Minor in Latin American & Caribbean Studies

Minor

Building off the university’s Latin American & Caribbean Studies Initiative, the Latin American & Caribbean Studies minor gives students opportunities to sharpen their knowledge and skills related to the region, while enabling them to reach across linguistic, geographic, cultural, and disciplinary borders and barriers. They’ll explore issues, innovations, and other subjects associated with cultures, societies, environments, and histories found within Latin America and the Caribbean from the perspectives of diverse individuals, groups, and institutions.

In addition to taking courses in Spanish, Environmental Studies, History, and International & Global Studies, students may attend events held on and off campus related to Latin American and Caribbean Studies. They also may go on to apply what they’ve learned to potential work at HUA, IQP, and MQP project centers in the region. The Latin American & Caribbean Studies minor makes for a truly interdisciplinary experience—inside and outside the classroom.

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Undergraduate Catalog

Curriculum

Students minoring in Latin American & Caribbean Studies will complete two units of work from their choice of one of two tracks, a Spanish Sequence or an International & Global Studies/History Sequence.

Students who select the Spanish Sequence must complete:

  • Courses focused on Spanish language as well as Latin American & Caribbean culture and media that are taught in Spanish (one unit)
  • Courses focused on inter-American and transatlantic relations, global studies, history, philosophy, and society (one unit)

Applicable courses for the Spanish Sequence include (but are not limited to): Topics in Latin American Literature (SP 3523), Comparative Business Environments (SP 3526), Caribbeanness: Voices of the Spanish Caribbean (SP 3529), Ecocriticismo: Environmental Cultural Production in Latin America (SP 3533), Intersections of Science, Engineering, Art, Literature, and Film in Latin America and the Caribbean (SP 3534)

Students who select the International & Global Studies/History Sequence must complete:

  • Courses focused on Latin American and Caribbean history, culture, society, and environmental studies (one unit)
  • Courses focused on global studies, international history, philosophy, or Latin American and Caribbean media, literature, and culture taught in Spanish (one unit).

Applicable courses for the International & Global Studies/History Sequence include (but are not limited to): Introduction to Latin America (INTL 1300), Modern Latin America (INTL 2310), Atlantic Worlds (HI 1345), Topics in Latin American History (HI 2930), Latin America and the World (HU 3900)

No more than one unit of work for the Humanities & Arts Requirement may be applied toward this minor. See Undergraduate Catalog for more information and detailed course selection listings for each sequence.

Application Process

Students interested in a minor in Latin American & Caribbean Studies should complete the Minor Completion Form.
 
Any student at WPI is eligible to pursue the Latin American & Caribbean Studies Minor as long as at least one unit of work for these requirements does not overlap with the requirements for other minors or majors.
 
Students interested in discussing the requirements for the Latin American & Caribbean Studies minor program should reach out to a potential faculty advisor: Laureen Elgert (SSPS/Environmental Studies), John Galante (History/International & Global Studies), Aarti Madan (Spanish/International & Global Studies), Ángel Rivera (Spanish/International & Global Studies), or William San Martín (History/International & Global Studies).