Program in Latin American Studies

Faculty

Director

  • Gabriela Nouzeilles

Executive Committee

  • João Biehl, Anthropology
  • Eduardo L. Cadava, English
  • Vera S. Candiani, History
  • Beatriz Colomina, Architecture
  • Javier E. Guerrero, Spanish & Portuguese
  • Hendrik Lorenz, Philosophy
  • Douglas S. Massey, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
  • Gabriela Nouzeilles, Spanish & Portuguese
  • Christina P. Riehl, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
  • Deborah J. Yashar, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs

Associated Faculty

  • Jeremy I. Adelman, History
  • José L. Avalos, Chemical and Biological Eng
  • Natalia Castro Picón, Spanish & Portuguese
  • Matias D. Cattaneo, Oper Res and Financial Eng
  • Miguel A. Centeno, Sociology
  • Fernando Codá Marques, Mathematics
  • Susana Draper, Comparative Literature
  • Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Sociology
  • Agustin Fuentes, Anthropology
  • Thomas Fujiwara, Economics
  • Rubén Gallo, Spanish & Portuguese
  • Mario I. Gandelsonas, Architecture
  • Filiz Garip, Sociology
  • Maria E. Garlock, Civil and Environmental Eng
  • Hanna Garth, Anthropology
  • Reena N. Goldthree, African American Studies
  • Dannelle Gutarra Cordero, African American Studies
  • Bryan R. Just, Art Museum
  • Thomas D. Kaufmann, Art and Archaeology
  • Christina H. Lee, Spanish & Portuguese
  • Nicole D. Legnani, Spanish & Portuguese
  • Christina León, English
  • John B. Londregan, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
  • Rosina A. Lozano, History
  • Pedro Meira Monteiro, Spanish & Portuguese
  • Andrés Monroy-Hernández, Computer Science
  • Isadora M. Mota, History
  • F. Nick Nesbitt, French & Italian
  • Stephen W. Pacala, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
  • Dan-El Padilla Peralta, Classics
  • Pamela A. Patton, Art and Archaeology
  • Grigore Pop-Eleches, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
  • Rachel L. Price, Spanish & Portuguese
  • Alejandro W. Rodriguez, Electrical & Comp Engineering
  • Irene V. Small, Art and Archaeology
  • Maria Micaela Sviatschi, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
  • Rocío Titiunik, Politics
  • Guadalupe Tuñón, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs

Sits with Committee

  • Fernando E. Acosta-Rodriguez

Lecturer

  • Jared Abbott
  • Amelia Frank-Vitale
  • Lilianne Lugo Herrera
  • Alberto E. Morales

Visiting Professor

  • José Lira

Visiting Assistant Professor

  • Agustin R. Diez
For a full list of faculty members and fellows please visit the department or program website.

Program Information

The Program in Latin American Studies promotes interdisciplinary study and seeks to foster knowledge of and experience in Latin America.

Courses are offered by the Departments of African American Studies, Anthropology, Art and Archaeology, Comparative Literature, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Economics, English, French and Italian (appropriate French courses only), History, Music, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Sociology, Spanish and Portuguese, the School of Architecture, the School of Engineering, the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, the Program in Latino Studies, and the Program in Latin American Studies (PLAS). Through various approaches in the humanities and the social and natural sciences, the program seeks to guide students toward an understanding of Latin American arts, cultures, histories, socioeconomic conditions, politics, and natural environments. The student's work is supervised by a departmental adviser and is combined with a departmental program in a regular field of concentration.

Experience abroad is not required, but PLAS strongly encourages students to travel to and explore Latin America. Funds are available to support student travel to Latin America for research purposes. First- and second-year students are eligible for exploratory research grants, and juniors and seniors can apply for senior thesis research funding. Seniors are encouraged to apply to Princeton in Latin America (PiLA) for postgraduate opportunities.

Admission to the Program

Students from all departments are welcome. There are no prerequisites to enroll. Interested students should complete our online enrollment form

Program of Study

The Program in Latin American Studies offers two tracks of study: Latin American Studies and Brazilian Studies. For satisfactory completion of the program, a student must meet the following requirements:

1. Completion of the requirements of a departmental concentration.

2. Completion of the language requirement in Spanish, Portuguese, or French (for students focusing on the French-speaking Caribbean). 

