Latin American Studies (research)

Degree: Master of Arts in Latin American Studies (research)
Mode of Study: Full-time
Duration: 2 year
Start date: September, February
Language of instruction: Spanish and English
Location: Leiden
Croho/isat code: 60844
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The Research Master’s in Latin American Studies is a multi-disciplinary two-year programme that addresses both the communalities and the differences in historical, cultural and socio-political terms between Latin America and the Caribbean region, with a strong focus on the contemporary reality of the area. It allows you to develop a particular expertise in Latin America, Indo-America and the Caribbean. You will gain on site experience, since you will have the unique opportunity to carry out an investigation in a Latin American or Caribbean country. Writing your thesis, you can also further specialise in a particular academic discipline, such as modern history (also including sociology, anthropology and political science), literature and archaeology.

Programme

Throughout the programme you will gradually specialise in one of the two regions (Latin America or the Caribbean) or in a thematic focus on the Indo-American reality of both regions.

Possible research topics are:

  • policy-making in the fields of poverty alleviation, citizens’ security, education, and more
  • intellectual debates in Latin America around the tension between tradition and modernity as the main cause for issues in social and political progress
  • cultural realities of indigenous people in Latin America and the Caribbean both in the past and in the contemporary setting
  • transformations of the societies in the recent past as a result of modernization processes, and its different cultural, socio-economic, and political expressions

What Our Students Say

Paul Santiago Mancebo Bautista

“All of Latin America in one place, sharing our visions and experiences”

“After finishing my Bachelor’s in the Language and Cultures of Latin America, I decided to carry on with the MA in Latin American Studies in Leiden as I’m interested in social, political and international developments in the region.

The programme gives me the opportunity to make a critical analysis of the history of Latin America, as well as recent developments in the area, and to carry out field research under the supervision of highly qualified lecturers who are all experts in their field.

The title of my MA thesis is ‘Urbanisation and Social Integration’, and in it I look at the growth of the city of Rio de Janeiro and the consolidation of the favelas, the social integration of the favelados and the role of the city and the community in this process. It’s a process that is not only taking place in Rio de Janeiro, but in all major cities in Latin America, and in the rest of the world.

The atmosphere within the department is exactly what I was looking for: a large Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American community, with a diverse mix of students and lecturers who have tremendous knowledge of their field – and all this in a serious working environment.

What I like most about this programme are the different nationalities: the whole of Latin America is brought together in one place, people from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Uruguay and Mexico. We learn about one another’s cultures, customs and language, and we share our visions and experiences of Latin America.”

Paul Santiago Mancebo Bautista (Dominican Republic)