Undergraduate Minor

Minor in Chicano/Latino Studies

The minor in Chicano/Latino Studies is available as an elective for undergraduate students at Michigan State University. The minor complements any major but students who plan graduate study related to the social sciences or who wish to pursue careers in education, social work, government or businesses that serve mixed ethnic communities may find the minor particularly appealing.

Chicano/Latino Studies minor is designed to help students to understand the multicultural dimensions of society; to gain knowledge of Chicana/o and US Latina/o scholarship and scholars; and to apply that knowledge to the study of Chicana/o and US Latina/o communities and life. The minor draws on research, teaching, and community service among Chicanas/os and Latinas/os that:

• Focuses intensively on the histories of different racial and cultural sub–groups of Latinos.
• Draws larger theoretical lessons from comparisons among these groups and between non–Latino populations.
• Seeks to articulate general principles that shape racial and ethnic relations.
• Explores how ethnic identity is constructed and reconstructed over time.
• Develops methodologies and principles which empower students to enhance leadership and human relations within diverse communities of  peoples and conditions.

 Download a CLS minor brochure here.

Students who plan to complete the requirements of the CLS minor should fill out this form and send it to the Director of the Chicano/Latino Studies Program at cls@msu.edu

CLS supports all students regardless of immigration status. Visit this site for more information: https://undocumented.msu.edu

Please click here for more information on Student Resources.

Requirements for the Minor in Chicano/Latino Studies

The student must complete a total of 15 credits from each of the sections below:

• Required Introductory Course

  CLS 201 Introduction to Chicano/Latino Studies

  Chicano/Latino studies as an academic field of research and scholarship. Arts, communications, literature and the social sciences.

• College of Social Science Courses

  Students must complete three credits in one of the following courses within the College of Social Science:

  • CLS 490 Independent Study in Chicano/Latino Studies *
  • CLS 493 Internship in Chicano/Latino Studies *
  • ANP 330 Race, Ethnicity and Nation
  • ANP 411 North American Indian Ethnography
  • GEO 335 Geography in Latin America
  • HST 281 Atlantic Slavery
  • HST 301 Indigenous-European Encounters in North America
  • HST 307 Labor History of the United States to 1863
  • HST 384 Modern Mexico
  • HST 397 Global Soccer
  • PLS 304 Minority Politic
  • PLS 352 Latin American Politics
  • SOC 214 Social Inequality
  • SOC 310 Global Migration
  • SSC 399 Service Learning and Civic Engagement: Theory and Practice **

  
  * May only be counted once towards the minor.
  ** This course must have its content approved by the Director of Chicano/Latino Studies to count toward the minor.
• Courses Outside the College of Social Science

  Complete at least one of the following courses:

  • ENG 351 Readings in Chicano and Latino Literatures
  • GSAH 311 Global Perspectives on Borders and Migration
  • GSAH 314 Race, Gender and Global Identities
  • HA 253 Native North American Art
  • PHL 212 Latin American Philosophy
  • PHL 353 Core Themes in Peace and Justice Studies
  • SPN 350 Introduction to Reading Hispanic Literature
  • SPN 432 Latin America and its Literature
  • REL 205 Myth, Self and Religion
  • REL 320 Christianity
  • TE 352 Migration and Education

  
  
  

• Additional 3 Credit Course
  The remaining 3 credit course can be taken in or outside the College of Social Science.
• Capstone Course
  CLS 492 Chicano and Latino Studies: Research, Theory, and Practice
  
  Foundational fieldwork by historians, social scientists, artists and activists. Survey of the development of CLS. Analysis of Chicano and Latino social phenomenon.