Latin American Studies Approved Course List

LAS Approved Course List Spring 2025

List is subject to change. Please check the course schedule on Triton Link for the latest information.

The following are interdisciplinary courses available at UCSD that are approved to satisfy the requirements of the Latin American Studies Program. This list is dynamic and subject to on-going revisions. Courses not included in this list may be considered for credit based on content and must be petitioned.

Contact the LAS Student Affairs Coordinator with any questions on course offerings or petitioning courses.

Courses Offered by the Latin American Studies Program

Undergraduate

LATI 10. Reading North by South: Latin American Studies and the US Liberation Movements

The purpose of this class is to study the multilayered relations between Latin American studies and the US liberation movements, particularly Third World movements, the Chicano movement, the black liberation movement, the indigenous movement, human rights activism, and trans-border activism. Students may not receive credit for LATI 100 and LATI 10.

LATI 50. Introduction to Latin America

Interdisciplinary overview of society and culture in Latin America—including Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America: legacies of conquest, patterns of economic development, changing roles of women, expressions of popular culture, cycles of political change, and US-Latin American relations.

LATI 124. Ethnoracial Politics in Latin America

This course explores the significance of ethno-racial politics in Latin America. The core of the class is analyzing the effects of ethno-racial politics and policy implementation in the region. The goal is to understand how these policies, such as constitutional reforms recognizing indigenous and black populations, bicultural education, and affirmative action, foster social progress and elicit potential reactions.

LATI 130. Latinx Environmental Justice

This course will address environmental justice issues within Latinx communities within the United States and Latin America. The course introduces theoretical and methodological explanations to better understand environmental racism, environmental justice, and environmental problems.

LATI 130. Gender as a Border

This course explores the intersectionality between migration, gender, race, and class to better understand the migrant narratives of Central American, Mexican, and Latina women in the U.S. Key concepts on gender, critical race, migration, border, and queer theory will help us to analyze contemporary cultural productions portraying the exclusion, discrimination, exploitation, exceptions, and (in) visibility that women face due to their race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and gender identity.

LATI 140. Decolonial Thought and Practices in Latin America

The purpose of this course is to survey decolonial thought and practice in Latin America throughout the twentieth century. Course content will draw extensively from the writings and experiences of previously colonized peoples in Latin America. Course texts will match primary source documents with historiography in order to situate decolonial thought in its practical historical context.

LATI 150. Digital Oral History in Latin America

An introduction to the theory and practice of digital oral history in Latin America. Students will be exposed to the history of orality in the region as a hybrid genre between literature, history, and ethnography. This class will provide a strong theoretical background on oral history as a constant presence in the Latin American cultural scene from the colonial chronicles to the political testimony. Prerequisites: LATI 50; upper-division standing.

LATI 160. Latin American Third Cinema

The purpose of this class is to examine the Latin American film movement of Third Cinema. This course offers students the opportunity to explore representations of imperialism, urbanization, spatial exclusion, poverty, race, gender, labor, state terror, revolution, and neoliberalism. The class combines films with other forms of knowledge production from the region, such as art and literature.

LATI 165. Visual Culture in Latin America

This class explores visual production in contemporary Latin America, highlighting practices and subjects of visual representation tied to artistic, cultural, and historical processes.

LATI 166. Latin Food Culture: Culinary Ethnography of the Americas

This course explores the culture and political economy of Latin American food staples, from their colonial origin to their arrival in the United States. Students will conduct local ethnographic research in local Latin American diasporic communities by selecting a particular regional dish and documenting its history, culture, and contemporary production.

LATI 170. Social Science Research in Latin America

The objective of the course is to survey the important contributions of social science research in Latin America in understanding some of the most pressing issues facing our societies today. The class will synthesize the contributions of Latin American researchers and activists to social science research in visible complex issues related to socioeconomic inequality, citizenship, violence and insecurity, justice, and migration.

LATI 175. Participatory Action Research: Action and Knowledge

This course surveys the important tradition of Participatory Action Research (PAR) in Latin America as a tool for producing knowledge in solidarity with grassroots communities. Students will learn about techniques ranging from critical recovery of history to engaging experiential knowledge exploring alternative mediums for producing and diffusing knowledge. Then, they will develop their own proposal for a community-driven research project based on PAR principles and methods.

LATI 180. Special Topics in Latin American Studies

Readings and discussion of substantive issues and research in Latin American studies. Topics may include the study of a specific society or a particular issue in comparative cross-national perspective. Topics will vary from year to year. Prerequisites: LATI 50 or permission of instructor, upper-division standing.

LATI 184. Special Topics in Latin America and the Global South

Readings and discussion of substantive issues and research in Global South studies with a focus on Latin America. Topics may include the study of a specific society or a particular issue in comparative cross-national perspective.

