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Latin American Studies

Faculty

Latin American Studies at the University of Toronto (LAS@UofT) is a programme for students in the social sciences, humanities and sciences who seek a deeper understanding of the Latin American regions, their histories, cultures, and societies. LAS@UofT seeks to inspire knowledge and experience across the Universitys three-campus community and beyond. The programmes courses encourage students to complement special interests in fields such as Anthropology, Political Science, Geography, History, or Sociology, with a broader interdisciplinary framework, while at the same time committing themselves to an emphasis upon the languages and the historical and cultural experiences of Spanish and Portuguese America. LAS@UofT exists to bring together the energy and insights of a multi-disciplinary collection of individuals and units, to develop innovative courses and to stimulate exchange. The programmes research and pedagogical mission encompasses everything from the ancient American civilizations and the ideas, peoples and commodities that came together and emerged within a wide Iberian world, through the archaeology, geography, history, languages, literatures, politics, societies and cultures of the Latin American regions and countries, to the natural sciences and transnational investigation of Latin Americans and their descendants in Canada and elsewhere.

Students seeking counselling and information should visit the LAS@UofT website: las.utoronto.ca and/or contact Dr. Berenice Villagomez, the Program Coordinator (las.coord@utoronto.ca)

Latin American Studies Programs

Enrolment in this program requires the completion of 4.0 courses.

(7 full courses or equivalent including at least two courses at the 300+ level)

1. Course work: Students must successfully complete seven full courses or their equivalents sponsored or approved by LAS@UofT, as well as satisfy the requirements of their departmental specialization. The requirement is six full courses for students who begin their language study in PRT220Y1 or SPA220Y1/SPA319Y1, or who demonstrate language proficiency by exam. Of the required courses:

One course must be LAS200Y1
At least one course must be LAS300H1 or LAS301H1. Note that if the subject matter and/or instructor has changed, it will be possible to take, and be credited for, LAS300H1 or LAS301H1 more than once.
At least two courses in total must be taken at the 300 level or above, and a minimum of one half course should derive from the Social Sciences (e.g. LAS300H1).

2. Language: Students must successfully complete (with a grade of at least 65%) the first two levels of instruction in the Spanish or Portuguese language by the end of the third year of study (SPA100Y1 then SPA220Y1; or SPA319 [for heritage-speakers, and viewed by the programme as an equivalent of SPA220Y1]; PRT100Y1/PRT110Y1 then PRT220Y1), or demonstrate equivalent proficiency in the given language through examination by LAS@UofT before the end of the second year.

Enrolment in this program requires the completion of 4.0 courses.

4 full courses or their equivalent, must include LAS200Y1, at least one full course at the 300+ level

(0.5 FCE of which must be an LAS 300+-level seminar), and a minimum of one half course (0.5 FCE) deriving from the Social Sciences (e.g. LAS300H1). Language study is recommended, but not a requirement of the Minor programme. In the Minor programme, language can be counted either towards the 300+ level requirement or as one full course (1 FCE).

Courses eligible for programme credit include those appearing below. Please note that some of the courses have pre-requisites; in all cases, and for updates on courses being offered, check individual department websites.

Latin American Studies
LAS200Y1 Latin American History, Civilization and Culture
LAS300H1 Topics in the Social Sciences
LAS301H1 Topics in the Humanities
LAS302H1 Topics in Latin American Studies (The Hispanic Caribbean)
LAS400H1 Topics in Latin American Studies
LAS410H1 Independent Studies

Anthropology
ANT316H1 Ancient Cultures of Mesoamerica
ANT340H1 Anthropology of Latin America
ANT407H1 Inka and Aztec States

Geography
GGR101H1 Ancient Civilizations and their Environments
GGR240H1 Historical Geography of North America
GGR249H1 Contemporary Latin America
GGR341H1 Changing Geography of Latin American

History
HIS291Y1 Latin America: The Colonial Period
HIS292Y1 Latin America: The National Period
HIS294Y1 Caribbean History and Culture: Indigenous Era to 1886
HIS301Y1 Imperial Spain
HIS333Y1 Revolution in 20^th Century Latin America
HIS359H1 Regional Politics and Radical Movements in the 20th Century Caribbean
HIS390Y1 Latin America in the Age of Revolution
HIS441H1 Conversion & Christianities in the Early Modern Spanish World
HIS456Y1 Black Slavery in Latin America

New College Caribbean Studies
NEW223Y1 Caribbean Literature and Society
NEW324Y1 Caribbean Thought II
JQR360H1 The Canadian Census: Populations, Migrations, and Demographics

Political Science
POL305Y1 Politics and Society in Latin America
POL442H1 Topics in Latin American Politics

