Prof. Lyudmila Parts

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Undergraduate Studies

Undergraduate Programs

The Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures offers undergraduate degree programs in German, Hispanic, Italian, and Russian studies. In addition, we offer a minor concentration in European Literature & Culture and seek to broaden students’ liberal arts background. Our goal is to enable our undergraduates to develop communicative skills in at least one target language and to provide critical tools to understand the complexities of other cultural traditions. The skills acquired are invaluable for careers in business, in government, in the media, as well as in cultural and literary fields, and numerous other professions.

German Undergraduate Programs

German Studies immerses students both in the rich literary traditions of German-language literature and in the innovative directions of transdisciplinary research. With its multiple major, minor, honors and joint honors programs, German Studies accommodates a broad range of student interests from 18th-century Enlightenment to questions of migration and multiculturalism in contemporary German culture. While students will be exposed to a broad array of courses that cover the history of German literary and cultural life, special emphasis will also be placed on such fields as film studies, media studies, print culture studies, critical theory, translation theory and the history of lyric form.

Learn more about our German undergraduate programs

Hispanic Undergraduate Programs

The Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures - Hispanic Studies offers courses on literature, intellectual history and the civilizations of Spain and Hispanic America, as well as in the Spanish and Portuguese languages. The Department and its Honours, Majors, and Minors programs are committed to expanding the liberal arts background of students by helping to develop the skills of communication and critical reasoning, and by providing insight into the culture of other regional, linguistic and national groups.

With more than 300 million native speakers of Spanish around the World, covering more than 18 countries, a B.A. in Hispanic Studies opens many doors towards successful paths not only in Graduate School but also in a highly competitive job market. In general, the students who complete a B.A. in Hispanic Studies (Major/Honours) pursue a second major in departments such as Art History, Psychology, History, International Development Studies, Quebec Studies, and Political Sciences. After graduation, many of them continue their studies in graduate school in Spanish or Latin American Studies, or related disciplines such as History, Comparative Literature, or Anthropology, where the knowledge of Spanish language, literature, and culture is a highly valuable skill.

Learn more about our Hispanic undergraduate programs

Italian Undergraduate Programs

Italian Studies has as its mission to maintain the traditions and study of the great classics as well as to provide a window on an increasingly complex and diverse contemporary Italian culture. It promotes the study of the Italian language through an excellent and rigorous language training program. It offers courses in Italian literature, both in Italian and in English, as well as in Italian film. The department periodically invites scholars specializing in contemporary politics, the Italian immigrant experience and social change, enabling students to gain both a broader and more critical understanding of various aspects of Italian culture, through contact with specialists in these areas.

Learn more about our Italian undergraduate programs

Russian Undergraduate Programs

Many opportunities are open to students with qualifications in Russian and other Slavic studies. Students may be interested in the organization of human society, comparative literature, linguistics - Russian studies are highly relevant to all of these. In addition, because of similar problems in geography, climate, industrial and economic growth, Russian studies may have a particular fascination for the Canadian student.

The Minor Concentration in Russian will give students a basic working knowledge of Russian and the tools with which to explore Russian life and culture in the original. The Major Concentration in Russian gives students a foundation in the language, literature, and culture of Russia from the 19th century to the present. It incorporates a balance of instruction in the Russian language, the opportunity to read selected texts in the original language, and to explore Russian language and culture through translated texts. The Honours Russian program is for students intending to pursue graduate studies or advanced careers in the field.

Learn more about our Russian undergraduate programs

European Literatures

The Minor Concentration in European Literature and Culture provides students with a broad foundation for understanding the development and interconnectedness of European culture and its relevance for the comprehension of today’s world through the study of literature and the arts from the Middle Ages to modern times. Knowledge of a language other than English is not required to complete the program.

Learn more about our Minor Concentration in European Literature and Culture

Liberal Arts

The Liberal Arts Program represents a contemporary approach to the traditional concept of a broad, non-specialist undergraduate formation in the humanities that is tailored to the environment of a research intensive university.  The program emphasizes a classical liberal arts education, yet approaches the liberal arts from a global perspective emphasizing diversity and difference and providing new ways of engaging the liberal arts.

