Latin American and Caribbean Studies Honours (B.A.) (60 credits)
Offered by: Languages,Literatures,Cultures (Faculty of Arts)
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Program credit weight: 60
Program Description
The Honours Latin American and Caribbean Studies is designed to meet the needs of students who plan to attend graduate or professional school upon completion of the B.A. This programs provides a comprehensive interdisciplinary understanding of Latin America and the Caribbean, upon which more specialized coursework and research may be based. This program is recommended for students who envision graduate study in a specific discipline, such as History or Political Science.
While the Faculty of Arts regulations require a minimum CGPA of 3.0 for Honours programs, in addition, students pursuing the Honours Latin American and Caribbean Studies must normally maintain a B+ (3.30) average in all program courses. Students must also meet all additional Faculty of Arts requirements for graduation with Honours.
Degree Requirements — B.A. students
To be eligible for a B.A. degree, a student must fulfil all Faculty and program requirements as indicated in Degree Requirements for the Faculty of Arts.
We recommend that students consult an Arts OASIS advisor for degree planning.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Required Courses (21 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| HISP 243 | Survey of Latin American Literature and Culture 1. 1 | 3 |
Survey of Latin American Literature and Culture 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. From the Colonial period to Modernism through a study of representative works. | ||
| HISP 244 | Survey of Latin American Literature and Culture 2. 1 | 3 |
Survey of Latin American Literature and Culture 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. From Modernism to the present through a study of representative works. | ||
| HIST 210 | Introduction to Latin American History . | 3 |
Introduction to Latin American History . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Historical development of Latin America’s peoples through the pre-Columbian, colonial and national periods, c. 1300-2000. Introduces key historiographical debates of the subfield and emphasizes the interpretation of primary source texts (in translation). | ||
| LACS 497 | Research Seminar: Latin America and the Caribbean. | 3 |
Research Seminar: Latin America and the Caribbean. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An interdisciplinary research seminar on topics of common interest to staff and students of the Latin-American and Caribbean Studies Program. | ||
| LACS 498 | Honours Thesis. | 3 |
Honours Thesis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course is designed to allow students to pursue interdisciplinary research projects under close supervision. | ||
| POLI 319 | Politics of Latin America. | 3 |
Politics of Latin America. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course will deal with the dynamics of political change in Latin America today. | ||
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Note: Successful completion of intermediate-level Spanish (HISP 220D1 Spanish Language: Intermediate./HISP 220D2 Spanish Language: Intermediate. or HISP 219 Spanish Language Intensive - Intermediate. or equivalent) is a prerequisite for the required courses HISP 243 Survey of Latin American Literature and Culture 1. and HISP 244 Survey of Latin American Literature and Culture 2..
Complementary Courses (42 credits)
39 credits selected from the Complementary Course List in consultation with the Program Adviser with the following requirements.
- 12 credits must be taken in Spanish or Portuguese.
- 27 additional credits on Latin America and the Caribbean (exclusive of language courses).
- A minimum of 15 of these 27 credits must be taken in one of the following disciplinary clusters, which may also include up to 6 credits of theoretical and/or methodological courses of particular relevance to the student's research interests:
- Cluster 1 - Literature and Culture;
- Cluster 2 - Economics, History, and Political Science;
- Cluster 3 - Anthropology and Geography.
Complementary Course List
Hispanic Studies - Languages
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| HISP 210D1 | Spanish Language: Beginners. | 3 |
Spanish Language: Beginners. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A comprehensive first-level course focusing on all oral and written skills. An introduction to the fundamentals of Spanish grammar and syntax and to Hispanic culture. | ||
| HISP 210D2 | Spanish Language: Beginners. | 3 |
Spanish Language: Beginners. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See HISP 210D1 for course description. | ||
| HISP 218 | Spanish Language Intensive - Elementary. | 6 |
Spanish Language Intensive - Elementary. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A comprehensive first-level course focusing upon all oral and written skills. An introduction to the fundamentals of Spanish grammar and syntax and to Hispanic culture. | ||
| HISP 219 | Spanish Language Intensive - Intermediate. | 6 |
Spanish Language Intensive - Intermediate. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A thorough review of Spanish grammar with emphasis upon current usage. Enrichment of all language skills, with a goal of proficiency in written and oral communication, through readings in the literature and civilization of Spain and Spanish America. | ||
| HISP 220D1 | Spanish Language: Intermediate. | 3 |
Spanish Language: Intermediate. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A thorough review of Spanish grammar with emphasis upon current usage. Enrichment of all language skills, with a goal of proficiency in written and oral communication, through readings in the literature and civilization of Spain and Spanish America. | ||
| HISP 220D2 | Spanish Language: Intermediate. | 3 |
Spanish Language: Intermediate. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A thorough review of Spanish grammar with emphasis upon current usage. Enrichment of all language skills, with a goal of proficiency in written and oral communication, through readings in the literature and cultural aspects of Spain and Spanish America. | ||
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| LACS 499 | Internship: Latin America and Caribbean Studies. | 3 |
Internship: Latin America and Caribbean Studies. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Internship with an approved host institution or organization. | ||
Cluster 1: Literature and Culture - Hispanic Studies
