Office of Admissions
Latin American Studies

Latin American Studies Program

Undergraduate degree: B.A.
Undergraduate minor

The Culture and Character of the Americas

The Latin American Studies Program offers you an in-depth look at the richness and diversity of that vast area and its people. Whether you’re interested in studying pre–Colombian art, the canopy of the Amazon rainforest, or the history of colonialism, this program is for you.

Associate Professor Carlos Aguirre, head of the new program, says that Latin American studies are important because, “relations between Latin America and the U.S. are complex. We obviously need to know more about our neighbors. The more we know, the better we will be able to face the challenges ahead.”

The major consists of 48 credits, some of which can be independent study or study abroad. Latin American Studies majors are required to demonstrate third-year-level proficiency in Spanish or Portuguese. Language credits may be earned through an approved overseas program, or transferred from another accredited college or university. The course work wraps up with a capstone seminar that requires a research paper or project.

In courses like Caribbean Migrants in the Literary Imagination, The Cold War in Latin America, or Cambios Sociales, you’ll delve into politics, literature, science, ecology, and other topics in new and interesting ways. Read Jorge Luis Borges in the original. Separate fact from fiction in the biography of Che Guevara. Explore why Frida Kahlo’s paintings are so enduringly popular. Whichever way you’re pulled—toward the examination of immigration, democracy, or social justice—you’ll be forever changed by your newfound knowledge.

Learn from top-notch scholars who encourage you in a supportive environment. “Latin American people and culture have been misrepresented. There are all these preconceptions and stereotypes that we need to help overcome,” says Aguirre. “We cannot understand the U.S. without understanding its relationship to Latin America.”

Points of Interest

  • Study Abroad Programs can help you design a trip, whether it’s to clamber over the ruins of Chichen Itza in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, observe the wildlife of Tierra del Fuego in Argentina and Chile, or learn to weave Guatemalan textiles
  • Faculty members represent a variety of departments, including sociology, history, Romance languages, political science, environmental studies, linguistics, ethnic studies, and art history
  • Student groups, including MEChA, give voice to Chicano-Chicana students while working to increase recruitment and retention rates
  • Symposia, film series, art showings, and other events engage students in Latin American culture. One UO international conference dealt with violence and reconciliation in the region

Sample Courses

  • The Americas: Indigenous Perspectives examines the history of the Americas (North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean) from the perspectives of their original indigenous inhabitants
  • The Cold War in Latin America explores the Latin American experience during the Cold War, emphasizing the interaction between the region’s sociopolitical processes, actors, and agendas, and the different forms of intervention in the region by the United States and the Soviet Union
  • Hispanic Literature in the United States is an introduction to Hispanic literature written in the United States. The class features close reading and discussion of selected texts by Hispanic authors with an emphasis on literary trends and themes
  • Expresiones Artisticas develops advanced language skills through the study of cultural products (e.g., art, literature, film, music) in Spanish-speaking societies. The course is taught in Spanish
  • Anthropologies of Development and Social Movements in Latin America introduces interrelated themes in contemporary social science and politics, with a particular focus on Latin America: development and modernity; social movements; and rights-based discourses, policies, and strategies

Interdisciplinary Opportunities

Latin American studies is a highly interdisciplinary area. Study Andean glaciers from the point of view of a high-plateau Peruvian farmer. Examine the continuing influence of Augusto Pinochet’s presidency in Chile through the eyes of a political prisoner. Or consider the influence of the Catholic Church through the centuries. Courses range widely through geography, history, the arts and anthropology. Weave together the strands of several courses to come up with a whole new way of looking at the world.

Practical Learning

As a UO student, you’ll be able to take advantage of study-abroad programs to do more than read textbooks. Venture to Costa Rica, Ecuador, or Mexico to sharpen your language skills and get a firsthand look at other cultures. Here in Eugene, you can volunteer for a variety of organizations. Students have volunteered and served internships at organizations such as Centro Latino Americano, a local bilingual multicultural agency dedicated to helping the Latino community. UO students also worked with the local school districts to mentor youth. Others have volunteered at Siempre Amigos, which provides health services to survivors of torture and political violence.

Student Work

Student Emily Erdman was a triple major in international studies, history, and Spanish. She augmented her studies with a trip to Queretaro, Mexico, where she was able to hone her language skills. Stateside, Erdman helped tutor students and interned in Washington, D.C., with the organization America Votes. Why the interest in Latin America? “There are many Hispanic communities in Oregon and I thought that studying Latin America seemed the most pertinent to American society. I also like the food and language.”

Averina Salveson is majoring in international studies, Spanish anthropology, and Latin American studies, with minors in history and political science. Her favorite class covered community development and social change in Latin America. She traveled to Quito, Ecuador, for a semester and plans to focus on immigration issues in law school. Salveson says she enjoys studying Latin America because “it creates a passion for cultures and peoples outside the United States.”

Marsha Adele Ondaro spent a half year abroad as an intern with the Kallari Association in Tena, Ecuador, which markets Amazon handicrafts, organic cocoa beans, and free trade chocolate. “I believe this experience made me more open to learning in an academic setting and appreciative of my professors.” Ondaro was awarded the Gilman Scholarship to assist her study-abroad experience.

Selected Faculty Work

Lynn Stephen is a professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology. She is the author of four books, including Zamptec Women, Women and Social Movements in Latin America, and Zapata Lives! Histories and Cultural Politics in Southern Mexico. Stephen’s research focuses on gender, ethnicity, political economy, social movements, migration, human rights, and nationalism in Latin America.

Carlos Aguirre, associate professor of history and head of the Latin American Studies Program, is a scholar of modern Latin America with an established and rapidly growing national and international reputation. He has recently published a third book, The Criminals of Lima and Their Worlds: The Prison Experience (1850–1935), expanding his work on criminality and imprisonment in Latin America. Aguirre’s research is supported by a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship and an American Historical Association Littleton-Griswold Grant. He has won many awards, including the UO’s Ersted Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Michael Aguilera is an associate professor of sociology whose scholarship focuses on U.S.-Mexico border issues, international migration, economic sociology, social inequality, race, and ethnicity. He has won numerous awards at the UO.

Career Opportunities

You’ll have a host of options with a degree in Latin American studies. Bilingual teachers are in great demand in K–12 education. Nongovernmental agencies need overseas and U.S.-based workers who can break down cultural and language barriers to deliver assistance in efficient ways. In the business arena, the continuing economic integration of the two hemispheres ensures that companies are eager to hire culturally savvy executives who can negotiate effectively. Become a journalist, a museum curator, a geographer, a community development director—or design a job all your own with your newfound knowledge. Your language skills and expertise will take you far.

Program banner photo credit: Anika Malone

More