With the addition in recent years of several regional specialists to Tufts' faculty, the Latin American studies program is ready for expansion, according to Associate Professor of Spanish Claudia Kaiser-Lenoir and Professor of History Peter Winn.
Winn and Kaiser-Lenoir, who serve as the program's co-coordinators, are working with other faculty members to create an interdisciplinary Latin American studies major. Currently, Latin American studies is only offered as a minor.
Although there has always been interest among students in the field, Kaiser-Lenoir said that only recently has Tufts acquired the ability to offer a substantial major.
"We now have a sufficient number [of faculty members] across key academic departments that are specialists in the region and that are extremely interested in this cross-disciplinary major," she said.
Winn agreed. Although other programs, such as Middle Eastern studies, have made the leap from a minor to a major, concerns about having "sufficient faculty" presence prevented follow-through on any expansion, he said.
Earlier this year, supporters of the major cleared one hurdle when their proposal was approved by a curriculum committee. Still, in order for it to become a major, the full faculty still needs to vote on it and support it. Kaiser-Lenoir and Winn are unsure of when a vote will occur, but are hopeful that it will be this semester.
Like the minor, the proposed major will pull together classes from a variety of disciplines.
Currently, students minoring in Latin American studies must complete five courses in the field, three years of study in a language from the region and an interdisciplinary senior project. Of the five courses, one needs to be in art and literature, one in social science and one in history.
The requirements for the proposed major are more expansive. Students will have to take around 11 classes in the field. History, Romance languages, political science, art history and anthropology are all areas in which students will have to complete a class, according to Jos?© Antonio Mazzotti, the chair of the Romance languages department.
A senior project, in the form of a thesis, workshop or a seminar will also be required.
According to Kaiser-Lenoir, the creation of the major will provide an outlet for students interested in studying the region in depth. Without a major in Latin American studies, their only options are to minor in it or to major in international relations (IR) with a thematic concentration in the region.
"As it is now, you can have a concentration in Latin American studies, but in a reduced form," she said, comparing the IR concentration and the minor with the proposed major.
Even among people currently involved in the program, she said that a lot of them did not plan on minoring in Latin American studies until their senior year, when they realized that they had fulfilled all the requirements by chance.
This, she said, is the fate of many minors because most students spend the bulk of their time planning for their majors. "Those are the things they plan for. If they can, they also complete a minor, but it's not the other way around," she said.
But students have expressed a desire to expand their opportunities to study Latin America. "It was a request from the students, basically," Mazzotti said of the roots of the proposal to create the major.
For these students who are interested in the region, the proposal is a welcomed effort. Senior Irit Lockhart, a political science and international relations major, said that the current offerings make matters difficult for students who want to focus on Latin America, unless they major in Spanish.
Because she did not have a background in the language, she said that this was not a viable option for her. "It was really hard for me trying to figure out how to place my interests in Latin America into a major without it being Spanish language, which wasn't something that I wanted to do," she said.
Although she considered minoring in Latin American studies, the lack of emphasis currently placed on minors stymied her efforts. "By the time I figured out the minor situation it was just too late in the game for me," she said.
Had Latin American studies been offered as a major when she was choosing her course of study, she said it would have interested her.
Freshman Jessica Daniel, who is currently considering minoring in Latin American studies, agreed that it would be helpful if it is offered as a major.
"I think ... if people know what area they want to concentrate in, it's important for them to have a major that they can pursue," she said. "Because I don't really think that the ... minor provides enough background."
Senior and Latin American studies minor Matt Malinowski agreed, saying that more depth is particularly useful for a school that prides itself in its strength in international relations.
"Latin America unfortunately has dropped out of the spotlight as of recent years and it really deserves more attention than it's been receiving in academia," he said.
According to senior and Tufts' Association of Latin American Students (ALAS) President Nick Ojeda, the era when United States intervention in the region brought it into the political limelight is over and other areas, such as Darfur, have captured the country's attention.
Still, he said that creating a major in Latin American studies is an important step for Tufts. "It would also be good in the sense that Tufts is a good international relations school and hopefully it will build Tufts' reputation for having a [strong] Latin American studies program," he said.
Even if the proposed plan for the major is accepted by the faculty, students who only want to minor and not major in Latin American studies will be accommodated, at least for the foreseeable future. "For the time being ... we'll keep the minor as an option," Kaiser-Lenoir said.