LATI 191. Honors Seminar

Independent reading and research under direction of a member of the faculty group in Latin American Studies; goal is to provide honors students with an opportunity to complete senior research thesis (to be defended before three-person interdisciplinary faculty committee). Prerequisites: successful completion of LATI 50, working knowledge of Spanish; minimum GPA of 3.5 in the major.

LATI 199. Individual Study

Guided and supervised reading of the literature on Latin America in the interdisciplinary areas of anthropology, communications, economics, history, literature, political science, and sociology. For students majoring in Latin American Studies, reading will focus around potential topics for senior papers; for honors students in Latin American Studies, reading will culminate in formulation of a prospectus for the research thesis. Prerequisites: LATI 50 and working knowledge of Spanish.

Courses Offered by our Affiliated Departments

Anthropology

ANAR 100. Special Topics in Anthropological Archaeology (when Latin American content)

ANAR 105. The Archaeology of Literate Societies in Mesoamerica

ANAR 153. The Mysterious Maya

ANAR 154. Aztecs and Their Ancestors

ANAR 155. Study Abroad: Ancient Mesoamerica

ANAR 156. The Archaeology of South America

ANAR 156-XL. The Archaeology of South America (FLD)

ANAR 157. Early Empires of the Andes: The Middle Horizon

ANAR 157S. Early Empires of the Andes: The Middle Horizon

ANAR 157-XL. The Andean Middle Horizon (FLD)

ANAR 158. The Inca: Empire of the Andes

ANAR 159. Pre-Hispanic Societies of the Caribbean Archipelago

ANAR 160. Ancient Maya: Archaeological Problems and Perspectives

ANSC 100. Special Topics in Socio-Cultural Anthropology

ANSC 104. The US-Mexico Border

ANSC 106. Global Health: Indigenous Medicines in Latin America

ANSC 110. Societies and Cultures of the Caribbean

ANSC 116. Languages of the Americans: Mayan

ANSC 125. Gender, Sexuality, and Society

ANSC 135. Indigenous Peoples of Latin America

ANSC 142. Anthropology of Latin America

ANSC 144. Immigrant and Refugee Health

ANSC 151. US-Mexico Border Ethnographies

ANSC 169. Culture and Environment: Research Seminar and Practicum

ANSC 171. Multimodal Methods in Ethnography

ANSC 194. Language, Migration, Borders

ANTH 105. Climate Change, Race, and Inequality

ANTH 108. Indigenous Peoples, Extractive Development, and Climate Change

Critical Gender Studies

CGS 127. Feminist Border Studies

CGS 137. Latina Issues and Cultural Production

CGS 187. Latinx Sexualities

Communication

COMM 104G. Comparative Media Systems: Latin America and the Caribbean

COMM 111B. CCP: Global Borders: Communication and Conflict

COMM 129. Race, Nation, and Violence in Multicultural California

COMM 140. Cinema in Latin America

COMM 155. Latino Space, Place, and Culture

COMM 183. Global Economy and Consumer Culture

Education Studies

EDS 108GS. Culture, Cognition, and Schooling in the Americas

EDS 113. Chicanas/os and Latinos in Education: Policy, Practice, and Challenges to Equity

EDS 117GS. Language, Culture, and Education

ESD 119. First and Second Language Learning: From Childhood through Adolescence

EDS 125. History, Politics, and Theory of Bilingual Education

Economics

ECON 102. Globalization

ECON 106. International Economic Agreement

ECON 162. Economics of Mexico

Ethnic Studies

ETHN 107. Fieldwork in Racial and Ethnic Communities

ETHN 116. The United States-Mexico Border in Comparative Perspective

ETHN 117. Organic Social Movements

ETHN 118. Contemporary Immigration Issues

ETHN 119. Race in the Americas

ETHN 129. Asian and Latina Immigrant Workers in the Global Economy

ETHN 130. Social and Economic History of the Southwest I

ETHN 131. Social and Economic History of the Southwest II

ETHN 132. Chicano Dramatic Literature

ETHN 133. Hispanic American Dramatic Literature

ETHN 134. Immigration and Ethnicity in Modern American Society

ETHN 135A. Early Latino/a-Chicano/a Cultural Production, 1848–1960

ETHN 135B. Early Latino/a-Chicano/a Cultural Production, 1960–Present

ETHN 137. Latina Issues and Cultural Production

ETHN 143. Chicano Film and Media Studies

ETHN 154. History of Mexican America

ETHN 160. Global Indigenous Studies

ETHN 163E. Decolonial Theory

ETHN 180. Special Topics in Mexican American History

ETHN 187. Latina/o Sexualities

ETHN 189. Special Topics in Ethnic Studies (when Latin American studies content)