3. For students pursuing the Latin American Studies track, satisfactory completion of four courses across several disciplines, and at least one of the following courses must be a seminar. 

  • One humanities course cross-listed with LAS or with strong Latin American content
  • Three courses from any field cross-listed with LAS or with strong Latin American content

With the program director's permission, a maximum of two courses from study abroad may count toward fulfilling the course requirements.

In agreement with the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, only one course can be used toward both the certificate in the Program in Latin American Studies and a certificate in Spanish or Portuguese.

Students pursuing science studies may fulfill program requirements by taking a number of approved courses in ecology and evolutionary biology and environmental studies.

No course may be taken Pass/D/Fail or audit for program credit.

3a. For students pursuing the Brazilian Studies track, satisfactory completion of four courses across several disciplines, and at least one of the following courses must be a seminar.

  • One humanities course cross-listed with LAS or with strong Brazilian content
  • Three courses from any field cross-listed with LAS or with strong Brazilian content

Courses that are not focused entirely on Brazil must be preapproved by the program director, and the final written work must be Brazil-related.

With the program director's permission, a maximum of two courses from study abroad may count toward fulfilling the course requirements. 

In agreement with the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, only one course can be used toward both the certificate in the Program in Latin American Studies and a certificate in Spanish or Portuguese.

No course may be taken Pass/D/Fail or audit for program credit.

4. For students pursuing the Latin American Studies track: Completion of a senior thesis on a Latin American subject. Normally it should be written under the supervision of a faculty member associated with the program. If this is not the case, students are encouraged to consult a faculty member associated with the program about available sources or professional contacts some time during their junior year. If the senior thesis is not devoted exclusively to a Latin American topic, the director and relevant program faculty will determine its acceptability. Ordinarily, at least half of the thesis content will deal with Latin America, or a substantial portion of the research for the thesis will require proficiency in a language—other than English—spoken in Latin America.

4a. For students pursuing the Brazilian Studies track: Completion of a senior thesis on a Brazilian subject. Normally, it should be written under the supervision of a faculty member associated with the program. If this is not the case, students are encouraged to consult a faculty member associated with the program about available sources or useful professional contacts some time during their junior year. If the senior thesis is not devoted exclusively to a Brazilian topic, the director and relevant program faculty will determine its acceptability. Ordinarily, at least half of the thesis content will deal with Brazil, and a substantial portion of the research for the thesis will be conducted in Portuguese.

5. Students whose thesis cannot be devoted to a Latin American or Brazilian topic may complete the program requirements either by writing a research paper of sufficient complexity and length to substitute for the thesis requirement (the topic should be determined in consultation with the director and relevant program faculty) or by taking an additional approved course.

Certificate of Proficiency

Upon graduation, students who have met all the program requirements will receive a certificate of proficiency in Latin American studies along with their diploma.

 

Courses

LAS 201 Introduction to Latino/a/x Studies (See LAO 201)

LAS 210 Urban Sociology: The City and Social Change in the Americas (See SOC 210)

LAS 215 Arts of the Americas: The First 5,000 Years (See ART 103)

LAS 219 Rap, Graffiti and Urban Cultures in the Hispanic Worlds (See SPA 239)

LAS 220 El Género Negro: Crime Fiction (See SPA 220)

LAS 221 Art of Hispania (See ART 221)

LAS 222 Introduction to Latin American Cultures (See SPA 222)

LAS 223 Introduction to the Literature and Culture of the Portuguese-Speaking World (See POR 221)

LAS 225 Interdisciplinary Design Studio (See ARC 205)

LAS 228 Brujería is (not) Witchcraft: Religiosity, Power, and Performance in LatAm and Caribbean Imagination (also
SPA 244
/
THR 233
/
REL 204
) Fall CDLA