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| HISP 225 | Hispanic Civilization 1. | 3 |
Hispanic Civilization 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of historical and cultural elements which constitute the background of the Hispanic world up to the 18th century; a survey of the pre-Columbian indigenous civilizations (Aztec, Maya and Inca) and the conquest of America. | ||
| HISP 226 | Hispanic Civilization 2. | 3 |
Hispanic Civilization 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of the constitution of the ideological and political structures of the Spanish Empire in both Europe and America until the Wars of Independence; a survey of the culture and history of the Hispanic people from the early 19th Century to the present. | ||
| HISP 328 | Literature of Ideas: Latin America. | 3 |
Literature of Ideas: Latin America. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Critical reading and discussion of works of outstanding thinkers as a key to understanding the cultural development of a continent. | ||
| HISP 332 | Latin American Literature of 19th Century. | 3 |
Latin American Literature of 19th Century. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An intensive study of representative authors from the period of Independence to the advent of Modernism. | ||
| HISP 333 | Theatre, Performance and Politics in Latin America. | 3 |
Theatre, Performance and Politics in Latin America. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of the outstanding works of the theatre from the colonial period to the present, including pre-Columbian works. | ||
| HISP 335 | Politics and Poetry in Latin America. | 3 |
Politics and Poetry in Latin America. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of Latin American poetry as ithas been used for the expression of racialpolitics, government and economic oppression,identity and gender politics, revolution andactivism. | ||
| HISP 340 | Latin American Cinema. | 3 |
Latin American Cinema. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of representative films, directors and movements of the region. Topic specified by instructor. | ||
| HISP 352 | Latin American Novel. | 3 |
Latin American Novel. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Critical reading and discussion of contemporary Spanish-American fiction writers. | ||
| HISP 356 | Latin American Short Story. | 3 |
Latin American Short Story. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Study of style, tendencies and types as reflected in the evolution of this genre, and seen against the background of a developing continent. | ||
| HISP 357 | Latin American Digital Literature and Culture. | 3 |
Latin American Digital Literature and Culture. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course will examine digital cultural production in Latin America from 1990 to the present day. This course introduces students to theoretical frameworks necessary for approaching new media and web-based cultural artifacts, both literary and visual. Students will come into contact with the major writers, artists and web-based cultural producers in Latin America and issues pertinent to the study of the Web in the region. | ||
| HISP 358 | Gender and Textualities. | 3 |
Gender and Textualities. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Historical development and literary tendencies regarding gender and sexuality in Hispanic literature, film, and culture. | ||
| HISP 432 | Literature - Discovery and Exploration Spain New World. | 3 |
Literature - Discovery and Exploration Spain New World. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of the primary literary and intellectual developments stemming from Spain's discovery of the Americas. Special attention will be given to the changing perception of the New World's natural resources and indigenous peoples as this is reflected in the literature of the period. | ||
| HISP 437 | Colonial / Postcolonial Latin America. | 3 |
Colonial / Postcolonial Latin America. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of the dialogue between colonial and postcolonial Latin American texts and theories. | ||
| HISP 455 | Major Figures: Latin American Literature and Culture. | 3 |
Major Figures: Latin American Literature and Culture. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Specific figures of interest in Spanish-American literature. | ||
| HISP 505 | Seminar in Hispanic Studies 01. | 3 |
Seminar in Hispanic Studies 01. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A team-taught seminar examining major issues in Hispanic letters that transcend national literatures and historical periods. Although the specific topics will vary, each will address broad questions of a diachronic nature, thereby permitting an understanding of literary schools and movements, genres or ideologies present throughout the Hispanic world. | ||
Cluster 2: Economics, History, and Political Science
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 313 | Economic Development 1. | 3 |
Economic Development 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Microeconomic theories of economic development and empirical evidence on population, labour, firms, poverty. Inequality and environment. | ||
| ECON 314 | Economic Development 2. | 3 |
Economic Development 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Macroeconomic development issues, including theories of growth, public finance, debt, currency crises, corruption, structural adjustment, democracy and global economic organization. | ||
| HIST 223 | Indigenous Peoples and Empires. | 3 |
Indigenous Peoples and Empires. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. History of Indigenous Peoples of North and South America and their early experiences of European conquest and colonization, c. 1400 - 1800. | ||
| HIST 309 | 3 | |
Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. | ||
| HIST 360 | Latin America since 1825. | 3 |
Latin America since 1825. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Themes in the political, economic, and social development of Latin America since the wars of independence. | ||
| HIST 366 | Themes in Latin American History. | 3 |
Themes in Latin American History. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Exploration of a specific topic in the history of Latin America and the Caribbean, 1492 to the present. | ||
| HIST 409 | Topics in Latin American History. | 3 |
Topics in Latin American History. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. In-depth discussion and research on a circumscribed topic in the history of Latin America and the Caribbean, 1492 to the present. | ||
