Minor in Latin American and Latinx Studies
Program Learning Outcomes for the Minor in Latin American and Latinx Studies
Upon completing the minor in Latin American and Latinx Studies, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate familiarity with interdisciplinary area studies research.
- Interpret the historical, cultural, and political dynamics that comprise a specific region selected by the student for in-depth study.
- Apply critical perspectives on legacies and ongoing forces that are local and global in scope from the field of Latin American and Latinx Studies.
Requirements for the Minor in Latin American and Latinx Studies
Students pursuing the minor in Latin American and Latinx Studies must complete:
- A minimum of 6 courses (18 credit hours) to satisfy minor requirements.
- A minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours) taken at the 300-level or above.
- A maximum of 2 courses (6 credit hours) from study abroad or transfer credit. For additional departmental guidelines regarding transfer credit, see the Policies tab.
While taking courses in a language other than English is not required for the minor, study abroad and coursework in languages spoken in Latin American and Latinx communities other than English are highly encouraged (e.g. Spanish, Portuguese, French, or Indigenous languages).
The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this minor. In certain instances, courses not on this official list may be substituted upon approval of the minor’s academic advisor or, where applicable, the Program Director. (Course substitutions must be formally applied and entered into Degree Works by the minor's Official Certifier). Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.
Summary
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Total Credit Hours Required for the Minor in Latin American and Latinx Studies | 18 | |
Minor Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirement | ||
| LALX 158 / SPAN 158 | INTRODUCTION TO LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES 1 | 3 |
| Elective Requirements 1 | ||
| Select 1 course at the 100-level (or above) from department approved electives (see course list below) | 3 | |
| Select 1 course at the 200-level (or above) from department approved electives (see course list below) | 3 | |
| Select 3 courses at the 300-level (or above) from department approved electives (see course list below) | 9 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 18 | |
Footnotes and Additional Information
| 1 | Of the 6 courses (18 credit hours) required for the minor, a minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours) must be taken at the 300-level or above. Please note that not all courses listed to fulfill requirements will be offered every academic year. Up to 2 courses at the 100-level (including LALX 158/SPAN 158, the Core Requirement) will fulfill minor requirements. |
Course List to Satisfy Requirements
Elective Requirements
Students must complete a total of 5 courses (15 credit hours) from the following department approved electives. At least 3 courses (9 credit hours) must be taken at the 300-level or above. 1 course (3 credit hours) may be taken at the 200-level (or above). Up to 2 courses at the 100-level (including LALX 158/SPAN 158, the Core Requirement) will fulfill minor requirements.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Approved Electives offered in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures | ||
| FREN 313 | THE FRANCOPHONE WORLD | 3 |
| FREN 330 | RHYTHMS AND SOUNDS: MUSIC IN THE FRENCH-SPEAKING WORLD | 3 |
| FREN 360 | STREET ART: HIP HOP, GRAFFITI, AND PHOTOGRAPHY | 3 |
