Latin American and Iberian Studies

Curriculum & Courses

Latin American and Iberian Studies provides students with an opportunity to design an interdisciplinary program of study that will give them an in-depth knowledge of Ibero-American history, culture, politics, and society. The program embraces all of the countries of Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula. It is designed to take account not only of specific national cultures and traditions, as they have developed in Latin America, but also the importance of Latin cultures and Hispanic traditions in the United States. To maximize the educational experience, students are strongly encouraged to spend at least one semester or summer studying in Latin America, Spain, or Portugal. To this end, Latin American and IberianStudies provides its majors with several scholarships to attend the SMU-in-Spain semester program as well as the SMU-in-Xalapa summer program. Students wishing to attend study abroad programs offered by other universities may have courses credited toward their major upon previous consultation with the Director of Latin American and Iberian Studies.

The major in Latin American and Iberian Studies requires 27 credit hours, plus a language requirement as follows:

A pre-requisite of two years of college level Spanish or Portuguese
6 hours (2 courses) from the three categories of the International Studies Basic Curriculum. The two courses must be from a separate category: either World Cultures, International Politics, or International Economics.
A mandatory sequence of 6 hours (2 courses), which constitutes the core curriculum for all majors.

First sequence: Colonial History (HIST 2384), or History of Latin America (HIST 3380-SMU in Spain), or Spanish American Civilization (SPAN 3374)

Second sequence: Modern Latin American History (HIST 2385) or Government and Politics of Latin America (PLSC 3348)
15 hours (5 courses) in 3000 level or above courses concentrating in one of the following groups: Social Sciences & Humanities (Group I), Archaeology, Art History and Foreign Languages (Group II). Students who want to take a course from the Group in which they do not concentrate may do so upon the permission of the Latin American Studies Director. Courses taken in the first and second sequence once taken do not double count for the group requirement.

The minor in Latin American and Iberian Studies requires 15 hours of study in specific courses.

The first 6 hours (two courses) must be chosen from the four categories of the International Studies Basic Curriculum (see above). Each of the two courses must be from a separate category: either World Cultures, International Politics, International Economics, or Global Perspective. The next 9 hours (three courses) must be chosen from the Latin American Studies curriculum (below), with at least one course from each of the two groups: Group I (Social Sciences) or Group II (Humanities and Arts). At least nine hours must be at the 3000 level or above. If a student is also an International Studies major, only one course from the Area Studies curriculum may be double counted. A co-curricular requirement for the minor in Latin American and Iberian Studies is two years of college-level study of Spanish or Portuguese.

Social Sciences (Group I)

ANTH 3311 Peoples of Mexico – Past and Present
ANTH 3313 South American Indians of the Past and Present
ANTH 3354 Latin America: Peoples, Places, and Power
ANTH 3376 Caribbean Transformations
HIST 2384 Latin America: The Colonial Period
HIST 2385 Latin America in the Modern Era
HIST 3317 Women in Latin American Societies
HIST 3320 The Spanish Frontier in North America
HIST 3321 The American Southwest
HIST 3324 Mexican Americans 1848 to Present
HIST 3380 History of Latin America (SMU in Spain)
HIST 3380 Problems in Ibero-American History
HIST 3381/PLSC 4340 Political History of Contemporary Spain (SMU in Spain)
HIST 3382 History of Mexico
PLSC 3348 Government and Politics in Latin America
PLSC 3349 Politics of Major Latin American Countries
PLSC 3385 Inter-American Relations
PLSC 4340/HIST 3381 Special Studies in Comparative Government and Politics (SMU in Spain)
PLSC 4356 Latin American Political Economy
PLSC 4391 NAFTA and Free Trade in the Americas
SOCI 3370 Minority-Dominant Relations
SOCI 3372 Chicanos in the Southwest

Humanities and Arts (Group II)

Spanish language and literature courses are restricted to the Latin American and Iberian Studies major and minor: International Studies majors may not take these courses for International Studies credit.

ANTH 3312 Meso-American Archaeology
ARHS 1308 Epic of Latin America
ARHS 3338 Baroque Art in Italy, Spain and the New World
ARHS 3339 El Greco to Goya: Spanish Art II
ARHS 3343 Goya and his Time
ARHS 3344 Paintings at the Prado (SMU in Spain)
ARHS 3360 Modern Painters in Spain (SMU in Spain)
ARHS 3376 Latin American Art
ARHS 3382 Arts of the Ancient Andean Tradition: Chavin to Inca
ARHS 3383 The Ancient Maya: Art and History
ARHS 3385 The Aztecs before and after the Conquest: Mesoamerica 1400-1600

Please note that the following six courses are part of the Latin American and Iberian Studies major’s Group I. However, they remain in Group II for the International Studies major’s regional concentration on Latin America and for the Latin American and Iberian Studies minor.