The program will expose students to texts from, and histories of, a wide range of cultures, societies and different historical periods.  Students will be able to choose from four intellectual streams: languages and literatures; the fine arts and their histories; ethics and social thought; and history and the liberal arts.

Learn more about out Liberal Arts Program

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

The interdisciplinary program in Latin-American and Caribbean Studies (LACS) allows a focus on the peoples, cultures, history, literature, politics, economy, and geography of Latin America and the Caribbean, providing students with a broad-based understanding of the region and with the language and research skills required for advanced scholarship. The LACS program offers both an interdisciplinary Major Concentration, interdisciplinary Honours and Joint Honours degrees as well as a Minor Concentration in Latin American & Caribbean Studies. If you have any questions related to the Program, please contact Professor Amanda Holmes.

Minor

The B.A.; Minor Concentration in Latin American and Caribbean Studies focuses on a broad, interdisciplinary view of key aspects of Latin America and the Caribbean. The program may be expanded to the Major Concentration in Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

Minor Requirements

Major

About Latin-American and Caribbean Studies

Established in 1971, the interdisciplinary program in Latin-American and Caribbean Studies offers a comprehensive array of courses on the peoples, cultures, history, literature, politics, economy, and geography of Latin America and the Caribbean, providing students with a broad-based understanding of this geographic region, and with the language and research skills required for advanced scholarship. The program in Latin-American and Caribbean Studies encourages the free exchange of ideas and perspectives in order to foster an environment suitable for serious reflection and critical analysis.

Study Abroad

Students in the program in Latin-American and Caribbean Studies are encouraged to consider the opportunities for foreign study and research made available by bilateral exchange agreements with leading universities in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking world. These exchanges are open to all members of the McGill University community. Further information may be obtained from:

Service Point

3415 McTavish Street

Montreal QC H3A 0C8

Telephone: 514-398-7878

or from the International Education website.

An agreement of cooperation with the Center for Latin American Studies at Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) permits Honours students in Latin-American and Caribbean Studies at McGill to count a portion of their undergraduate coursework toward the degree requirements for Georgetown's M.A. in Latin American Studies, thus permitting completion of the M.A. in one calendar year. See the Program Adviser for additional information.

Undergraduate Degree Programs

The Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program is designed for those students who wish to take advantage of the resources available at McGill to acquire a deeper understanding of the Latin American and Caribbean region and its peoples. The interdisciplinary program in Latin-American and Caribbean Studies offers an Honours, a Joint Honours degree, a Major*, and a Minor concentration as part of the Multi-track B.A. in Arts.

View the Major Concentration Latin American & Caribbean Studies courses.

Joint Honours

The B.A.; Joint Honours Latin American and Caribbean Studies Component provides students with an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the Latin American and Caribbean region. Students wishing to study at the Honours level in two disciplines can combine Joint Honours programs in any two Arts disciplines. For a list of available Joint Honours programs, see "Overview of Programs Offered" and "Joint Honours Programs." Joint Honours students should consult an adviser in each department to discuss their course selection and their research project. Joint Honours students are expected to maintain a program GPA of 3.30 and, according to Faculty regulations, a minimum CGPA of 3.00 in general.

View the Joint Honours Latin American and Caribbean Studies Component website.

Program Requirements

At least 9 of the 36 credits must be at the 400 level or above.

Required Courses (21 credits)

  • HISP 243 Survey of Latin American Literature and Culture 1 (3 credits)
  • HISP 244 Survey of Latin American Literature and Culture 2 (3 credits)
  • HIST 309 History of Latin America to 1825 (3 credits)
  • HIST 360 Latin America since 1825 (3 credits)
  • LACS 497 Research Seminar: Latin America and the Caribbean (3 credits)
  • LACS 498 Honours Thesis (3 credits)
  • POLI 319 Politics of Latin America (3 credits)

Complementary Courses (15 credits)

No more than 9 courses in one field.

