Why Latin American & Iberian Studies?
Through its diverse program offerings on campus and a variety of opportunities abroad, the Department of Latin American and Iberian Studies (LAIS) offers students a curriculum that embraces the cultural and linguistic diversity and complexity of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America. The Spanish language and Hispanic literatures comprise the core of the department’s program; yet the LAIS curriculum also brings students into contact with Portuguese, Basque, Catalan, and Galician languages, literatures, and cultures. The program is, therefore, broad in scope and conceptualization but at the same time offers students a vast number of opportunities to explore specific areas of the world and specific areas of knowledge.
The LAIS program is designed to enable students to think critically and creatively about literature and culture, communicate across disciplines about aesthetic issues and assumptions, and develop a critical awareness of the linguistic and cultural realities of communities both near and far. Central to the LAIS major are the senior seminars, which are offered on a variety of topics that include Arabs, Jews and Christians from Frontier to Empire: Medieval Spanish Literature, True Lies: Fiction and Truth in Don Quijote, Spanish-American Poetic Texts, Barcelona: Text and City, Visions of Contemporary Spain, Modern Theatre in Spain, Contemporary Writing in Latin America: Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n Roll, Women and Writing in Latin America, U.S. Latino/a Literature, Latin America: Encounter and Conflict, Latin American Cinema. The work that students carry out in the seminars culminates with their participation in the Annual LAIS Senior Research Symposium, offered each spring, in which graduating seniors in LAIS have the opportunity to showcase their research and celebrate their accomplishments with student peers and department faculty.
The LAIS program also offers several possibilities for study abroad, as well as extensive opportunities for outreach work and experiential learning within the Richmond Latino community. LAIS students are thus able to grow and enhance their perspectives as engaged, sensitive and informed citizens.
The LAIS program prepares students for graduate work in literary, cultural and international studies, as well as entry into a wide range of professional fields, including education, law, business, medicine and publishing. In addition, many courses in the department are applicable toward other majors and concentrations, such as international studies; international business; Medieval and Renaissance studies; Jewish studies; leadership studies; and women, gender and sexuality studies.
