Latin American Studies (Spanish/Portuguese)
Note: The information on this page is from 2025-2026. New information will follow as soon as possible. Courses and course descriptions are subject to change.
Have you always wanted to know why Latin America has such an important place in the world? Would you like to discover its increasingly important role in the negotiation of geopolitical and economic interests?
Are you interested in understanding the complexity of intercultural processes? Latin America above all is a region where an enormous diversity of cultures comes together; for example, the African influence on the Caribbean and Brazil, Asian migrants in Peru and, of course, the imposition of the European language on indigenous societies.
This multidisciplinary minor of Latin American Studies offers the opportunity to combine language acquisition courses in Spanish or Portuguese with bound elective modules in the history, literature and culture of Spanish America and Brazil. Some of the courses are taught in English while some of which are taught in Dutch. Students can choose to follow the Spanish or Portuguese track.
Spanish
Spanish America is an emerging sub-continent of 19 countries and over 500 million people. Each country has its particular history and cultural traditions, and together they act as a very important economic player on the world stage. Moreover, Spanish is spoken in other continents and has a very important presence in vast regions of the world. For example, in the Philippines, almost 1 million people still speak Spanish. In the USA, Spanish is the second most widely spoken language after English; almost 55 million people have Spanish as their mother tongue.
Portuguese
Portuguese is the world’s sixth most widely spoken language, shared by around 260 million people across four continents, in the countries of Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, East Timor. It is also spoken in Macau (China) and Goa (India). Brazil is the largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world. With a vibrant and diverse culture, as member of the BRICS, and, with over 200 million people, it is a key player on the world stage. Thus, learning Portuguese at Leiden not only introduces students to the vibrant culture, society and history of Brazil, but opens the possibility of communicating in a global language - a valuable asset in today’s competitive world.
Minor Structure
In the obligatory course ‘Latin America in the World’ you will get an overview of the emergence of contemporary Latin America as an important actor on the world stage. Culture, economics, history, language and politics are ever more intertwined in international relations. With this in mind, the interdisciplinary approach adopted by this course offers a rounded, three-dimensional means of understanding the region’s current reality in a global perspective.
In addition to this course, students take modules in Portuguese or Spanish language acquisition and choose their bound electives. In case you have previous knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese, we recommend that you take a test provided by the language teacher in order to enroll you for the right language level. If you want to develop your language skills further after following the minor, you can take the next language module as elective in the following semester(s).
Maximum number of participants: 60
Language of instruction: Dutch, English, Spanish and Portuguese
Prospectus number: 5000MLASN
Registration: via EduXchange see More Info
19 May (13:00hrs) until 30 June 2026