LACS 016 A-Z - (CC, IS) The Latin American Experience

Semester Hours: 3

This is a special topics course designed to immerse students in the social, political, economic, historical, cultural, religious, artistic, or diasporic experiences of peoples, communities and countries in the region. Taught from a multidisciplinary perspective, each time it is offered, the course will have a new, fresh focus and coverage, while always engaging with issues of race, gender, class, nation, and sovereignty.

Current Special Topics:

LACS 016D - Reading Karl Marx Today: Introduction to Marxian Economics

This course is an intensive study of Karl Marx’s most important work, Capital, Volume One, from the perspective of the present. We will apply the Marxian categories to present-day capitalism, determining their contemporary relevance and usefulness. We will also review how capitalism itself has evolved since the time of Marx and consider whether economic changes necessitate an extension or an abandonment of the Marxian analytical framework. Students who complete this course will have developed their own well-founded conclusions regarding the strengths and limitations of the analysis presented in Capital, particularly regarding the applicability of this analysis to contemporary capitalism. This background will provide an excellent basis for further advanced work in any of the social sciences and/or humanities where many concepts that Marx originally proposed or developed are still used, often without attribution. No prior background is required.

Same as LABR 155G , ECO 154A   

LACS 016J - (CC,IS) Latin American Spanish in the U.S.

This course explores the presence of the Spanish language in the United States and its relationship to Latinx identity, culture, and literature. What does it mean to speak Spanish in the U.S.? Is there a distinctive U.S. Spanish variety? What is “Spanglish,” and what does bilingualism really entail? Through close readings of selected passages from two contemporary novels, we will examine the sociolinguistic, cultural, and literary dimensions of Spanish in contact with English. Students will analyze how language shapes questions of migration, belonging, ethnicity, and national identity, while also considering broader debates about linguistic diversity and cultural change in the United States.

Same as SPLT 050S . Taught in English.

 

Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
As individual subjects are selected, each is assigned a letter (A-Z) and added to the course number. Any course may be taken a number of times so long as there is a different letter designation each time it is taken. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule. 

View Course Offering(s):

Summer Session I 2026

Summer Session II 2026

Summer Session III 2026

Fall 2026