This course explores Latin American and Caribbean culture and its connections with Europe and Africa through references to witches, witchcraft, and other forms of religion and power exercised by women, including practices from Santería, Palo Monte and other Afro-Caribbean religions. With a wide lens on how many women and queer bodies have been considered deviants, dangerous, and deemed punishable, this class will look at how colonialism and its aftermath shaped discourses around religion in the Americas, and how legal documents, visual arts, film, novels, and theater, have represented and contested those discourses and bodies. Instructed by: Staff

LAS 233 Languages of the Americas (See SPA 233)

LAS 234 Rethinking the Northern Triangle: Violence, Intervention, and Resistance in Central America (also
ANT 333
) CDSA

In this class we will trouble the idea of "The Northern Triangle" by prying apart that grouping, examining each country's unique stories, and taking a nuanced look at shared phenomena. We will cover: the history and legacy of US intervention, the evolution of state and criminal violence, resistance struggles and Indigenous movements, and the varied and complex reality of drug cartels and street gangs. The course will touch on themes of transparency, impunity, and corruption in the democratic, post-war present and also focus on the emergence of and challenges to attempts to hold the post-dictatorial governments to account. Instructed by: A. Frank-Vitale

LAS 235 Of Shipwrecks and Other Disasters (See SPA 235)

LAS 237 Wildness, Whiteness, and Manliness in Colonial Latin America (See SPA 237)

LAS 238 Contemporary Latin American Literature (See COM 238)

LAS 241 Borges for Beginners (See SPA 241)

LAS 244 Introduction to Pre-20th Century Black Diaspora Art (See AAS 244)

LAS 248 Modern Mexican Society (See SOC 248)

LAS 250 Identity in the Spanish-Speaking World (See SPA 250)

LAS 259 Spirits on Fire: Mysticism in The Spanish Empire (See REL 259)

LAS 267 Mesoamerican Art (See ART 267)

LAS 275 Religion and Social Change in Early Latin America (See REL 275)

LAS 276 Saints and Sinners: Women and the Church in Colonial Spanish America (See REL 276)

LAS 278 Histories and Themes in Mexican Religion (See REL 278)

LAS 300 The Literature and Culture of Spain and Colonial Latin America: Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque (See SPA 300)

LAS 301 Afro-Diasporic Dialogues: Black Activism in Latin America and the United States (See AAS 322)

LAS 303 Modern Brazilian Literature and Culture (See POR 301)

LAS 304 Modern Latin America since 1810 (See HIS 304)

LAS 305 Colonial Latin America to 1810 (See HIS 303)

LAS 306 Topics in Latinx Literature and Culture: Latinx Literary Worlds (See ENG 318)

LAS 309 Topics in the Sociology of Latin America (See SOC 309)

LAS 310 Gender and Development in the Americas (See SOC 310)

LAS 311 Topics in Brazilian Cultural and Social History (See POR 304)

LAS 314 Topics in the Study of Gender (See GSS 302)

LAS 315 Luso-Afro-Brazilian Literary Traditions (See POR 300)

LAS 316 Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism in Latin America (See SOC 315)

LAS 319 Brazilian Cinema (See POR 319)

LAS 321 Topics in the Intellectual History of Modern and Contemporary Spain (See SPA 321)

LAS 322 Studies in Religion (See REL 373)

LAS 324 Battling Borders in the Americas (also
ANT 324
) CDSA

In this course we will study borders, literal and imagined, and those who contest and enforce them. From internal, invisible gang borders in Central America, to the externalization of the US border, to barriers to belonging, we will look at movements that challenge borders (migrant caravans, immigrants' rights activism, coyote networks) and the enforcers of borders (the regional migration regime, the asylum system, and non-state actors who police mobility.) Tying together migration, deportation, and resistance, this course asks: how are borders maintained? What does transgressing them mean for those in power and for those who do the crossing? Instructed by: Staff

LAS 326 Becoming Latino in the U.S. (See HIS 306)

LAS 327 Modernism in Fiction (See COM 327)

LAS 330 Social Exclusion in Latin America (See SOC 331)

LAS 331 Modern Latin American Fiction (See SPA 331)

