E-mail this pageLatin American Studies for the Professions Program
Gain wide-ranging experience and enhance your career
Want to enrich your major with career-enhancing Spanish language skills? Looking for an exciting study abroad experience in Mexico? Think a cross-cultural field placement with a school or agency outside of the U.S. will boost your employment opportunities? And you want all this without extending your time until graduation or spending much more than the cost of an ordinary B.A. or B.S.? Then check out Latin American Studies for the Professions.
What is it all about?
The program begins in Fall of 2008 with:
- A special Web section of Introduction to Latin America.
- A Latin American Studies Freshman Experience.
- Spanish, language 2 levels, which satisfies the General Education language requirements.
- A Fall 2009 semester abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico containing:
- Courses on changing conditions in rural Mexico and indigenous community life
- Weekly field trips to cultural sites
- An ethnographic investigation of rural life built around a week's stay in an indigenous community.
- A field placement experience with a local agency that allows you to observe Mexican approaches to health care, educational, or social service practice, depending on major.
- A living experience with a Mexican family to immense yourself in local culture.
- A Spring 2010 capstone course on Latin American immigrants in the United States.
- An upper-level course in your major enriched with information about Latin Americans designed to sharpen your skills in educational, healthcare, or social work settings.
Is this exciting program for you?
It's a new world for professional practitioners. Latin Americans are our largest ethnically distinct group, with the majority coming from Mexico. While concentrated in the West and Southwest, these immigrants have settled in every region of the United States. Wherever you choose to work, they will comprise a significant share of your patients, students, or social welfare clients. Your sensitivity to their cultures, your knowledge of Latin Americans, and your conversational Spanish will enhance your career opportunities and make you an effective professional.
How can I get started?
Declare your interest in the program during Summer Orientation and meet with an advisor familiar with this new academic track. Register for the program's Web section of LAS 111 and the appropriate Freshman Experience. If you don't have the equivalent of two semesters of college Spanish, you'll have to complete this requirement in your Freshman year. In Spring 2009, formally register for the program and for its semester in Southern Mexico, taking place Fall 2009.
Questions, Comments, Suggestions?
For more information about the Latin American Studies for the Professions program, please contact
Directors
Dr. Charles Simpson
Office: Hawkins Hall 233A
Phone: (518) 564-3311 or (802) 865-5110
E-mail: charles.simpson@plattsburgh.edu
Dr. Anita Rapone
E-mail: anita.rapone@plattsburgh.edu
Advisors
Childhood Education: Dr. Susan Mody
Office: Sibley Hall 220A
Phone: (518) 564-5124
E-mail: modysl@plattsburgh.edu
Bachelor of Science/Master of Science in Education: Dr. Mark Beatham
Office: Sibley Hall 108
Phone: (518) 564-5142
E-mail: beathamd@plattsburgh.edu