Anthropology
  • ANTH 212 Anthropology of Development (3 credits)
  • ANTH 307 Andean Prehistory (3 credits)
  • ANTH 319 Inka Archaeology and Ethnohistory (3 credits)
  • ANTH 326 Anthropology of Latin America (3 credits)
  • ANTH 422 Contemporary Latin American Culture and Society (3 credits)
  • ANTH 428 Saints and Mediation in Latin America (3 credits)
Canadian Studies
  • CANS 412 Canada and Americas Seminar (3 credits)
Economics
  • ECON 313 Economic Development 1 (3 credits)
  • ECON 314 Economic Development 2 (3 credits)
English
  • ENGL 431 Studies in Drama (3 credits) *
  • * When given under a topic related to Latin American and Caribbean studies.
Geography
  • GEOG 310 Development and Livelihoods (3 credits)
  • GEOG 404 Environmental Management 2 (3 credits) **
  • GEOG 408 Geography of Development (3 credits)
  • GEOG 410 Geography of Underdevelopment: Current Problems (3 credits)
  • GEOG 498 Humans in Tropical Environments (3 credits)
  • GEOG 510 Humid Tropical Environments (3 credits)

** When the topic is related to Panama.

Hispanic Studies
  • HISP 219 Spanish Language Intensive - Intermediate (6 credits)
  • HISP 220 Spanish Language: Intermediate (6 credits)
  • HISP 225 Hispanic Civilization 1 (3 credits)
  • HISP 226 Hispanic Civilization 2 (3 credits)
  • HISP 301 Hispanic Literature and Culture in English 1 (3 credits)
  • HISP 302 Hispanic Literature and Culture in English 2 (3 credits)
  • HISP 320 Contemporary Brazilian Literature and Film (3 credits)
  • HISP 328 Literature of Ideas: Latin America (3 credits)
  • HISP 332 Latin American Literature of 19th Century (3 credits)
  • HISP 333 Theatre, Performance and Politics in Latin America (3 credits)
  • HISP 352 Latin American Novel (3 credits)
  • HISP 356 Latin American Short Story (3 credits)
  • HISP 358 Gender and Textualities (3 credits)
  • HISP 437 Colonial / Postcolonial Latin America (3 credits)
  • HISP 439 Topics: Latin American Literature (3 credits)
  • HISP 453 20th Century Latin American Poetry (3 credits)
  • HISP 505 Seminar in Hispanic Studies 01 (3 credits)
History
  • HIST 197 FYS: Race in Latin America (3 credits)
  • HIST 223 Indigenous Peoples and Empires (3 credits)
  • HIST 366 Themes in Latin American History (3 credits)
  • HIST 409 Topics in Latin American History (3 credits)
  • HIST 419 Central America (3 credits)
  • HIST 580D1 European and Native-American Encounters (3 credits)
  • HIST 580D2 European and Native-American Encounters (3 credits)
Political Science
  • POLI 227 Developing Areas/Introduction (3 credits)
  • POLI 473 Democracy and the Market (3 credits)

Honours

The Honours Latin American and Caribbean Studies is designed to meet the needs of students who plan to attend graduate or professional school upon completion of the B.A. This programs provides a comprehensive interdisciplinary understanding of Latin America and the Caribbean, upon which more specialized coursework and research may be based. This program is recommended for students who envision graduate study in a specific discipline, such as History or Political Science.

View the Honours Latin American and Caribbean Studies website.

Courses

LACS 497

Research Seminar: Latin American and Caribbean Studies

LACS 497 is a required course for all LACS programs

Restriction: Open to Program students and to others with permission of the Program Advisor

An interdisciplinary research seminar on topics of common interest to staff and students of the Latin-American and Caribbean Studies Program.

Course topic and instructor change yearly. Please see the e-calendar for the updated course topic. Students can enrol in LACS 497 more than once.
 

LACS 498

Honours Thesis

LACS 498 is a required course for the LACS Honours programs.

Prerequisite: LACS 497 and permission of the Program Adviser.

This course is required of all students pursuing an Honours Program in Latin-American & Caribbean Studies and may be taken by others with written permission of the Program Adviser.

This course is designed to allow students to pursue interdisciplinary research projects under close supervision.

Students must submit the LACS 498 Honours Thesis Approval Form to the LASC Program Director for approval.  Full guidelines on eligibility, supervision and registration can be found on the form: PDF icon lacs_498_honours_thesis_approval_form_2023.pdf

LACS 499

Internship: Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Internship with an approved host institution or organization.