LAS 332 Modern Latin American Poetry (See SPA 332)

LAS 333 Latino Politics in the U.S. (See POL 333)

LAS 334 Critical Theory in Latin America and Beyond (See SPA 363)

LAS 336 Latinos in American Life and Culture (See LAO 200)

LAS 338 The Sociology of Latinos in the U.S. (See SOC 338)

LAS 339 Art Archives in Latin America (also
ART 336
/
VIS 329
) Fall CDHA

This course aims to help students elaborate a critical and historical perspective on transformations, taking Latin American art as its case of study. Considering the archive as a historical apparatus, it focuses on understanding the complexity of archives in the contemporary art world. The course will provide students with a knowledge that will help them in their own use of archives. This course is developed for students interested in the Latin American region including those focusing on art history, literature, politics, and students from additional fields interested in pursuing comparative perspectives to conduct their research. Instructed by: A. Diez

LAS 342 Topics in Latin American Modernity (See SPA 342)

LAS 343 The Invention of Latin American Traditions (See SPA 343)

LAS 344 Literature and Society in Early Latin America (See SPA 344)

LAS 345 Topics in Latin American Literature and Ideology (See SPA 345)

LAS 346 Topics in Country and Regional Economics (See ECO 371)

LAS 347 Topics in the Culture of Cities (See SPA 351)

LAS 348 Fictions and Communities in the Andes (See SPA 348)

LAS 349 Topics in Latin American Cultural Studies (See SPA 350)

LAS 350 Pre-Columbian Peoples of Tropical America and Their Environments (See EEB 332)

LAS 351 Tropical Biology (See EEB 338)

LAS 353 Topics in Gender and Representation (See SPA 353)

LAS 354 Topics in Cinema and Culture (See SPA 319)

LAS 355 The Itinerant Languages of Photography (See SPA 355)

LAS 356 Topics in the Politics of Writing and Difference (See SPA 352)

LAS 357 Contemporary Latin America in Literature and Visual Arts (See COM 353)

LAS 358 The Skins of the Film: Latin America and the Politics of Touching (See SPA 388)

LAS 360 Urban Modernism and Its Discontents (See POR 306)

LAS 361 Brazilian Cinema in a Global Context (See POR 351)

LAS 362 Central Americans and Asylum in the United States (also
ANT 362
/
LAO 362
) Fall EMSA

This course offers an introduction to the theory, ethics, and history of the idea of international protection, while looking specifically at how Central Americans have engaged with the US asylum system over time. We will study the origins of the ideas of refugee protection, who is understood to qualify and why, how that has changed over time, and what this means for a broader understanding of human rights across borders. In collaboration with local asylum attorneys, students will get hands on experience conducting research and putting together reports to assist in real cases and, if conditions permit, we will attend immigration court. Instructed by: A. Frank-Vitale

LAS 364 Modern Latin American Fiction in Translation (See SPA 346)

LAS 365 Roberto Bolaño: Adventures in Cultureland (See SPA 356)

LAS 366 Ancient Arts of Mexico (See ART 366)

LAS 367 Latin American Politics (See POL 367)

LAS 368 Caribbean Women's History (See AAS 319)

LAS 371 The Politics of Development (See POL 351)

LAS 372 Latin American Philosophy (See PHI 372)

LAS 373 Modern Brazilian History (See HIS 333)

LAS 374 Drag Kings: An Archeology of Spectacular Masculinities in Latinx America (See SPA 372)

LAS 378 Screening Saudade (See POR 308)

LAS 380 Religious Experience, Expression, and Authority in Colonial Latin America (See REL 370)

LAS 381 Puerto Ricans Under U.S. Empire: Memory, Diaspora, and Resistance (See SPA 387)

LAS 383 Masterpieces of Latin American Literature (See SPA 339)

LAS 384 Workshop on Contemporary Cuban Arts (See SPA 383)

LAS 385 Reading Islands: Caribbean Waters, the Archipelago, and its Narratives (See ENG 358)

LAS 386 Havana: A Cultural History (See SPA 385)

