Latin American Studies Major

Requirements for the Major in Latin American Studies

The Latin American Studies Major requires 11 courses, plus a senior exercise, which may be a senior thesis, a comprehensive exam, or a project. Two years of college-level Spanish or its equivalent are also required. Students are expected to spend a semester abroad in one of the Pomona study abroad programs in Latin America during their junior year. This usually follows the fourth semester of language instruction. Appropriate courses taken on one of the Pomona programs in Latin America may be counted toward the major with the permission of the Latin American Studies Steering Committee.

All Latin American studies majors are required to take the following courses:

1. SPAN101 PO - Introduction to Literary Analysis .
2. SPAN106 PO - Images of Latin America in Fiction and Film ; or SPAN107 PO - Identity Matters in Latin American Literature and Culture ; or SPAN142 PO - Tropicalizations: Transcultural Representations of Latinidad .
3. HIST031 CH - Colonial Latin American History .
4. HIST032 CH - Latin America Since Independence .
5. LAST190 PO - Senior Tutorial .
6. LAST191 PO - Senior Thesis  or LAST193 PO - Senior Comprehensive Exam .

In addition to the core requirements, all Latin American studies majors must complete five courses in one of the specialized tracks listed below. Where courses within a track have a prerequisite, students are required to fulfill this before taking upper-division classes. All courses for the major (including prerequisites) must be taken for a letter grade. Core courses will not count for the selected track. Students must discuss a plan of study with a track advisor.