Department Chair: Milagros Ricourt (Carman Hall, Room 284)
Department Faculty: Professors: Laird Bergad, Forrest Colburn; Associate Professors: David A. Badillo, Licia Fiol-Matta, Milagros Ricourt; Assistant Professors: Alyshia Gálvez, Teresita Levy, Kathleen Lopez; Lecturer: Xavier Totti
The Department of Latin American and Puerto Rican Studies offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Puerto Rican Studies and an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts degree in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. The Department also participates in the interdisciplinary Comparative Literature Program, as well as the Women's Studies Option. (See below for information on the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program, which is administered by an independent director and a committee composed of faculty from participating departments.)
Professional Opportunities and Graduate Study: A student majoring in Puerto Rican Studies or Latin American and Caribbean Studies will receive a solid foundation for graduate study and may look forward to a career in many areas of business, industry, government service, and teaching at all levels from elementary school to college. (For preparation in elementary or secondary teaching, consult the Department of Early Childhood and Childhood Education or the Department of Middle and High School Education.)
Director: Milagros Ricourt (Carman Hall, Room 284)
Professors: Laird Bergad, Forrest Colburn, George Corbin, María Guiñazú, Oscar Montero; Associate Professors: Carmen Esteves, James Jervis, Licia Fiol-Matta, José Luis Rénique, Milagros Ricourt; Lecturer: Xavier Totti
Participating Departments:
African and African American Studies, Anthropology, Art, Economics, Accounting, and Business Administration, Environmental, Geographical, and Geological Sciences, History, Languages and Literatures, Political Science, Puerto Rican Studies, Social Work, and Sociology
The Latin American and Caribbean Studies program offers an interdisciplinary B.A. degree designed to foster a broad-based understanding of this major geographical and cultural area of the world. The program provides the undergraduate student with a comprehensive academic background in the economic, social, political, and cultural problems facing this region today. Its successful completion prepares students to work effectively and knowledgeably in government, international organizations, private industry, journalism, and communications, or to pursue graduate studies in the humanities, social sciences, or law.
Admission to the program is contingent upon successful completion of LAC 266 and 267. A language requirement must be fulfilled by successful completion of SPA 202 or 204 or the equivalent. Portuguese or French may be substituted for Spanish upon consultation with the program director or adviser.
The courses and credits are distributed as follows:
Credits (30)
6 LAC 266-267
3 SPA 320, 329, 332, 333, or 343 (Portuguese or French may be substituted with Departmental permission.)
9 One course from each of the following three study areas: Socioeconomic Structures, Literature and the Arts, and History and Politics (see Departmental adviser for list). Other courses may be substituted with Departmental permission.
12 Electives to be taken from the three study areas or from Related Courses (see Departmental advisor for list).
These courses are to be chosen in consultation with a Departmental adviser. At least 6 credits must be 300- or 400-level courses.
No student may use more than 9 credits in any department that cross-lists courses with LAC to fulfill the major requirement.
Students may minor in Latin American Studies by accumulating 12 credits. LAC 266 and 267 are required, and students must take 6 additional credits of LAC courses at the 300 level or above.
Students interested in obtaining New York State teacher certification should consult the Office of the Dean of Education (Carman Hall, Room B-33, 718-960-4972).
LAC (ARH) 143: Introduction to the History of Latin American Art. 3 hours, 3 credits. A study of the principles of art applied to visual forms, with emphasis on modern art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
LAC (GEH) 189: Regional Geography of Selected Areas. 3 hours, 3 credits. The geography of continents of major areas outside Anglo-American and Western Europe. Special emphasis on the basic principles of economic and cultural geography of regionalization as illustrated in the area under consideration.
LAC(ANT)(WST)210: Women in Latin America. 3 hours, 3 credits. The course explores the relationship between the socioeconomic position of women and their power in domestic and public spheres in different historical contexts, such as Inca society, as well as contemporary rural and urban settings, making use of historical, ethnographic, and autobiographical sources.
LAC (PRS)214: Literature of the Caribbean. 3 hours, 3 credits. A comparative survey of Caribbean literature, including common themes, structures, and approaches to literary texts. Examples are chosen from works in Spanish, French, English, and Papiamento, read in translation if necessary.
LAC (COM) 216: Latin American Cinema. 3 hours, 3 credits. An overview of film in Latin America from the silent period to the present.
LAC (HIS)225: History of the Dominican Republic. 3 hours, 3 credits. Dominican history from pre-history and pre-Colombian times to the Trujillo era. Examination of different socioeconomic trends in the formation of Dominican society, as well as the prominent role played by foreign powers.
