-definition, and the role of these cultures in the history and literature of the twentieth century.
In addition to the requirements for all concentrators (5 tutorials and 1 course that satisfies the language requirement), students in the Latin American Studies field complete the following requirements:
- 1 survey course on Latin America (the course should cover at least 100 years);
- 2 courses (1 history and 1 literature) on empire, diaspora, or transnational or comparative topics;
- 1 course focused on a period before 1900;
- 4 elective courses in Latin American Studies, balanced between history and literature.
Browse our list of Courses That Count for Latin American Studies, and use the Latin American Studies Field Worksheet to plot your course of study.
Students interested in studying Latinx topics may do so in the Latin American Studies field or in Ethnic Studies or American Studies. Please be in touch with Assistant Director of Studies, Emily Gowen.
Minnie Jang '18
Field Worksheet:\ Latin American Studies: Global Health\ Sophomore essay topic: The U.S. public health campaign during the Panama Canal’s construction\ Junior essay topic: The Bolivian film Yawar Malku and the Peace Corps in 1960s Bolivia\ Senior thesis title: Tracing Trauma: Discourses and Narratives of Experience in Post-Conflict Peru
Talia Rothstein '17
Field worksheet:
Latin American Studies: Mexico\ Sophomore essay topic: Juan Rulfo’s Es que somos muy pobres and post-Revolutionary Mexico\ Junior essay topic: Nationalism and representations of the Mexican working class at the Cananea mine\ Senior thesis title: La Mulata and the Nation: Narratives of Fear and Desire in Post-Revolutionary Mexico