| FREN 414 | SEX AND RACE IN THE FRENCH ATLANTIC | 3 |
| FREN 433 | FRENCH CARIBBEAN ECOCRITICISM | 3 |
| FREN 478 / ARCR 478 | THE FRENCH CARIBBEAN | 3 |
| LALX 238 | SPECIAL TOPICS | 1-4 |
| LALX 251 / HIST 251 | CONTINUITIES AND CHANGES IN BRAZILIAN HISTORY | 3 |
| LALX 265 | LATIN AMERICAN GENDER AND SEXUALITY | 3 |
| LALX 330 | SUBVERSIVE STORYTELLING IN LATINX TV & FILM | 3 |
| LALX 332 | WRITING TO HEAL: U.S. LATINE NARRATIVES ON MENTAL HEALTH | 3 |
| LALX 345 / ENST 345 | BIODIVERSITY AND CONFLICT IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH | 3 |
| LALX 350 | PIRATES, REBELS, NARCOS: LATIN AMERICAN OUTLAWS IN THE POLITICAL-CULTURAL IMAGINATION | 3 |
| LALX 355 | CULTURES OF SPORT IN LATIN/E AMERICA | 3 |
| LALX 360 | LATINX POETICS: SENSING & (MIS)REPRESENTING LATINX STUDIES | 3 |
| LALX 378 | LATIN AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT: IDENTITY, LIBERATION, MODERNITY | 3 |
| LALX 390 | RECLAIMING THE FUTURE: CONTEMPORARY TECHNOLOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY IN LATIN AMERICA | 3 |
| LALX 391 | REELS OF LIBERATION (AT THE HEART OF EMPIRE) LATIN AMERICAN, CARIBBEAN, AND AFRICAN CINEMA | 3 |
| LALX 477 | SPECIAL TOPICS | 1-4 |
| LALX 492 | DIRECTED RESEARCH | 3 |
| PORT 301 | THIRD YEAR PORTUGUESE I | 3 |
| PORT 302 | BRASIL: CULTURA E SOCIEDADE | 3 |
| PORT 303 | BRASIL: LITERATURA E CULTURA | 3 |
| PORT 331 | BRASIL ATUAL | 3 |
| SPAN 303 | SPANISH FOR HERITAGE STUDENTS III | 3 |
| SPAN 328 | GAZING AT DISASTER: VISUAL CULTURE AND CATASTROPHE IN LATIN AMERICA | 3 |
| SPAN 330 | HISPANIC WRITING SEMINAR | 3 |
| SPAN 332 | APPROACHES TO HISPANIC LITERATURES | 3 |
| SPAN 333 | CURRENT HEALTHCARE ISSUES IN LATINE COMMUNITIES | 3 |
| SPAN 335 | ASIAN LATIN(X) AMERICAN ENCOUNTERS | 3 |
| SPAN 344 | MAPPING LATIN AMERICAN CULTURE | 3 |
| SPAN 350 | DIALECTS IN CONTACT: SEARCHING FOR THE "INTERNATIONAL" FORM OF SPANISH | 3 |
| SPAN 351 | ECOFEMINISM & POETRY. ECOLOGY, FEMINISM & SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH MULTIMEDIA POETRY IN LATIN AMERICA | 3 |
| SPAN 356 | RACE, GENDER, CLASS, & ENVIRONMENT IN CENTRAL AMERICAN CULTURES | 3 |
| SPAN 368 | LATIN AMERICAN SHORT FICTION | 3 |
| SPAN 370 | DISABLED BODIES: ILLNESS AND LITERATURE IN LATIN AMERICA | 3 |
| SPAN 372 | REPRODUCTIVE AND MATERNAL HEALTH IN LATIN AMERICA | 3 |
| SPAN 384 | SOUTHERN CONE CULTURES: ARGENTINA, CHILE, URUGUAY AND PARAGUAY | 3 |
| SPAN 392 / FILM 339 / HART 304 | A REVOLUTION FROM WITHIN: TRENDS IN CONTEMPORARY CUBAN CULTURE | 3 |
| SPAN 402 | THE CITY IN LATIN AMERICA | 3 |
| SPAN 406 | LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA: HISTORY, THEORY AND CRITICISM | 3 |
| SPAN 436 | LINGUISTIC AND COGNITIVE CONCEPTUALIZATIONS: TENSE AND ASPECT | 3 |
| SPAN 438 | LANGUAGE AND MIGRATION: MULTICULTURALISM AND MULTILINGUALISM IN CONTEXT | 3 |
| SPAN 451 | WITNESSING, TRUTH & TRAUMA: TESTIMONIAL WRITING IN MEXICO & CENTRAL AMERICA | 3 |
| SPAN 453 | BORDER NARRATIVES | 3 |
| SPAN 456 / SWGS 466 | LATIN AMERICAN WOMEN'S CULTURE | 3 |
| SPAN 477 | SPECIAL TOPICS | 1-4 |
| SPAN 491 | DIRECTED RESEARCH | 3 |
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Approved Electives (Outside the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures) | ||
| ANTH 210 | EAT ME: FOOD AND CULTURE IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE | 3 |
| ANTH 340 | NEOLIBERALISM AND GLOBALIZATION | 3 |
| ANTH 361 | LATIN AMERICAN TOPICS | 3 |
| ANTH 392 | KINGS, QUEENS, AND COMMONERS: THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF ANCIENT MESOAMERICA | 3 |
| ANTH 394 | 3 | |
| ANTH 431 | GLOBAL INDIGENOUS POLITICS | 3 |
