Thursday, August 17, 2006

Writer/contact: Paul Duncan 706/583-0619, pduncan@uga.edu

Board of Regents approves Latin American and Caribbean studies undergraduate major at UGA

Athens, Ga. – The roughly 5,000 freshmen expected to begin classes at the University of Georgia this fall semester and students as yet undeclared will have a new interdisciplinary major to consider.  The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved the new UGA undergraduate bachelor of arts major in Latin American and Caribbean studies (LACS) during their August meeting in Atlanta.

The Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute (LACSI), an area studies unit of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, will administer the major.  The new program of study aims to produce students with high levels of language competence and in-depth understanding of the societies, cultures, politics, and economies of the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.  LACSI also will continue to offer its undergraduate certificate in Latin American and Caribbean studies.

“UGA’s administration and the deans of Franklin College have been supportive during the process of developing this major and for that we are very grateful,” said Brent Berlin, LACSI director (right). “Latin Americanist faculty and students all across UGA have been pushing for a LACS major for several years.  This major will allow UGA to compete for the best and brightest students in Georgia and throughout the nation who are interested in Latin America, the Caribbean and Latino studies.” 

Other large universities in the South with a LACS undergraduate degree include Emory, the University of Florida, the University of Texas, the University of Tennessee, UNC–Chapel Hill, UNC–Charlotte and Tulane.  The UGA major will allow students to choose from one of three tracks of study: social sciences; humanities, arts and music; and environmental science, policy and historic preservation.

With approval of the major, LACSI will work throughout the fall semester to cross-list courses with significant LACS content.  “Cross-listing will allow students to seriously consider LACS as part of a double major,” said Paul Duncan, LACSI assistant director.  “Feedback from students indicates that a double-major option of LACS combined with numerous liberal arts majors, education, international affairs, business and social work would be of great interest and we want to make such options available as quickly as possible.” 

As a stand-alone or double major, the career options available to LACS graduates are immediate and highly visible, including employment in international business, K-12 public education, the international non-profit sector, and state/federal government service.

LACSI, located at 290 South Hull Street, will host its annual fall semester open house from 3 to5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15.  All UGA faculty, students, staff, and the general public with an interest in Latin America and the Caribbean or the new major are invited to attend the open house to learn more about the institute and meet its staff, including recently hired Marty McCarthy, LACSI office manager and student advisor, and Sergio Quesada, LACSI curriculum coordinator, facilitator, and professor for the LACSI proseminar on modern Latin America and the Caribbean. Latin American food will be served and traditional Peruvian flute and guitar music will be performed.

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