LAC 226: Contemporary Dominican Politics and Society. 3 hours, 3 credits. Dominican politics, economy, and society from the Trujillo era to the present. The course will focus on the authoritarian legacy of the Trujillo dictatorship, electoral politics in the post-Trujillo period, and recurring trends of caudillismo, praetorianism, and personalism.
LAC 231(PRS 242): Latinos in the United States. 3 hours, 3 credits. A comparative study of the social, political, and economic processes affecting Latino groups in the United States. Discussion will focus on the variable adaptations made by Puerto Ricans, Chicanos, Dominicans, Cubans, Colombians, and other Latinos in their migration and settlement within American society.
LAC(AAS)235: Caribbean Societies. 3 hours, 3 credits. A comparative study of Caribbean societies and cultures, with emphasis on the commonality and diversity in their historical, social, political, and economic development.
LAC(AAS)241: Literature of the English and aribbean Literature. 3 hours, 3 credits. Analysis of the literary works of Caribbean writers. Poetry, the novel, drama, and other literary forms of major authors.
LAC (HIS) 266: Introduction to Latin America and the Caribbean I. 3 hours, 3 credits. Survey of the peoples and civilizations of Pre-Columbian America and of the institutions, economy, history, and culture of Latin America and the Caribbean from the European conquest to the early nineteenth century (1492-1808).
LAC (HIS) 267: Introduction to Latin America and the Caribbean II. 3 hours, 3 credits. Survey of the nations and cultures, history, economy, and politics of Latin America and the Caribbean from the early nineteenth century to the present.
LAC 268: History of Mexico. 3 hours, 3 credits. Major themes in Mexican history: development of pre-Columbian civilizations; environmental and demographic impact of the Conquest; Spanish colonial period; wars of independence of the 19th century; nation building, the Mexican Revolution, dictatorship, and one-party democracy; and the political, cultural and economic relationship between Mexico and the United States.
LAC 312: Family and Gender Relations among Latinos. 3 hours, 3 credits. Comparative study of gender relations and the family among Latinos in the U.S.
LAC (HIW)315: Comparative History of the Hispanic Caribbean. 3 hours, 3 credits. Comparative history of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
LAC(ANT)318: Early Civilizations of Mexico and Central America. 3 hours, 3 credits. The Aztec and Mayan civilizations of Mexico and northern Central America from the earliest peopling of the new world to the civilizations encountered by Cortes and the Spanish. Topics include the origins of agriculture and settled life, the earliest civilizations, Olmec art, Mayan astronomy, and Aztec sacrifice.
LAC (PRS) (COM) 319: Latinos in Film. 3 hours, 3 credits. Latino ethnicities have been constructed in Hollywood films from the silent era to the present.
LAC (HIW)324: History of Cuba. 3 hours, 3 credits. History of Cuba, from colonial times to the present. Focus on Cuban independence and United States intervention; race, gender, and construction of the nation; the path toward a socialist revolution; efforts at reform; and Cuba's role in Latin America and the world.
LAC (SPA) 329: Literature of the Dominican Republic. 3 hours, 3 credits. Study of the literary figures and literary works instrumental in the development of a national literature in the Dominican Republic during the twentieth century. PREREQ: SPA 300 or Languages and Literatures Departmental placement test.
LAC (HIW)330: Latin America in the Nineteenth Century. 3 hours, 3 credits. Changes and continuities in Latin America over the course of the "long nineteenth century," from political independence in the 1820s to the rise of nationalist challenges to liberalism in the 1930s.
LAC (HIW)331: Modern Latin America. 3 hours, 3 credits. The nations of Latin America from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present, with a focus on political reform and revolution, economic development, and social movements.
LAC (SPA)333: Spanish-American Literature of the Conquest. 3 hours, 3 credits. A study of texts from the period of the Spanish Discovery and conquest of the New World through the period of colonization. Letters, diaries, chronicles, poems, histories, and travel narratives will be read.
LAC(AAS)334: Music of the Caribbean. 3 hours, 3 credits. Analysis of music and performance in Caribbean cultures and societies.
LAC(AAS)335: The Caribbean in World Politics. 3 hours, 3 credits. Problems and prospects for Caribbean states in contemporary world politics.
LAC (HIW)337: Latin America and the United States from 1823 to the Present. 3 hours, 3 credits. Relations between the United States and Latin American countries since their creation as independent republics.