| ARTS 240 | BLACK LATINX IN REGGAETON & HIP-HOP: BLACKNESS, FEMINISMS, AND PERFORMANCE | 3 |
| EDUC 304 | RACE, CLASS, GENDER IN EDUCATION | 3 |
| ENGL 230 / LALX 230 | INTRODUCTION TO LATINX LITERATURE | 3 |
| ENGL 369 / SWGS 329 | THE AMERICAN WEST AND ITS OTHERS | 3 |
| ENGL 371 / SPAN 396/SWGS 354 | CHICANO/A LITERATURE | 3 |
| ENGL 471 / SPAN 470 | EARLY MEXICAN AMERICAN WRITING & PRINT CULTURE | 3 |
| ENST 301 | ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE | 3 |
| ENST 311 | TOPICS IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE | 3 |
| HART 212 | WOMEN ARTISTS IN TWENTIETH CENTURY LATIN AMERICA | 3 |
| HART 232 | ART OF MEXICO | 3 |
| HART 265 | A VISUAL CULTURE TRAVELOGUE: ART AND POLITICS IN MODERN LATIN AMERICA | 3 |
| HART 302 | FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE SUSTAINABLE: ART, ARCHITECTURE AND NATURE | 3 |
| HART 315 | ART AND ACTIVISM: CREATIVE PROTESTS IN THE 20TH CENTURY AMERICAS | 3 |
| HART 329 | RACE AND ART IN MODERN LATIN AMERICA | 3 |
| HART 375 / ARCH 375 | LATIN-EUROPE/LATIN-AMERICA: THE AESTHETICS AND POLITICS OF MODERN CITIES | 3 |
| HIST 176 | MEXICO: AN INTRODUCTION | 3 |
| HIST 215 | BLACKS IN THE AMERICAS | 3 |
| HIST 220 | MEXICO: 1910 TO PRESENT | 3 |
| HIST 221 | UNITED STATES AND LATIN AMERICAN RELATIONS | 3 |
| HIST 227 | LATIN AMERICAN CULTURAL TRADITIONS | 3 |
| HIST 228 | MODERN LATIN AMERICA | 3 |
| HIST 237 | RADICAL MOVEMENTS IN THE AMERICAS | 3 |
| HIST 239 | NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY: FROM EUROPEAN CONTACT TO THE ERA OF REMOVAL | 3 |
| HIST 312 | ENVIRONMENT, MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH IN LATIN AMERICA | 3 |
| HIST 328 | POVERTY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN LATIN AMERICA | 3 |
| HIST 330 | ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE AND THE ORIGINS OF AFRO AMERICA | 3 |
| HIST 331 | THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTION | 3 |
| HIST 366 / ARCH 366 | RIO DE JANEIRO: A SOCIAL AND ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY | 3 |
| HIST 429 | BORDERLANDS HISTORY | 3 |
| HIST 478 | TOPICS IN LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY | 3 |
| HUMA 143 | WHAT IS A BORDER? AND WHO CAN CROSS IT? | 3 |
| LING 324 / AAAS 324 | FROM SLAVERY TO HIP HOP: LINGUISTIC LIBERATION IN THE AFRICAN DIASPORA | 3 |
| LING 419 | MULTILINGUALISM | 3 |
| PLST 306 | THE RIVER AND THE WALL: LAW OF BORDERS AND MIGRATION | 3 |
| POLI 328 | LATINO POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES | 3 |
| POLI 330 | RACE, ETHNICITY, AND POLITICS IN AMERICA | 3 |
| POLI 352 | THE POLITICS AND CULTURE OF MEXICO | 3 |
| POLI 354 | LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS | 3 |
| POLI 450 | ELECTIONS IN THE AMERICAS | 3 |
| POLI 459 | SEX, GENDER, AND POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN LATIN AMERICA | 3 |
| RELI 115 / AAAS 115 | BLACK GODS OF THE CARIBBEAN | 3 |
| SOCI 301 | SOCIAL INEQUALITY | 3 |
| SOCI 308 | HOUSTON: THE SOCIOLOGY OF A CITY | 3 |
| SOCI 309 | RACE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS | 3 |
| SOCI 340 | SOCIOLOGY OF IMMIGRATION | 3 |
| SOCI 343 | RACE, SOCIETY AND POPULATION CHANGE | 3 |
| SOCI 419 | GLOBAL LIVES OF BLACKNESS | 3 |
| SOCI 451 | IMMIGRATION IN A GLOBAL WORLD | 3 |
Policies for the Minor in Latin American and Latinx Studies
Program Restrictions and Exclusions
Students pursuing the minor in Latin American and Latinx Studies should be aware of the following program restriction:
- As noted in Majors, Minors, and Certificates, i.) students may declare their intent to pursue a minor only after they have first declared a major, and ii.) students may not major and minor in the same subject.
