Latin American Course Offerings
Spring 2023 Courses
We have added all of our courses to the course catalog! To access visit the class schedule and search "Latin American Studies".
The Stone Center for Latin American Studies offers the classes listed below. In addition to these offerings, students take classes across disciplines. For a complete list of all course offerings pertaining to Latin America offered at Tulane within the last three years, click the button below.
For a complete list of elective classes offered for Fall 2022, click the button below.
Fall 2022 Latin American Studies Electives
Many Latin American Studies classes satisfy Tulane's core requirements. To see a list of those classes for next semester, click the button below.
NTC Core Requirements via Latin American Studies
LAST 1010 Introduction to Latin American Studies (3)
This course provides a basic historical, cultural, and socio-political introduction to the study of Latin America, including the Latinx influence on US culture and society. The class seeks to find cultural and historic continuity within this vastly diverse region relative to a complex history of exchange and interchange with the US and Europe. Students discuss the influence of foreign perceptions on our understanding of Latin America and Latinx America and survey how Latin American and Latinx artists, writers, and intellectuals represent their nations and cultures to themselves and to the world. The class equips students for more advanced coursework on the region in a wide array of disciplines at Tulane. Focusing on the development of cultural understanding, intercultural communication, and creating the foundations for area expertise, the class provides critical skills for numerous professions in an increasingly globalized society and economy including business, social policy, public health, law, and advocacy, among others.
LAST 2000 Approaches to Latin American Studies (3)
This course introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of Latin American Studies through the study of contemporary social, political, and cultural issues in the region. Addressing some of the most critical scholarly questions through variety of disciplinary and theoretical lenses, the class examines the theoretical and practical meanings of interdisciplinary while introducing students to canonical literature in the field of Latin American Studies. Through readings and discussion of texts from the humanities and social sciences, students develop an understanding of how various disciplinary perspectives contribute to an holistic understanding of the complexities of a world region. Critical to the class is to challenge external constructions of an issue or problem and to approach it on its own terms, from within its cultural context.
Prerequisite LAST 1010 or equivalent.
LAST 2010 Approaches to Latinx Studies (3)
This course introduces students to the study of the Latinx diaspora and Latinx experience in the United States as a step toward a more holistic understanding of the region we call Latin America. Latin America and the US have long shared porous borders that blur easy division between histories and identities. This class looks at the United States' historical relationship with Latin America to explore push and pull factors of Latinx immigration, regimes of migration and citizenship, borders and border cultures and emergent forms of political and social action. It introduces students to key theories on Latinx politics, culture and identity, introducing canonical texts in the field. Students will become familiar with interdisciplinary approaches and discipline-based theories of identity, assimilation, transnationalism, and citizenship, and other issues that contribute to the field of Latinx studies.
LAST 4000 Undergraduate Core Seminar in Latin American Studies (3,4)
This course is the Latin American Studies capstone class and is required of all senior students majoring in Latin American Studies. The Core Seminar develops students’ capacity for interdisciplinary problem solving and understanding of Latin American social and cultural institutions and production. The course has two main components: (1) in effort to prepare students for advanced graduate study, students research and write a major research paper, which they present in a professional style conference held at the end of the semester; and (2) students participate in career exploration and development, working on tailoring and presenting their education in terms relevant to professional occupations, and writing resumes and cover letters. The course culminates in TUCLA, the Tulane Undergraduate Conference on Latin America, a public presentation of students’ research and scholarship. Download the schedule, abstracts and participant biographies for last year’s TUCLA conference.
The objectives of the course are:
- to create a climate of advanced interdisciplinary research and intellectual exchange whereby students develop an ability to perform professionally in an advanced academic setting through seminar discussion and research paper presentation
- to expose students to interdisciplinary methodologies and thus develop critical thinking skills that will enable them to synthesize multiple disciplines and some of their corresponding theories/methodologies effectively around common themes
- to explore and test the viability and applicability of Latin American Studies training to a variety of post-graduate career possibilities.
The Core Seminar is offered only in the fall semester and fulfills the University’s Writing Intensive Course distribution requirement.
LAST 4560/4570 Internship Studies (1-3)
An experiential learning process coupled with pertinent academic course work. Open only to juniors and seniors in good standing. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.
LAST 4910/4920 Independent Studies (1-3)
The Stone Center for Latin American Studies also offers students the opportunity for independent study under the direction of a faculty member. The work may take the form of directed readings, library research, or original composition. Instead of traditional class attendance, the student substitutes conferences, as needed, with the faculty director of the independent study course.
Students are permitted to design two independent studies in the course of the undergraduate studies at Tulane; however, they may not occur in the same semester.
Students interested in designing an independent study for credit in Latin American Studies should use the following process:
- The student selects a faculty member appropriate for the topic of the proposed study and secures his/her willingness to direct the independent study
- The student then devises a maximum 13 character title (including spaces) for the proposed independent study, which will subsequently appear on the student’s transcript
- The student and faculty director decide on the format, workload, and method of evaluation for the independent study and put this in writing, accompanied by the faculty director’s signature
- Finally, the student submits all materials, including a completed proposal form, which is obtained from the Center for Latin American Studies to the Undergraduate Advisor in the Center for Latin American Studies, who will then approve the independent study and formally register the student for the independent study.
Service Learning Courses
LAST 3890/91 Service Learning (0-1)
LAST 1010 and LAST 2010 are designated service-learning courses. Students enrolled in these classes complete a 40-hour community service activity that is tied closely to the academic content of the course and complete a reflection component, such as a weekly journal or regular discussions of their experiences. Community sites include city schools and organizations with a focus on Latin America-related activities or Latin American immigrants. General information is available through the Center for Public Service.
Internships
LAST4560/70 Internships (1-3)
Field experience, in the form of local and international community service and internships, is an integral part of the Latin American Studies curriculum. The Stone Center for Latin American Studies works closely with the Center for Public Service to offer internships with local, national and international agencies for academic credit, combining a relevant academic component with experiential learning. These internships are open to senior majors in good academic standing. Students interested in pursuing an internship should contact the Center for Public Service prior to the start of the semester in which the internship will take place.