LAC (HIW)338: Colonial Latin America. 3 hours, 3 credits. Examination of the development of colonial societies in Latin America from the "encounter" of the 16th century to the crisis of the Iberian empires in the late-eighteenth century.
LAC (SPA) (ENG) 339: Latino Literature. 3 hours, 3 credits. English-language literature developed by Puerto Ricans, Chicanos, Cubans, Dominicans, and other Latino groups in the U.S. Emphasis on the similarities in the development of themes, structures, genres, and relationships with mainstream American literature.
LAC (HIW)345: History of South America. 3 hours, 3 credits. Pre-Columbian and colonial foundations of the nation-state and the construction of modern nations in South America in the post-independence period.
SPA (LAC)346: Introduction to Mexican and Chicano/a Literatures. 3 hours, 3 credits. Major themes in Mexican and Chicano/a literatures within their specific historical and sociopolitical contexts.
LAC (ANT) 347: Race and Ethnicity in Latin America and the Caribbean. 3 hours, 3 credits. Comparative study of racial and ethnic relations in Latin America.
LAC 363: Mexican Migration to the U.S.: History, Culture, and Civil Rights. 3 hours, 3 credits. An assessment of the history of Mexican migration to the U.S., as well as Mexico's past and present impact on culture, public policy, and civil rights.
LAC 364: Through Foreign Eyes: Outsiders look at Mexico. 3 hours, 3 credits. A critical and analytical view of the dominant images of Mexico's national identity as Mestizo and Catholic.
LAC(AAS)400: Seminar: Slavery in the New World. 3 hours, 3 credits. Intensive study of the institution of slavery in the New World. PREREQ: Departmental permission.
LAC 420: Latin American and Caribbean Seminar. 3 hours, 3 credits. This course is for Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program majors only and is a requirement for the B.A. degree. Variable themes of Latin American and Caribbean studies chosen by the instructor. This will be a research-oriented course, and students will pursue independent research projects.
LAC (PRS) 490: Directed Independent Study. 3 hours, 3 credits. (May be taken more than once with Departmental approval if subject matter is different.) Description: see PRS (LAC) 490. PREREQ: A reading knowledge of Spanish; permission of the instructor.
The Bachelor of Arts curriculum in Puerto Rican Studies offers a variety of courses dealing with the history and culture of Puerto Rico, emphasizing its Latin American and Caribbean background and including the Puerto Rican experience in the U.S. Some courses are conducted in Spanish, but most are in English.
The required courses and credits are distributed as follows:
Credits (30)
12 In required courses: PRS 212 and 213; LAC 266 and 267.
9 Three PRS courses with at least one course at the 300 level or above.
9 In elective courses in Puerto Rican Studies at the 200 level or above or in related disciplines. (A list of courses in related disciplines is provided by the Department.)
Completion of the minor in Puerto Rican Studies requires 12 credits in courses distributed as follows:
In required PRS courses: PRS 212 and 213.
In PRS courses at the 300 level or above.
Students interested in obtaining New York State teacher certification should consult the Office of the Dean of Education (Carman Hall, Room B-33, 718-960-4972).
See the information on this program contained later in this Bulletin.
PRS (HIS)212: History of Puerto Rico. 3 hours, 3 credits. Survey of the history of Puerto Rico.
PRS 213: Puerto Rican Culture. 3 hours, 3 credits. Study of the historical evolution of the Puerto Rican culture as compared with other Caribbean cultures. Introduction to the concepts, methods, and theories of culture studies.
PRS(LAC )214: Literature of the Caribbean. 3 hours, 3 credits. A comparative survey of Caribbean literature, including common themes, structures, and approaches to literary texts. Examples are chosen from works in Spanish, French, English, and Papiamento, read in translation if necessary.
PRS 220: Puerto Rican Literature in Translation. 3 hours, 3 credits. A survey of Puerto Rican literature in translation, with emphasis on the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. PREREQ: COR 100.
PRS (LAC) 237: The Visual Arts in Puerto Rico. 3 hours, 3 credits. A comprehensive study of the visual arts in Puerto Rico, with emphasis on painting, architecture, sculpture, and graphic arts from precolonial times to present. Discussion will focus on the origins, influences, and projections of the Puerto Rican art movement within a historical and aesthetic context. PREREQ: PRS 213 or instructor's or Departmental permission.
