Latina/o Studies Minor
Latina/o Studies brings together cultural studies, humanities, and social sciences to consider the histories, philosophies, social lives, and cultures of U.S. Latina/o communities. As a discipline founded after 1960s student protests and now widely established, Latina/o Studies shares its interdisciplinary focus on social inequalities and racial dynamics with other Ethnic Studies disciplines such as Africana Studies and Asian American Studies. Latina/o Studies, however, uniquely focuses on the experiences, cultures, and politics of people of Latin American descent living in the United States from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Learning Objectives for the Latino/a Studies Minor
Students minoring in Latina/o Studies will:
- Gain competence in the interdisciplinary study of the largest minority group in the United States and to its increasing importance in all areas of U.S. social life.
- Grasp the historical, social, and political contexts of Latina/o life and culture in the United States.
- Examine the relationships between this group and other minority groups within the United States.
- Understand the transnational ties and global contexts of Latina/os.
Course Requirements for the Latino/a Studies Minor
The Latina/o minor consists of five units:
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Either AMST 161, Introduction to Latina/o Studies or AMST 121, Ethnic Studies: Key Concepts, Theories, and Methods
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Two courses that examine Latina/o history, culture, and politics: AMST 217, AMST 235, AMST 290, AMST 323, AMST 325, AMST 327, WGST 216, WGST 218, WGST 223/CAMS 240, or WGST 326.
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Two courses that cover the larger contexts of race, ethnicity, immigration, economics, language, religion, education, and urban life that are relevant to Latina/os in the United States. To fulfill this requirement, the following categories of courses may be included in a Latina/o Studies minor.
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Courses about the history, culture, or politics of the United States: AFR 206 African American History: Reconstruction to present; AFR/ENG 295 Harlem Renaissance; AMST 152 Race, Ethnicity and Politics in America; AMST 242 American Reckonings: Race and Memory in US; AMST 274/WGST 274 Rainbow Cowboys (and Girls): Gender, Race, Class, and Sexuality in Westerns; AMST 315: Beats, Rhymes, and Life: Hip-Hop Studies; EDUC 335 Seminar: Urban Education: Equity, Research, and Action; ENG/JWST 290 Minorities in US Comics; HIST 244 History of the American West: Manifest Destiny to Pacific Imperialism; HIST 245: The Social History of American Capitalism from Revolution to Empire; HIST 252: The Twentieth-Century Black Freedom Struggle; HIST 312 Seminar: Understanding Race in the United States, 1776-1918; POL 1 337 Racial and Ethnic Politics in the United States; POL 1 386 The Politics of Inequality in America; WGST 102 Lessons of Childhood; or WGST 226 The Body.
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Courses about transnationalism, immigration, language, or globalization that reflect on Latina/o experience: AFR 215 Unpacking Blackness: Race and Ethnicity in African Diaspora; AFR 299 Caribbean Cultural Expression and Diaspora; AMST 264 Histories of Asian American Labor and Immigration; AMST/ENG 296: Diaspora and Immigration in 21st-Century American Literature; ECON 311 Economics of Immigration; EDUC 334: Seminar: Ethnography in Education: Race, Migration, and Borders; LING 312 Bilingualism: An Exploration of Language, Mind, and Culture; MUS 210 Music and the Global Metropolis; POL 1 328 Immigration Politics and Policy; REL 226 The Virgin Mary; SOC 246/AMST 246 Salsa and Ketchup: How Immigration is Changing the U.S.; SOC 310 Encountering the Other: Comparative Perspectives on Mobility and Migration; SPAN 243: Spanish for Heritage Learners; SPAN 305: Hispanic Literature of the United States; WGST 206 Migration, Gender, and Globalization.
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Courses about comparative or theoretical frameworks for comprehending questions of race, ethnicity, and class, such as EDUC 216 Education and Social Policy; ECON 243 The Political Economy of Gender, Race, and Class; POL4 311: Grassroots Organizing; POL4 345: Black Liberation from Haiti to Black Lives Matter; SOC 249 Social Inequality; SOC 251 Racial Regimes in the United States and Beyond; WGST 296 US Women of Color and Economic Inequality; WGST 395 Representations of Women, Natives, and Others.
To ensure that appropriate courses have been selected, students should consult with the program director or their minor advisor.
A maximum of two units, including AMST 161, may be taken at the 100 level. At least one unit must be at the 300 level. Four units must be taken at Wellesley. American Studies majors minoring in Latina/o Studies must decide whether to count an eligible course toward the major or the minor.