Latin American Studies
Latin American Studies is the newer of the two Spanish programs offered in UMD’s Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. Students who major or minor in this program take courses in Spanish language through the advanced level before taking an interdisciplinary set of courses to intensify their study of Latin America. Our students apply their linguistic and interdisciplinary skills to a wide variety of local, regional, national, or international career choices.
How? The capstone course for Latin American Studies majors is SPAN 3097, a course that gives students credit for their fieldwork with a Spanish-speaking community abroad or right here in Minnesota. Students can meet this requirement in one of two ways:
Study Abroad: Students cultivate the ability to articulate a keen understanding of the role of race, class, gender, sustainability, and human rights as they pertain to Spanish-speaking North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Our approved study abroad programs include “Belize: Culture and Conservation,” “Culture and Sustainability in Ecuador,” “Surfing, War and Tourism in Nicaragua” and “Peru’s Food Movement,” among others. For more information, please see the UMD Study Abroad website.
Internship in Minnesota: The internship program is designed to place students in direct contact with state and private organizations serving the Latino community in Minnesota. Students gain experience working directly with an agency of their choice, including the Chicano Latino Affairs Council (a state government office), Centro Cultural Chicano (a social services organization), Latino Economic Center (a non-profit organization), El Colegio (a Spanish immersion public high school), El Jardín (a private Spanish immersion academy for children, ages 3 mos. to 5 yrs.), among others.
For a complete list of requirements for the Latin American Studies major and minor, see the CLA Advising website.
For more information, please contact Head Adviser of the Latin American Studies Program, Dr. Jennifer Gómez Menjívar at [email protected].