PRS 242 (LAC 231): Latinos in the United States. 3 hours, 3 credits. A comparative study of the social, political, and economic processes affecting Latino groups in the United States. Discussion will focus on the variable adaptations made by Puerto Ricans, Chicanos, Dominicans, Cubans, Colombians, and other Latinos in their migration and settlement within American society.
PRS (HIW)300: Social and Economic History of Puerto Rico from the Industrial Revolution to the Present. 3 hours, 3 credits. Intensive survey of the socioeconomic formations of Puerto Rico from the Industrial Revolution to the present. PREREQ (PRS only): PRS 212 or Departmental approval (for History majors).
PRS (LAC) 302: Puerto Rican Literature I: From the Sixteenth Century to 1898 (in Spanish). 3 hours, 3 credits. The development of literature in Puerto Rico, from the chronicles and historical documents of the early colonial Spanish period to the Spanish-American War in 1898. Special attention to literary works that played a major role in defining a national identity. PREREQ: Instructor's or Departmental permission, advanced Spanish grammar, a good knowledge of oral Spanish, and reading and writing in Spanish.
PRS (LAC) 303: Puerto Rican Literature II: From 1898 to the Present (in Spanish). 3 hours, 3 credits. A study of the major literary figures instrumental in the development of a national literature in Puerto Rico during the twentieth century. PREREQ: Either PRS 302 or Departmental permission.
PRS 307: Puerto Rico in the Twentieth Century: 1898-Present. 3 hours, 3 credits. Intensive study of socioeconomic and political changes in twentieth-century Puerto Rico.
PRS 308: The Economy of Puerto Rico. 3 hours, 3 credits. The impact of the United States on the economy of Puerto Rico, with emphasis on unemployment, prices, wage rates, industrialization, trade, commerce, and migration. Analysis of the consequences of the economic status of the island for the Puerto Rican people. PREREQ: PRS 212 and ECO 166.
PRS 309: Colonialism and Anti-Colonialism in Puerto Rico. 3 hours, 3 credits. The history of colonialism in Puerto Rico from the nineteenth century to the present. Emphasis on the independence, annexationist, and autonomist movements and their relation to analogous movements in the Caribbean. PREREQ: PRS 212.
PRS 310: Political Parties in Puerto Rico, 1869 to the Present. 3 hours, 3 credits. Major and minor political parties in Puerto Rico: varieties of state and local systems, leadership patterns, structural characteristics, roles, functions, behavior of the electorate, and relations to U.S. political parties. PREREQ: PRS 212.
PRS 311 (SOC 250): Migration and the Puerto Rican Community in the United States. 3 hours, 3 credits. History and development of the Puerto Rican community in the United States: migration, community establishment, institutions, regional patterns of settlement, and issues of class, race, ethnicity, and gender.
PRS (LAC) (COM) 319: Latinos in Film. 3 hours, 3 credits. Latino ethnicities have been constructed in Hollywood films from the silent era to the present.
PRS(LAC)341: Puerto Rican Music. 3 hours, 3 credits. Analysis of musical performance with respect to identity, gender, race, and class. Emphasis will be placed on the hybrid nature of the music and on the role played by the Puerto Rican Diaspora in the creation of the music. PREREQ: PRS 213 and instructor's or Departmental permission.
PRS 350: Puerto Rican Studies Research Seminar. 3 hours, 3 credits.
PRS (LAC) 360: Variable Topics in Puerto Rican Studies. 3 hours, 3 credits. Various topics in Puerto Rican studies. PREREQ: PRS 212 or 213.
PRS 401: Puerto Rican Literature: Genre Studies (in Spanish). 3 hours, 3 credits. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits provided the genre under study is different. The analysis of one genre (short story, novel, poetry, essay, or drama)each semester, chosen in advance by the Department or instructor. PREREQ: PRS 302 and 303, 6 additional PRS credits, and reading and writing knowledge of Spanish.
PRS 404: Urban Reality in Puerto Rican Prose: From World War II to the Present (in Spanish). 3 hours, 3 credits. A study of industrialization, urbanization, and migration as presented in contemporary Puerto Rican fiction, essays, and the press. PREREQ: PRS 302 OR 303.
PRS 410: Puerto Rican Folklore and Popular Culture. 3 hours, 3 credits. Study of folklore and popular culture in Puerto Rico and of Puerto Ricans in the United States from the perspective of the social sciences. Analysis of the processes and product in the continual making of identity. PREREQ: PRS 213 and good knowledge of oral and written Spanish.
