Prospectus

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Latin American Studies

Master

This master programme has been consciously designed to understand contemporary Latin America by mainly focusing on key social, political, and cultural issues which today are crucial for all the countries which constitute this region. Students learn to work with brand new academic interpretations about the impact of globalization on Latin American societies and the regional responses to the multiple challenges modernity has posed to these nations. The focus on the present-day reality of the region aims also to increase the social relevance of the acquired knowledge as well as the future professional perspectives of our graduates.

An important feature of the master programme on Latin American Studies is the fact that teaching is entirely provided in the Spanish language, making it unique in Northern Europe. This not only facilitates the study of academic works and reports from Latin America which has been just published, but it also elevates the students’ command of this universal language to a very high academic level. Students can write their papers and thesis in Spanish, English and Portuguese.

This master programme is strongly focused on research. Students receive a thorough training in the use of research methods which allow them to formulate and to implement their own fieldwork investigations. They have to conduct an independent research during a two-month stay in a Latin American country, which will constitute the basis of their final master thesis.

The master programme in Latin American Studies has three disciplinary tracks; Public Policies in Latin America (modern history); Cultural Analysis in Latin America (literature) and Language Variations and Bilingualism (linguistics). The students must decide in advance which pathway they want to go follow. Each of these tracks is oriented towards the analysis of key contemporary themes.

For more information about this master programme, please contact Dr. J.C.G. Aguiar

Please also visit mastersinleiden.nl

Public Policies in Latin America

Students choosing modern history will get a programme on public policies and social development. They learn what exactly is currently being done by Latin American governments and international agencies in the form of specific public policies to tackle major social problems which are affecting Latin American societies today (in fields such as poverty alleviation, education, health care, housing, and public security). During their fieldwork students will come in contact with state officials, NGOs, citizens’ organizations and other involved actors.

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

First semester
State, public policies and civil society in Latin America 10
Research seminar History 10
Research in Latin America 10

Second semester

Choose one of the following:
Master Class: Modernity in Latin America 5
Master Class: Cultural identity and post-modern writing 5
Brazilian Chair:Issues on Brazilian Security Polices 10
Wisselleerstoel Chileense Studies 10
MA Thesis Latin American Studies 20

Cultural Analysis in Latin America

The Cultural Analysis track within the LAS Master programme is centred on the study of Latin American cultural expressions considered in relation to their social, political, aesthetic and philosophical contexts. Culture expresses itself through language and images: stories and fictions which create communities and imagine identities. In this programme, we study works drawn from a broad range of fields: from literature, to art, theatre, performance, film and popular culture (soap operas, comic strips, song lyrics). Also of interest will be social discourses articulated in political programmes and manifestos, the media, fashion, new media (blogs), advertising, etc.

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

First semester
Master Class: Hybrid cultures in Latin America 10
Methods of Cultural Analysis and Critical Readings 10
Research in Latin America 10

Second semester
Master Class: Cultural identity and post-modern writing 5
Master Class: Modernity in Latin America 5
MA Thesis Latin American Studies 20

Language Variation and Bilingualism

Students choosing linguistics will get a programme focusing on language variation and bilingualism. Students learn for instance how the variation in the use of the Spanish language in present-day Latin America are an expression of different historical processes, social stratification, countryside-city contrasts , and ethnic composition of the population. Attention is paid to communalities and differences in the use of Spanish in different Latin American subregions (Central America, the Caribbean, and South America) as well as the phenomenon of bilingualism in countries with a large indigenous population.

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

First semester
A theoretical research seminar on Language Variation and Language Change in Latin America 10
Research in Latin America 10

Choose 10 EC out of the following:
Syntax: Current Issues 10
Second Language Learning and Teaching 10
Amerindian Categorizations of the World: An Ethnolinguistic Approach 5
Onderzoeksgroep Nederlands als Tweede Taal 5

Second semester

Choose a MA course LUCL (5 ec, level 600)

Choose one of the following:
Master Class: Cultural identity and post-modern writing 5
Master Class: Modernity in Latin America 5
MA Thesis Latin American Studies 20

More info

Objectives
Programme
Master’s thesis and requirement for graduation

Objectives

Graduates of the master’s programme in Latin American Studies have acquired:

  • thorough knowledge and understanding of one of the three disciplines of the
    programme and of the current central issues within the field;

  • thorough knowledge and understanding of how to conduct field research in a Latin
    American country, including a command of a number of research methods and
    techniques;

  • the capability to formulate a clear and well-argued research problem under expert
    supervision and to divide this into orderly and manageable sub-questions;

  • the capability to present research results in the form of a clear and well-argued written
    report that meets the criteria of the discipline;

  • the ability to design and conduct a research project under expert guidance.
    After completing this programme, students will have the knowledge and competence
    needed for positions outside the academic field that require an academic level of
    thinking, for an upper secondary teaching qualification or for a PhD position.

Please note: if you have completed an Educational Minor as your optional subject, you
are allowed to follow a fast-track Educational MA (30 ects instead of 60 ects). Please see:
iclon.leidenuniv.nl

Programme

Structure

Two aspects are to the basis of the master’s programme: specialisation in a certain
discipline (Literature, Linguistics or Modern History) and a period of research in the
chosen discipline, which takes place in Latin America.

The master’s programme starts with a research seminar in which students are taught
the basics required to carry out fieldwork in one of the three disciplines, and to design a
research plan. In addition, students follow a disciplinary tutorial on current debates in
one of the relevant disciplines. This is followed by a period of individual fieldwork in a
Latin American country, in the course of which the research plan is carried out. Students
are expected to have returned to the Netherlands during the second half of January in
order to present the results of their research to the relevant lecturer/supervisor. Early
in February, students follow a disciplinary master’s course that provides support in the
process of writing the master’s thesis.

Master’s thesis and requirement for graduation

In order to graduate, students must have completed 60 ects of courses including the
writing of the thesis. The master’s programme is concluded with a master’s thesis
containing the results of the individual research. The thesis must approximate 17,000
words. It is evaluated by the relevant lecturer/supervisor and assisted by a second reader.
Also see: hum.leiden.edu/students/regulations