ETHN 190. Research Methods: Studying Racial and Ethnic Communities

ETHN 197. Fieldwork in Racial and Ethnic Communities

History

HILA 100. Conquest and Empire: The Americas

HILA 100D. Latin American Colonial Transformation

HILA 101. Nation-State Formation, Ethnicity, and Violence in Latin America

HILA 102. Latin America in the Twentieth Century

HILA 103. Revolution in Modern Latin America

HILA 104. Drugs in Latin America

HILA 114. Dictatorship in Latin America

HILA 117. Indians, Black, and Whites: Family Relations in Latin America

HILA 118. Subverting Sovereignty: US Aggression in Latin America, 1898–Present

HILA 119. Central America: Popular Struggle, Political Change, and US Intervention

HILA 121A. History of Brazil through 1889

HILA 121B. History of Brazil, 1889–Present

HILA 122. Cuba: From Colony to Socialist Republic

HILA 123. The Incas and Their Ancestors

HILA 124. The History of Chile, 1880-Present

HILA 124A. History of Women and Gender in Latin America

HILA 126. From Columbus to Castro: Caribbean Culture and Society

HILA 131. History of Mexico

HILA 132. Modern Mexico: From Revolution to Drug War Violence

HILA 133S. Guerrillas and Revolution in Latin America

HILA 134. Indians of Colonial Latin America

HILA 135. Science and Knowledge in Colonial America

HILA 144. Topics in Latin American History

HILA 145. People in Nature in Amazonia: An Unwritten History

HILA 161. History of Women in Latin America

HILA 162. Special Topics in Latin American History

HILA 163. History of Chile, 1880–Present

HILA 164. Women’s Work and Family Life in Latin America

HILA 167. Historical Scholarship on Latin American History

HILA 168. Historical Scholarship on Latin American History

HILA 169. Historical Scholarship on Latin American History

HILA 171. Topics in Latin American History since 1910

HITO 155. Race, Sport, and Inequality in the Twentieth Century

HITO 156. Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion in the United States and Europe: Multiple Multiculturalism

HIUS 106B. American Foreign Relations since 1900

HIUS 113A. History of Mexican America

HIUS 117. History of Los Angeles

HIUS 158. Social and Economic History of the Southwest I

HIUS 159. Social and Economic History of the Southwest II

HIUS 167. Topics in Mexican American History

Literature

LTAM 100. Latino/a Cultures in the United States

LTAM 105. Gender and Sexuality in Latino/a Cultural Production

LTAM 106. Modern Chicana and Mexican Women Writings

LTAM 107. Comparative Latino/a and US Ethnic Cultures

LTAM 108. Chicano/a and Latino/a Cultures: Intellectual and Political Traditions

LTAM 109. Cultural Production of the Latino/a Diasporas

LTAM 110. Latin American Literature in Translation

LTAM 111. Contemporary Caribbean Discourse

LTAM 120. Ecocultural Narratives from Latin America

LTAM 140. Topics in Culture and Politics

LTCS 100. Theories and Methods in Cultural Studies

LTCS 102. Practicing Cultural Studies

LTCS 125. Cultural Perspectives on Immigration and Citizenship

LTCS 132. Special Topics in Social Identities and the Media

LTCS 133. Globalization and Culture

LTCS 134. Culture and Revolution

LTCS 172. Special Topics in Screening Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality

LTEN 169. Topics in Latino/a Literature

LTEN 171. Comparative Issues in Latino/a Immigration in US Literature

LTEN 180. Chicano Literature in English

LTEN 188. Contemporary Caribbean Literature

LTSP 100A. Advanced Spanish Reading and Writing for the Humanities and the Social Sciences

LTSP 100B. Advanced Spanish Reading and Writing for the Humanities and the Social Sciences (heritage speakers)

LTSP 116. Representations of Spanish Colonialism

LTSP 123. Topics in Modern Spanish Culture

LTSP 135A. Mexican Literature before 1910

LTSP 135B. Modern Mexican Literature

LTSP 137. Caribbean Literature

LTSP 138. Central American Literature

LTSP 145. Hispanic Memory, Human Rights, and Culture

LTSP 150A. Early Latino/a-Chicano/a Cultural Production, 1848–1960

LTSP 150B. Early Latino/a-Chicano/a Cultural Production, 1960–Present

LTSP 151. Topics in Chicano/a-Latino/a Cultures

LTSP 172. Indigenista Themes in Spanish American Literature

LTSP 174. Topics in Culture and Politics

LTSP 175. Gender, Sexuality, and Culture (when Latin American content)

LTSP 176. Literature and Nation (when Latin American content)

LTSP 177. Literary and Historical Migrations

LTWR 101. Writing Fiction in Spanish

Music

MUS 111. Topics/World Music Traditions (when Latin American content)

MUS 116. Popular Music Studies Seminar

MUS 150. Jazz and the Music of the African Diaspora: Special Topics Seminar

MUS 151. Race, Culture, and Social Change

Philosophy

PHIL 139. Global Justice

PHIL 155. Mexican Philosophy

PHIL 156. Latinx Philosophy

PHIL 157. Topics in Latin America/Latinx Philosophy

PHIL 170. Philosophy and Race

Political Science

POLI 101E. The Politics of Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration

POLI 105A. Latino Politics in the U.S.