Portuguese
PRT100Y1 Beginners Portuguese
PRT110Y1 Elementary Portuguese
PRT220Y1 Intermediate Portuguese
PRT255H1 The Brazilian Puzzle: Culture and Identity
PRT258H1 Introduction to Luso-Brazilian Studies
PRT320Y1 Composition and Oral Practice
PRT351H1 Literature and the Age of Discovery (formerly PRT351Y1)
PRT355H1 Topics in Brazilian Studies
PRT357H1 Modern and Contemporary Brazilian Literature
PRT358H1 Transatlantic Africa and Brazil
PRT365H1 The Rise of Modern Identity
PRT443H1 Machado de Assis: The Creation of the Modern Self (formerly PRT342H1/PRT455Y1)
PRT454Y1 The Luso-Brazilian Identity
PRT458H1 The Luso-Brazilian Short Story

St. Michael's College, Christianity and Culture
SMC207H1 Christianity in Latin America

Spanish
SPA100Y1 Spanish for Beginners
SPA219Y1 Spanish for Bilingual and Native Speakers
SPA220Y1 Intermediate Spanish
SPA258H1 Introduction to Hispanic Literary Studies
SPA259H1 Introduction to Hispanic Cultural Studies
SPA320Y1 Advanced Spanish
SPA375H1 Latin American Cinema
SPA381H1 Nation, Identity and Literary Modernism in Spanish-America
SPA382H1 Spanish American Women in Art, Film and Literature
SPA384H1 Avant-Garde Movements in Spanish America
SPA385H1 Literature and Social Change in Spanish America
SPA387H0 Contemporary Mexican Literature
SPA422H1 Sociolinguistics of Spanish
SPA467H1 Topics in Spanish-American Culture
SPA468H1 Topics in Modern Spanish-American Literature
SPA471H1 The Historical Novel in Spanish America
SPA480H1 Theories of Culture in Latin America
SPA482H1 20th Century Spanish American Narrative
SPA486H1 Contemporary Caribbean Literatures and Identities
SPA487H1 The Culture of Revolution

UTM Courses
HIS290H5 Intro to Latin American History
HIS345H5 Popular Culture in Latin America
HIS390H5 Revolutions and Nations in Latin America
HIS391H5 Mexico from Aztec to Zapatista
HIS454H5 Race, Gender and Nation in Modern Latin America
HIS490H5 Religion and Society in Latin America
POL438Y   Topics in Comparative Politics: Latin America
SOC332H5 Race and Ethnicity 1

UTSC Courses
LGGA30H3 Introductory Spanish I
LGGA31H3 Introductory Spanish II
LGGB32H3 Intermediate Spanish I
LGGB33H3 Intermediate Spanish II
LGGC30H3 Advanced Spanish: Language, Culture and Literature
POLB90H3 Comparative Development in International Perspective
POLB91H3 Comparative Development in Political Perspective
POLC90H3  Development Studies: Political and Historical Perspectives
POLC91H3 Latin America: Dictatorship and Democracy
POLC94H3 Globalization, Gender and Development
POLC99H3 Latin America: The Politics of the Dispossessed

Latin American Studies Courses

The 199Y1 and 199H1 seminars are designed to provide the opportunity to work closely with an instructor in a class of no more than twenty-four students. These interactive seminars are intended to stimulate the students’ curiosity and provide an opportunity to get to know a member of the professorial staff in a seminar environment during the first year of study. Details here.

An introductory course that studies the development of societies in the Latin American region from its pre-Columbian past to its heterogeneous present. Cultural, geographical, historical, literary, political and social topics will be examined combining traditional historical narratives and supporting documents with art, cinema, music and other texts from popular culture and mass media. This course is open to students in at least their second year of undergraduate study. It provides both a broad foundation, and an invitation to delve deeper in further courses and in different disciplinary concentrations.

The goal of this course is to critically analyze the current economic, social, and political realities of Latin America, based on an insightful knowledge of its past and present. Topics of the course vary depending on the needs of the program and the interests of students.

The goal of this course is to critically analyze the Latin American social imaginaries as expressed in art, literature and/or film, based on close readings of texts. Topics of the course vary depending on the needs of the program and the interests of students.

This interdisciplinary course examines Cuba's relevance and legacy from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. It explores tensions of Cuban life in counterpoint with its creative rendering in the arts and literature, through a variety of fresh approaches in fields such as cultural studies, historical sociology, anthropology, and sociology of religion.

Examines the Canadian population census through the experience of diasporic groups in Canada. Approaches the census as a statistical tool, an historical source and an ideological project of citizenship and nationalism. Uses census data to explore mathematical and statistical concepts and to integrate numerical ways of thinking with qualitative analysis. (Jointly sponsored by African Studies, Diaspora and Transnational Studies, Caribbean Studies, Equity Studies and Latin American Studies).

An upper level seminar. Topics of the course vary from year to year, depending on the needs of the program and the interests of students.

This course provides an opportunity for students to do academic research related to Latin American issues under the supervision of a faculty member. The intent is that the student, aided and advised by the supervisor, will read relevant literature, and plan, execute, analyze and report on an original and independent investigation of an appropriate topic. For application forms, please visit the "Resources" section of the programme's website.