The Latin American Studies Seminar is a one semester 3-credit course required in the Fall Semester of the Foundation Year Program. The goal of this seminar is to introduce students to the history and geography of the region; examine current social, economic, political and environmental issues facing Latin America; explore different responses to these issues; and assess in what ways these regional issues are manifestations of issues that are global in scope. Short field trips in Costa Rica and a two-week trip to Nicaragua will allow students to gain a more specific, thorough and intimate perspective by means of greater first hand experience with some of these issues. Among the topics covered are colonialism and imperialism; resistance and revolution; poverty and migration; development and conservation; art and popular culture; and race, class, ethnicity, and gender as units of analysis.

Contact hours: 45 in class and in the field.