POLI 134A. Comparative Politics of Latin America

POLI 134B. Politics in Mexico

POLI 134D. Selected Topics in Latin American Politics

POLI 134I. Politics in the Southern Cone of Latin America

POLI 134J. Cuba: Revolution and Reform

POLI 140D. International Human Rights Law: Migrant Populations

POLI 145A. International Politics and Drugs

POLI 146A. The U.S. and Latin America: Political and Economic Relations

POLI 150A. Politics of Immigration

POLI 154. Special Topics in International Relations (when Latin American content)

POLI 170A. Applied Data Analysis for Political Science

Sociology

SOCI 104. Field Research: Methods of Participant Observation

SOCI 104Q. Qualitative Interviewing

SOCI 105. Ethnographic Film: Media Methods

SOCI 106. Comparative and Historical Methods

SOCI 108. Survey Research Design

SOCI 109M. Research Reporting

SOCI 125. Sociology of Immigration

SOCI 125M. Sociology of Refugees, Asylum, and Forced Migration

SOCI 127. Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity

SOCI 133. Immigration in Comparative Perspective

SOCI 133E. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity

SOCI 163. Migration and the Law (when Latin American content)

SOCI 175. Nationality and Citizenship

SOCI 182. Ethnicity and Indigenous Peoples in Latin America

SOCI 185. Globalization and Social Development

SOCI 188D. Latin America: Society and Politics

SOCI 188M. Social Movements in Latin America

Theatre and Dance

TDHD 175. Cultural Perspectives on Dance

TDHT 108. Luis Valdez

TDHT 110. Chicanx Theatre

TDHT 111. Latinx Theatre and Performance

TDMV 140. Beginning Dances of the World

TDMV 141. Advanced Dances of the World

TDMV 142. Latin Dance of the World

TDMV 143. West African Dance

TDMV 146. Intermediate Latin Dances of the World

Urban Studies and Planning

USP 135. Asian and Latina Immigrant Workers in the Global Economy

USP 162. Migration and the City

USP 176. International Planning and Development: U.S.-Mexico Border

USP 135. Asian and Latina Immigrant Workers in the Global Economy

USP 188. Field Research in Migrant Communities—Practicum

Visual Arts

VIS 102. Democratizing the City

VIS 126AN. Pre-Columbian Art of Ancient Mexico and Central America

VIS 126BN. Art and Civilization/Ancient Maya

VIS 126C. Problems in Meso-American Art History

VIS 126D. Problems in Ancient Maya Iconography and Inscriptions

VIS 126E. Indigenisms I: The Making of the Modern, Nineteenth Century to Mid-Twentieth Century

VIS 126F. Indigenisms II: Contemporary Disseminations, Neo-Avantgarde to the Present

VIS 126P. Latin American Art: Modern to Postmodern, 1890–1950

VIS 126Q. Latin American Art: Modern to Postmodern, 1950–Present

VIS 128D. Topics in Art History of the Americas

VIS 129D. Seminar in Art History of the Americas

VIS 152. Film in the Social Context (when Latin American content)

VIS 156. Latino American Cinema

Methods Courses

Undergraduate majors should take one of the following methods courses:

ANSC 169. Culture and Environment: Research Seminar and Practicum

ANSC 171. Multimodal Methods in Ethnography

CGS 100B. Conceptualizing Gender: Methods and Methodologies

COMM 101. Media Production Lab: Ethnographic Methods for Media Production

COMM 103F. How to Read a Film

ETHN 107. Fieldwork in Racial and Ethnic Communities

ETHN 190. Research Methods: Studying Racial and Ethnic Communities

LATI 150. Digital Oral History in Latin America

LATI 166. Latin Food Culture: Culinary Ethnography of the Americas

LATI 170. Social Science Research in Latin America

LATI 175. Participatory Action Research: Action and Knowledge

LTCS 100. Theories and Methods in Cultural Studies

LTCS 102. Practicing Cultural Studies

LTCS 170. Visual Culture

POLI 170A. Applied Data Analytics for Political Science

POLI 173. Social Networking Analysis

POLI 174. Analyzing Elections