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		2008-09 Bulletin of the Duke University Graduate School

Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LATAMER)

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies oversees and coordinates graduate education on Latin America and the Caribbean, and promotes research and dissemination of knowledge about the region. Its Council on Latin American Studies is made up of Latin Americanist faculty and staff members representing Arts and Sciences disciplines and the professional schools. Graduate students in Arts and Sciences as well as professional school students may concentrate their studies on Latin America or the Caribbean. In addition to fulfilling the requirements of their departments, students of Latin American and Caribbean studies may undertake special courses of interdisciplinary study, or those offered by other departments, to broaden their knowledge of the region and to earn a Graduate Certificate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

Graduate Certificate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Requirements include:

1. six graduate courses on Latin America or the Caribbean;

2. an approved thesis prospectus or departmental equivalent on a Latin American or Caribbean topic; and

3. proficiency in Spanish, Portuguese, or other language of Latin America or the Caribbean, such as Yucatec Maya or Quechua. Such working knowledge must be demonstrated by taking a proficiency test in one of the above languages.

For additional information about the graduate certificate in Latin and Caribbean American studies, contact the academic program coordinator for Latin American and Caribbean studies, Box 90254, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0254, telephone (919) 681-3980, e-mail: las@duke.edu.

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies sponsors a speakers series that provides a forum for presentations by visiting Latin Americanists from throughout the U.S. and overseas, as well as by Duke and UNC faculty and graduate students. Each year the Center also co-sponsors a number of conferences and other special events, including the annual Latin American Labor History Conference. Moreover, the Center and the Institute for the study of the Americas at UNC-Chapel Hill sponsor the Carolina and Duke Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, which provides opportunities for collaboration with faculty and students from the University of North Carolina who are interested in Latin America.

The interdisciplinary focus of the graduate program is enhanced by the numerous activities of the Consortium, which offers graduate students at Duke an array of intellectually challenging opportunities to broaden their disciplinary training. The single most important initiative of the Consortium is the sponsorship of interdisciplinary working groups that bring together faculty and graduate students from both campuses to conduct research and training in areas of central concern to Latin American and Caribbean studies. The groups focus on topics such as political economy, the environment, and Afro-Latin American perspectives.

Since 1991 the Carolina and Duke Consortium has been designated a National Resource Center for Latin American Studies by the U.S. Department of Education. This honor is accompanied by funding for a number of program activities as well as Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships for graduate students. The Center and the consortium together administer competitions for graduate student travel grants each spring. These awards provide Duke students with the opportunity to deepen their disciplinary interests in the region through relatively brief periods of research in Latin America.

More detailed information on the various components of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies program at Duke is also available on the center's Web site: http://clacs.aas.duke.edu//.

200S. Seminar in Latin American Studies. Interdisciplinary study of geographical, historical, economic, governmental, political, and cultural aspects of modern Latin America and the current issues facing the region. Specific topics will vary from year to year. For seniors and graduate students. Instructor: Staff. 3 units.

202S. Research without Borders:Building Expertise in Japanese, European, Latin American, or Slavic Studies. Interdisciplinary resources for graduate-level research in one or more area studies, with a particular focus on European, Latin American, East Asian, and Slavic Studies. Team teaching approach drawing on the diverse regional and disciplinary expertise of four course instructors, who are both subject librarians and area studies specialists. Instructor: Ackerman, Madden, Troost, Zitser. 3 units. C-L: Asian and African Languages and Literature 207S, Russian 203S, Romance Studies 202S, German 264S

298. Introduction to Latin American Cultural Studies. A problem-oriented course, but also covering theoretical issues, integrating approaches from two or more disciplines. Topics vary from year to year. Instructor: Staff. 3 units.

350. Colloquium. Weekly presentations on various professional and intellectual issues relating to Latin American Cultural Studies. Credit/no credit grading only. Prerequisite: enrollment in Latin American Cultural Studies certificate program. Instructor: Staff. 1 unit.