Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACS) MA
Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Guelph:
An interdisciplinary M.A. programme
- This is the only Latin American and Caribbean Studies Master's program in Canada to bridge the social sciences and the humanities.
- Students have the benefit of studying in a community with the largest concentration of Latin American scholars internationally renowned for their major collaborative and individual research projects.
- Study Abroad gives students an opportunity to study and/or participate in projects at partner institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- LACS program prepares students for a variety of jobs that require communication and interpersonal skills with an international perspective, critical and creative thinking, research and time management, leadership, teaching competence, and the ability to communicate in both English and Spanish.
- The program prepares students for further study and research at the doctoral level, either in a related core discipline or in an interdisciplinary program.
- Students have the opportunity to pursue the MA in Latin American and Caribbean Studies with the designation "International Development Studies" (IDS).
- LACS/IDS Graduates hold positions in government in Canada, and abroad with NGOs, international organizations and private consultancies. Many enter PhD programs.
- LACS program offers teaching practice with considerable pedagogical training. Completion of all requirements gives students a Certificate in Teaching.
Programme of Study
LACS students will either:
a)take 6 courses (3.0 credits) and write a major paper (1.0 credit), or
b)take 4 courses (2.0 credits) and write a thesis.
Option A is recommended.
Required Courses
Fall
| LACS*6000 Methodology | Instructors: M. Irvine (view video) |
| LACS*6010 Latin American Identity and Culture I | Instructors: G. Yovanovich (view video), S. Henighan (view video), S. Douglas (view video), H. Spring (view video) |
| LACS*6030 Globalization and Insecurity | Instructors: J. Nef (view video) |
Winter
| LACS*6020 Latin American Identity and Culture II | Instructors G. Yovanovich, P. Ramirez (view video), R. Gomez (view video), Joubert Satyre |
| Any of the following 2 electives |
Summer of Fall semester
LACS*6100 Major Research Paper or Thesis if preference B
Electives
LACS*6040 Novel & Nation in Spanish America W [0.5]
LACS*6050 Globalization & Latin American Representation in Art W [0.5)
LACS*6060 Topics in Latin American Culture U [0.5]
ECON*6370 Economic Development in Historical Perspective
ENGL*6811 Special Topics in English U [0.50] (When this course is offered as "Border Thinking: Chicana/o Latina/o Perspectives") U [0.5]
FREN*6022 Topics in Caribbean and African Literatures F [0.50]
HIST*6520 Topics in Latin American History U [0.50]
HIST*6521 Latin American Research U [0.50]
POLS*6370 Latin America and the Caribbean U [0.5]
POLS*6250 Comparative Governments in the Americas U [0.50]
SOC*6500 Social Movements in Latin America W [0.5]
SOC*6460 Gender and Development F [0.50]
SOC*6420 Global Agro-Food Systems, Community and Rural Change U [0.5]
Students who chose to go on an exchange in semester 2 of the program will not need to take the Latin American and Caribbean Identity and Culture II course. They can replace the winter portion of the course with a comparable course taken at the host university. While abroad, students will have the opportunity to develop language proficiency, and to conduct research or take courses for their major project. The major paper or LACS*6100 Research Paper/Project (1.0 credits) of approximately 12,000 words may be researched at another institution and written under the direction of two faculty members, one of whom could be from an exchange Latin American partner university. The same is true for the thesis writing which is more extensive and academically demanding than the major paper. The major papers and the thesis can be written in either Spanish or English.