PRS 430: Puerto Rican Historiography. 3 hours, 3 credits. A study of selected leading Puerto Rican historians and their writings as a basis for understanding the development of the historical thought and nature of historical problems in the field of Puerto Rican Studies. Attention will be given to conflicting interpretations of significant events, and case studies will be made of such writings in Puerto Rican history. PREREQ: Six credits in Puerto Rican history. RECOMMENDED: HIS 310.
PRS (LAC) 490: Directed Independent Study. 3 hours, 3 credits. May be taken more than once, with Departmental approval, if subject matter is different. Directed independent study affords an opportunity for the student who wishes to undertake a well-defined research project. While the student conducts work under the guidance of a faculty member chosen by the student, the project is carried out in an independent manner, without regular class meetings. PREREQ: A reading knowledge of Spanish.
LAC (GEH) 189: |
Regional Geography of Selected Areas |
LAC (ANT) (WST) 210: |
Women in Latin America |
LAC 232: |
Family and Gender Relations Among Latinos |
LAC (AAS) 235: |
Caribbean Societies |
LAC (ANT) 238: |
Ethnography of Latin America |
LAC 312: |
African American Religious Movements in the United States |
LAC (ANT) 317: |
Early Civilizations of South America and the Caribbean |
LAC (ANT) 318: |
Early Civilizations of Mexico and Central America |
LAC (ECO) 323: |
Economic Development in Latin America |
LAC (ANT) 347: |
Race and Ethnicity in Latin America and the Caribbean |
LAC (AAS) 400: |
Seminar: Slavery in the New World |
LAC (ARH) 143: |
Introduction to Latin American Art |
LAC (PRS) 214: |
Literature of the Caribbean |
LAC (COM) 216: |
Latin-American Cinema |
LAC (SPA) 233: |
Latin American Literature in Translation |
LAC (AAS) 241: |
Caribbean Literature |
LAC (POR) 247: |
Brazilian Literature from the Colonial Period to the Twentieth Century |
LAC (SPA) 250: |
Contemporary Problems in the Hispanic World |
LAC (SPA) 265: |
Contemporary Literature of Spain and Spanish America |
LAC (SPA) 320: |
Spanish American Literature of the Nineteenth Century |
LAC (SPA) 329: |
Literature of the Dominican Republic |
|
|
LAC (SPA) 332: |
Spanish American Fiction of the Twentieth Century |
LAC (SPA) 333: |
Spanish American Literature of the Conquest |
LAC (AAS) 334: |
Musical Experience of Caribbean Cultures |
LAC (SPA) (ENG) 339: |
Latino/Latina Literatures in English |
LAC (ARH) 343: |
Pre-Columbian Art |
LAC 344 (SPA 343): |
Twentieth-Century Latin American Poetry |
LAC (SPA) 352: |
Special Topics in Hispanic Literature |
LAC (SPA) 359: |
Spanish American Civilization |
LAC 225: |
History of the Dominican Republic |
LAC 226: |
Contemporary Dominican Politics & Society |
LAC 315: |
Comparative History of the Hispanic Caribbean |
LAC 324: |
The Historical Origins of Socialism in Cuba |
LAC (HIW) 330: |
From Colonialism to Neo-Colonialism: Latina America, 1492-1890 |
LAC (AAS) 335: |
The Caribbean in World Politics |
LAC (HIW) 331: |
Reform and Revolution: Latin America in the Twentieth Century |
LAC (HIW) 340: |
Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean |
LAC (HIW) 352: |
The Mexican Revolution |
LAC (POL) 332: |
Political Systems in Latin America |
LAC (POL) 336: |
Political Systems of Central America and the Caribbean |
PRS 212: |
History of Puerto Rico |
PRS 213: |
Puerto Rican Culture |
LAC (PRS) 341: |
Puerto Rican Music |
PRS (LAC) 237: |
The Visual Arts in Puerto Rico |
PRS 300: |
Social and Economic History of Puerto Rico from the Industrial Revolution to the Present |
LAC (PRS) 302: |
Puerto Rican Literature I: From the Sixteenth Century to 1898 |
LAC (PRS) 303: |
Puerto Rican Literature II: From 1898 to the Present |
PRS 307: |
Puerto Rico in the Twentieth Century: 1898- Present |
PRS 308: |
The Economy of Puerto Rico |
PRS 309: |
Colonialism and Anti-Colonialism in Puerto Rico |
PRS 310: |
Political Parties in Puerto Rico, 1869 to the Present |
PRS 311: |
Migration and the Puerto Rican Community in the U.S. |
LAC (PRS) 341: |
Puerto Rican Music |