Understand the historical roots of contemporary issues like immigration, the drug trade, corruption, foreign debt, and trade negotiations.  Discover the rich history of Latin American poets, neighborhood activists, medical history, and indigenous society and culture.

The degree emphasis in Latin American history is built around two core courses (1300 and 1310) that take an interdisciplinary approach and fulfill degree requirements for Latin American Studies.  Students may focus on specific countries of emphasis and gain a broad knowledge of trends in the region.  The Latin American history emphasis offers course sections in target languages (Spanish, Portuguese), thus allowing students to access non-English historical documents and materials. The degree emphasis prepares students in the ways that history in general does, with the additional benefit of cross cultural study and consideration of colonization and post-colonialism, indigeneity, state formation, culture, and social movements. The degree emphasis is necessarily comparative in nature.

The curriculum prepares students for graduate study or for Latin America-related careers in business, communications, government, bilingual/bicultural education, secondary teaching, community organizing, and international work.

(HIST 1300) Latin American Civilization to the 1820s (HIST 1310) Latin American Civilization Since the 1820s (HIST 3300) History of Mexico (HIST 3350) History of Brazil (HIST 4270) Empire and Exploration 1400-1750 (HIST 4290) The Americas After Columbus (HIST 4300) Topics in Latin American History