Transfer Credit
For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. Requests for transfer credit must be approved for Rice equivalency by the designated transfer credit advisor for the appropriate academic department offering the Rice equivalent course (corresponding to the subject code of the course content). The Office of Academic Advising maintains the university’s official list of transfer credit advisors on their website: https://oaa.rice.edu. Students are encouraged to meet with the applicable transfer credit advisor as well as their academic program director when considering transfer credit possibilities.
Departmental Transfer Credit Guidelines
Students pursuing the minor in Latin American and Latinx Studies should be aware of the following departmental transfer credit guidelines:
- No more than 2 courses (6 credit hours) of transfer credit from U.S. or international universities of similar standing as Rice may apply towards the minor.
- Courses taken at another university must be equivalent in required reading, writing, research and testing, as well as classroom hours, of a Rice course. Regarding subject matter, however, there does not have to be an equivalent course in the Rice course offerings, unless the student requires distribution credit.
- Rice students planning to study at a foreign university must also obtain pre-approval from the Rice Study Abroad Office.
- Transfer credit received via the articulation of approved exam credit, such as Advanced Placement (AP) credit, International Baccalaureate (IB) credit, or A-level credit will not be considered towards minor requirements.
Distribution Credit Information
The determination of distribution credit eligibility is done initially as part of the new course creation process. Additionally, as part of an annual roll call coordinated each Spring by the Office of the Registrar, course distribution credit eligibility is routinely reviewed and reaffirmed by the Dean’s Offices of each of the academic schools.
Faculty and leadership in the academic schools are responsible for ensuring that the courses identified as distribution-credit-eligible meet the criteria as set in the General Announcements. Students are responsible for ensuring that they meet graduation requirements by completing coursework designated as distribution-credit-eligible at the time of course registration.
Distribution courses from the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Cultures are broad in theme and scope and provide students with a substantial inquiry into literature, art, media, history, thought, and/or politics, including specific national traditions, linguistic contexts, and historical periods. Such courses involve a broad and often interdisciplinary spectrum of knowledge, providing students with the tools for thinking critically about the formation of modern culture, its colonial past, and its national and linguistic traditions from antiquity to the present.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Cultures website: https://cultures.rice.edu/.
Opportunities for the Minor in Latin American and Latinx Studies
Academic Honors
The university recognizes academic excellence achieved over an undergraduate’s academic history at Rice. For information on university honors, please see Latin Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude) and Distinction in Research and Creative Work. Some departments have department-specific Honors awards or designations.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Cultures website: https://cultures.rice.edu/.