LAS 388 Indigenous Expressions: Native Christianities in Colonial Mexico (See REL 359)

LAS 389 Poisonous Flowers: Radical Women in Latin America (See SPA 329)

LAS 390 Multispecies Worlding and Global Health Policies (also
ANT 392
/
GHP 390
) Fall ECSA

This course focuses on the politics of health, environment, interspecies relations, and scientific/biomedical interventions in Latin America. We examine pandemics, diseases, and other public health concerns through the lens of interspecies/multispecies entanglements to analyze the ongoing effects of ecological and environmental changes in the Latin American region and the practices of world-making that drive new imaginings and becomings of natureculture. We analyze the rise of global health and examine the role of experts and recent projects of securitization, containment, and biotechnological control. Instructed by: A. Morales

LAS 392 The Fiction of Mario Vargas Llosa (See SPA 392)

LAS 393 Brazilian History: Slavery, Race and Citizenship in Modern Brazil (See POR 309)

LAS 396 Poetry Matters: Latin American Poets and the Power of Language (See SPA 396)

LAS 397 Mexico's Tenth Muse: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (See SPA 335)

LAS 398 Comparative Studies in Spanish and Portuguese Literatures in Latin America (See SPA 399)

LAS 399 Education Economics and Policy (See SPI 396)

LAS 401 Latin American Studies Seminar (also
SPA 412
/
LAO 401
) Not offered this year LA

The seminar will concentrate upon themes and topics in Latin American history, politics, society, literature, and/or culture. The focus will vary from year to year. Instructed by: Staff

LAS 402 Latin American Studies Seminar (also
POL 461
) Fall SA

The seminar will concentrate upon themes and topics in Latin American history, politics, society, literature, and/or culture. The focus will vary from year to year. Instructed by: Staff

LAS 403 Latin American Studies Seminar Not offered this year LA

The seminar will concentrate upon themes and topics in Latin American history, politics, society, literature, and/or culture. The focus will vary from year to year. Instructed by: Staff

LAS 404 Latin American Studies Seminar (also
SPA 410
/
POR 411
) Not offered this year LA

The seminar will concentrate upon themes and topics in Latin American history, politics, society, literature, and/or culture. The focus will vary from year to year. Instructed by: Staff

LAS 405 Latin American Studies Seminar Not offered this year

The seminar will concentrate upon themes and topics in Latin American history, politics, society, literature, and/or culture. The focus will vary from year to year. Instructed by: Staff

LAS 406 Latin American Studies Seminar Not offered this year

The seminar will concentrate upon themes and topics in Latin American history, politics, society, literature, and/or culture. The focus will vary from year to year. Instructed by: Staff

LAS 407 Commons, Enclosures and Colonization in the Early Modern Atlantic (See HIS 407)

LAS 408 Selected Topics in 20th-Century Latin America (See HIS 408)

LAS 409 Writing and Urban Life (See POR 406)

LAS 413 Museum as Laboratory: Experimental Art Practices in Latin America and Beyond (See ART 467)

LAS 415 Latin American Essays (See POR 405)

LAS 423 Topics in Francophone Literature, Culture, and History (See FRE 403)

LAS 428 Topics in Hispanic Culture (Europe and America) (See SPA 401)

LAS 443 Global Exchange in Art and Architecture (See ART 443)

LAS 447 Shooting the Enemy in Non-Fiction Cinema (See POR 401)

LAS 448 Las Ciudades del Boom: Economic Growth, Urban Life and Architecture in the Latin American City (See ARC 448)

LAS 449 Violence, Migration, and Literature in the Americas (See COM 449)

LAS 460 Theorizing the Archive in Latin American Art (See ART 460)

LAS 463 A Social and Multi-Dimensional Exploration of Structures (See CEE 463)

LAS 467 Populism in Global History (See HIS 468)

LAS 468 The Art and Politics of Ancient Maya Courts (See ART 468)

LAS 469 Maya Painting (See ART 469)

LAS 476 Crafting Freedom: Women and Liberation in the Americas (1960s to the present) (See COM 476)

LAS 484 Borderlands, Border Lives (See HIS 484)