Pre-requisites: Permission of the Program Advisor

Restriction: Open to U2 and U3 students after completing 30 credits of a 90 credit degree program or 45 credits of a 69-120 credit program, a minimum CGPA of 2.70 and permission of the program Internship Advisor. This course will normally not fulfill program requirements for the seminar or 400 level courses.

LACS 480

Supervised reading in advance special topics
 

Prerequisite(s): Having completed at least two of the required courses of the Program.
 

 

People

Advisor

Katherine Zien

Associate Professor
Department of English

Arts Building, Room 155
853 Sherbrooke Street West
Montreal, QC H3A 0G5

Office Hours: by appointment via email to katherine.zien [at] mcgill.ca (Katherine Zien) directly.

Program committee

Program Chair

Professor Kkatherine.zien [at] mcgill.ca (atherine Zien)
Associate Professor (Department of English)
PhD (Northwestern University)

Program Committee

Professor Manuel Balan
Assistant Professor (ISID and Department of Political Science)
PhD (University of Texas at Austin)

Professor Eduardo Kohn
Assistant Professor (Department of Anthropology)
PhD (University of Wisconsin, Madison)

Professor Catherine LeGrand
Associate Professor (Department of History and Classical Studies)
PhD (Stanford)

Professor Cecily Raynor
Assistant Professor (Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures)
PhD (Georgetown)

Professor Fernanda Macchi
Associate Professor (Department of Language, Literatures and Cultures)
PhD (Yale)

Professor Daviken Studnicki-Gizbert
Associate Professor (Department of History and Classical Studies)
PhD (Yale)

Professor Katherine Zien
Assistant Professor (Department of English)
PhD (Northwestern)

Liaison librarian

Marcela Isuster

Liaison Librarian for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Humanities and Social Sciences Library
McLennan-Redpath Library Complex
Tel: (514) 398-4729
Website: Marcela Isuster

Researchers

Professors with active research in Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Department of Anthropology

Nicole Couture
Eduardo Kohn
Kristin Norget 
Lisa Overholtzer
Ismael Vaccaro

Department of Architecture

Ricardo Castro 

Department of Art History and Communication

Charmaine Nelson

Department of Economics

Sonia Lazlo 

Department of English

Katherine Zien 
Yael Halevi-Wise

Department of Geography

Oliver Coomes 

Department of History

Nicolas Dew
Catherine LeGrand
Jason Opal
Wendel Nii Laryea Adjetey
Daviken Studnicki-Gizbert

Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures

Amanda Holmes 
Jose Jouve-Martin 
Fernanda Macchi 
Cecily Raynor

Département des littératures de langue française, de traduction et de creation

Mbaye Diouf

Department of Linguistics

Jessica Coon 

Department of Political Science

Manuel Balan

Department of Sociology

Claudia Masferrer 

School of the Environment

Nicolás Kosoy 

Faculty of Law

Adele Blackett

Faculty of Science

Catherine Potvin (Panama Field Studies Semester

Student associations

There are two student associations related to the Program of Latin American Studies at McGill:


SLASA is a student-driven organization based in Montreal, Canada. They serve as a social and professional network for the Spanish and Latin American students at McGill University where they have been active since 1989. Throughout the year, they organize many events and activities to celebrate and share our culture as well as to promote the academic success of Spanish-speaking McGill students and integrate our members into the greater Montreal community. They also do social work throughout the academic year and summer to help the Latino community in Montreal and in other Latin American countries like Mexico.

You can learn more about SLASA and their activities in

SLASA

SLASA Facebook


CLASHSA, the Caribbean and Latin American Studies & Hispanic Studies Association represents the students enrolled in major, minor, honours, and joint-honours undergraduate degrees in the Latin American and Caribbean Studies & Hispanic Studies Programs at McGill University. Throughout the year, they organize different events and activities to promote exchanges among students of the Programs, opportunities related to Latin America and the Caribbean, and networking among students and professors.

You can learn more about CLASHSA and their activities in

CLASHSA Facebook

CLASHSA is also responsible for the edition of VOCES an interdisciplinary undergraduate journal showcasing undergraduate work related to Latin American and Caribbean Studies and Hispanic Studies at McGill University.

You can read the latest editions of VOCES at VOCES

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