ENGL 3363 Chicano/Chicana Literature
FL 3303/SPAN 3373 Spanish Civilization (SMU-in Spain)
FL 3305 Latin American Literature in Translation
FL 3306 The Heart of Aztlan: Chicano Literature of the Southwest
SPAN 3374 Spanish American Civilization (SMU in Xalapa)

Spanish language and literature courses

SPAN 4361 Translation: Theory and Practice
SPAN 4391 Commercial Spanish for International Trade
SPAN 4395 Introduction to Hispanic Literature
SPAN 5310 Spanish Literature before 1700
SPAN 5311 Spanish Literature after1700
SPAN 5315 Spanish American Literature to 1888
SPAN 5316 Spanish American Literature since 1888
SPAN 5317 Literature of Mexico
SPAN 5320 The Renaissance and Golden Age: Drama
SPAN 5321 The Renaissance and Golden Age: Prose Fiction
SPAN 5323 Nineteenth-Century Peninsular Literature: Prose Fiction
SPAN 5324 Nineteenth-Century Peninsular Literature: Drama and Poetry
SPAN 5334 The Novel of the Post-Civil War
SPAN 5335 Genre Studies in Spain
SPAN 5336 Spanish American Novel (also SMU in Xalapa)
SPAN 5338 The Spanish American Short Story (Also SMU in Xalapa)
SPAN 5339 Spanish American Poetry
SPAN 5360 The Concept of Honor in Spanish Literature
SPAN 5365 Contemporary Spanish Women Writers

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Special Undergraduate Offerings

Opportunities for independent study and research are available to majors in International Studies and majors in Latin American and Iberian Studies. Students must have the program director’s approval in order to register for these courses. Prerequisites are stated for each independent study course below. No more than two such courses may be counted toward overall major or minor requirements. The Director will indicate where these courses fit in the different section of the major or the minor.

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Directed Readings: Independent Study and Research

LAAM 4102, 4202, 4302

These courses offer students, normally major or minors in International Studies (Or Latin American and Iberian Studies), the opportunity to develop particular interests in the area of the discipline not covered by Departmental or other University course offerings. Basic requirements include both sophomore standing and appropriate introductory and advanced course preparations. Permission to enroll in these courses requires first the approval of a faculty sponsor who agrees to direct the course and approval of the director of the program.

Each student is primarily responsible for: 1) Finding a faculty sponsor; 2) Developing and submitting to the sponsor a plan of study to encompass the review and/or analysis of a significant segment of International Studies (or Latin American and Iberian Studies) literature (at least equivalent to the assignments in a regular advanced course): 3) Preparing and submitting a statement of intent reflecting the foregoing and any other requirements agreed upon with the faculty sponsor.

How to register for the course

The student should initiate and complete all arrangements and submit a plan prior to the day of formal registration.

No student may remain in the course beyond the last date for withdrawing (WP) if she/he is not fulfilling the work requirements as established by the faculty sponsor.

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Internship in Latin American and Iberian Studies – LAAM 4306

This course offers students (normally majors or minors in International Studies or Latin American and Iberian Studies) the opportunity to capitalize on practical experiences in International Studies/Latin American and Iberian Studies fields and to gain formal credit for academic work related to those experiences. Students must have at least sophomore standing and appropriate introductory and advance course preparation. Basic requirements include both 1) a period of work (full or part-time) in a related organization, and 2) formal written work and, where appropriate, oral reports demonstrating the student’s ability to relate the practical experience to a significant segment of relevant scholarly literature.

Students will need to:

Enroll in the Dedman College Internship Program (www.smu.edu/internship), which designs and sustains credit-bearing internship experiences that demonstrate and reinforce the skills acquired by students. For information on the program and internship tailored for International and Area Studies majors, contact Jeanene Anderson (108 Clements Hall), at jeanene@mail.smu.edu or call 214-768-2103.
Attend the required Dedman College internship orientation and take advantage of the workshop on resume writing and interview skills.
Secure interviews and internship placement
Find a faculty member in the International and Area Studies program, who will act as the student’s advisor for the internship and file a “learning contact” with the faculty member and with the Internship program.

Each student intern has the responsibility to arrange the internship work experience, persuade a faculty member to act as sponsor, to develop and submit an internship plan, and fulfill the basic requirements of the course.

Internship Plan

The plan developed in consultation with a faculty sponsor must include: 1) A description of the practical work to be (or already) undertaken. This should be accompanied by a letter from the internship organization outlining the student’s work responsibilities and the duration of the internship. 2) A description of the academic work to be undertaken, including at least a preliminary bibliography. 3) A completed statement of intent form “Internship in International Studies 4306”

How to register for the course

The student should submit the internship plan and have completed all arrangements prior to the day of registration. Should the student have completed the practical work of an internship prior to registration (as in some cases for summer internships), the student must have a letter from the organization where she/he interned describing the student’s functions and responsibilities during the internship. If the faculty sponsor determines this to be satisfactory, the student will be allowed to register for INTL or LAAM 4306 in a succeeding semester.

The student’s academic work in the course should result in a substantial term paper, at least 12 pages/300 words in length. Most importantly, the paper should demonstrate the student’s critical ability to relate the practical experience of the internship to the scholarly work in the bibliography.

This course may not be used for Departmental distribution requirements unless specifically approved by the director of the program.

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This is the 2007-2008 curriculum.