| HIST 419 | Central America. | 3 |
Central America. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The study of historical roots of the regional crisis of the 1980s, with particular attention to Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. | ||
| HIST 564D1 | Seminar: Latin American History. | 3 |
Seminar: Latin American History. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Exploration of a selected topic in Latin America history. | ||
| HIST 564D2 | Seminar: Latin American History. | 3 |
Seminar: Latin American History. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See HIST 564D1 for course description. | ||
| HIST 580D1 | European and Native-American Encounters. | 3 |
European and Native-American Encounters. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This seminar will examine European and Native encounters throughout the Americas, from the late 15th century to the mid-nineteenth century. The aim is to introduce students to key primary sources related to contact, and to the methods used to interpret them. | ||
| HIST 580D2 | European and Native-American Encounters. | 3 |
European and Native-American Encounters. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See HIST 580D1 for course description. | ||
| POLI 227 | Introduction to Comparative Politics - Global South. | 3 |
Introduction to Comparative Politics - Global South. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to politics across the Global South. A comparative examination of the legacies of colonialism, the achievement of independence, and political and socio-economic development in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Topics include modernization, dependency, state-building, political violence, revolution, the role of the military, authoritarianism, and democratization. | ||
Cluster 3: Anthropology and Geography
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 212 | Anthropology of Development. | 3 |
Anthropology of Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Processes of developmental change, as they affect small communities in the Third World and in unindustrialized parts of developed countries. Problems of technological change, political integration, population growth, industrialization, urban growth, social services, infrastructure and economic dependency. | ||
| ANTH 307 | Andean Prehistory. | 3 |
Andean Prehistory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Questions related to social inequality, ritual practice, monumental space, and urban landscapes within the context of the Pre-Columbian Andes and sections on the Inkas, as well as earlier groups, such as the Nazca, Wari, Moche, Tiwanaku, and Chimu. | ||
| ANTH 319 | Inka Archaeology and Ethnohistory. | 3 |
Inka Archaeology and Ethnohistory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. In-depth study of material and symbolic manifestations of power and identity in the Pre-Columbian Inka state, drawing on both archaeological and ethnohistoric sources. | ||
| ANTH 326 | Anthropology of Latin America. | 3 |
Anthropology of Latin America. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Central themes in the anthropology of Latin America, including colonialism, religiosity, sexuality and gender, indigeneity, social movements, and transnationalism. | ||
| ANTH 422 | Contemporary Latin American Culture and Society. | 3 |
Contemporary Latin American Culture and Society. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Themes central to the culture and society of contemporary Latin America and the Caribbean, including globalization, questions of race and ethnicity, (post)modernity, social movements, constructions of gender and sexuality, and national and diasporic identities. | ||
| GEOG 310 | Development and Livelihoods. | 3 |
Development and Livelihoods. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Geographical dimensions of rural/urban livelihoods in the face of socioeconomic and environmental change in developing regions. Emphasis on household natural resource use, survival strategies and vulnerability, decision-making, formal and informal institutions, migration, and development experience in contrasting global environments. | ||
| GEOG 404 | Environmental Management 2. 1 | 3 |
Environmental Management 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical application of environmental planning, analysis and management techniques with reference to the needs and problems of developing areas. Special challenges posed by cultural differences and traditional resource systems are discussed. This course involves practical field work in a developing area (Kenya or Panama). | ||
| GEOG 408 | Geography of Development. | 3 |
Geography of Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Examines the geographical dimensions of development policy, specifically the relationships between the process of development and human-induced environmental change. Focuses on environmental sustainability, struggles over resource control, population and poverty, and levels of governance (the role of the state, non-governmental organizations, and local communities). | ||
| GEOG 410 | Geography of Underdevelopment: Current Problems. | 3 |
Geography of Underdevelopment: Current Problems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of the cultural, political, and economic mechanisms and manifestations of contemporary underdevelopment and the response to it from different regional and national peripheral societies within the dominant world economic system. | ||
| GEOG 498 | Humans in Tropical Environments. | 3 |
Humans in Tropical Environments. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Focus on understanding of inter-relations between humans and neotropical environments represented in Panama. Study of contemporary rural landscapes, their origins, development and change. Impacts of economic growth and inequality, social organization, and politics on natural resource use and environmental degradation. Site visits and field exercises in peasant/colonist, Amerindian, and plantation communities. | ||
| GEOG 510 | Humid Tropical Environments. | 3 |
Humid Tropical Environments. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Focus on the environmental and human spatial relationships in tropical rain forest and savanna landscapes. Human adaptation to variations within these landscapes through time and space. Biophysical constraints upon "development" in the modern era. | ||
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Note: GEOG 404 Environmental Management 2. may only count toward the requirements for this program when the topic is related to Panama.