Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Faculty

Ernesto E. Bassi Arevalo, History, Director, Latin American and Caribbean Studies; Carole Boyce-Davies, Africana; Judith Byfield, History; Lourdes Casanova, Johnson School of Business, Director, Emerging Markets Institute; Debra Ann Castillo, Comparative Literature; Ananda Cohen-Aponte, History of Art; Liliana Colanzi, Romance Studies; Raymond Craib, History; Timothy John Devoogd, Psychology; Mary Jo Dudley, Global Development; Tao Dufour, Architecture; Maria Fernandez, History of Art; Gary Fields, International Labor Relations Economics; Alexander Flecker, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Gustavo Flores-Macias, Government; Carolyn Fornoff, Romance Studies; Maria Cristina García, History; Miguel Gomez, Applied Economics and Management; John S. Henderson, Anthropology; Steven Kyle, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management; Cecilia Lawless, Romance Studies; David R. Lee, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management; Alejandro Madrid, Musicology; Veronica Martinez-Matsuda, Labor Relations, Law and History; Natalie Melas, Literatures in English; Viranjini P. Munasinghe, Anthropology, Asian American Studies; Alex Nading, Anthropology; Denise Osborne, Romance Studies; Jose Edmundo Paz Soldán, Romance Studies; Simone Pinet, Spanish Literature; Alison G. Power, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology; Kenneth Roberts, Government; Amanda D. Rodewald, Lab of Ornithology; Vilma Santiago-Irizarry, Anthropology, Latino Studies; Casey Schmitt, History; Irina Troconis, Romance Studies; Matthew Velasco, Archeology/Anthropology; Mildred Warner, City and Regional Planning; Wendy Wolford, Global Development.

Program

The Cornell University Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program (LACS) is an interdisciplinary program for Cornell students, faculty, staff, community members, and academic visitors with interests in Latin America and the Caribbean. LACS (formerly LASP) was founded in 1961. It is part of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies located in 190 Uris Hall. LACS has 39 core and 60 affiliated faculty from across Cornell's colleges and professional schools, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, law, and natural sciences. LACS expands the intellectual presence of Latin America and the Caribbean across campus by organizing an array of activities related to the region, including a weekly seminar series run by our Graduate Fellows, with presentations by local, national, and international scholars; workshops, films, symposia, and conferences; initiatives to take undergraduate students on experiential field study trips to Latin America and the Caribbean; grant programs for graduate student field research and undergraduate internships or undergraduate senior thesis research; a Latin American Studies undergraduate minor and a graduate minor certificate.

Undergraduate Minor

The undergraduate minor in Latin American Studies requires language proficiency as demonstrated by successful completion of SPAN 2095 (or having tested out of SPAN 2095) or PORT 2010/PORT 2020 or higher (non-FLAC course).

An additional minimum of 15 credits in Latin American and Caribbean Studies courses need to be completed from course selections that represent at least two fields (two different departments), including one course from an advanced level (3000 or 4000).

If you have studied abroad in a Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking country and want the credits to be evaluated for the minor, please contact the LACS Program Manager (at lacs@cornell.edu). The list of approved minor language and elective courses is available on the Latin American and Caribbean Studies website. This list includes all LATA cross-listed courses as well as courses in other colleges and schools that have at least fifty percent or more Latin American content. Quechua I and Quechua II courses count as fulfilling elective course credits in any year that they are offered.

While not a course requirement for a Latin American Studies undergraduate minor, we encourage students to take at least one semester of LATA 4000. Courses on our website list related to the Caribbean count towards the elective credits for a Latin American Studies minor.

Graduate Minor

The graduate minor in Latin American Studies is earned by completing the following requirements:

The graduate student should select a member of the Graduate Field in Latin American Studies to serve on their special committee. Find the selection of LAS Graduate Field Members on the Latin American Studies page of the Graduate School website.
Graduate students must comply with the Graduate School’s Code of Legislation.
The graduate student must complete the Graduate Student Minor form (available by email from the Latin American Studies program at: lacs@cornell.edu, Subject Line: “Grad Minor Applic.”

While there is no specific course credit requirement for the Latin American Studies graduate minor, we encourage at least one semester of LATA 6000.

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