General Information
The Graduate Certificate in Afro-Latin American Studies employs a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the economic, social, cultural, and historical experiences of people of African descent and their communities in the Latin American Region. These include descendants from those brought over during the Transatlantic slave trade and those who came in subsequent migration movements. The certificate is designed to complement students’ professional and academic interests and qualifications and who want to excel in a variety of careers demanding expertise in international, Transnational, and multicultural issues.
Thanks to the diversity of areas of research interests of the core and affiliate AADS faculty, students will be able to choose courses that focus more specifically on Afro-Latin Americans living in both the region and in other geographic areas where Afro-Latin Americans have migrated to and/or wherein their national governments have been engaged on behalf of national industries.
The Certificate places a strong emphasis on Afro-Latin American cultural expressions in all their national, sub-regional, temporal, and socioeconomic diversities. It offers coordinated insights into the ongoing challenges Afrodescendant communities face locally, nationally, and internationally. It also focuses on the ways in which Afro-Latin American communities and individuals have developed political and creative strategies for survival in the midst of, and resistance to, racism and political, economic, and social oppression.
The Certificate will provide numerous opportunities for enrolled students to explore Afro Latin American populations in economic processes of various kinds, underlining the specific challenges they might face.
To apply for the Afro-Latin American Studies Certificate, please click here!
General Requirements (18 credits)
Students complete 18 credit hours of study from disciplines as diverse as geography, history, international relations, journalism, sociology, anthropology, literature, music and political science. The core requirements are:
Required Courses (6 credits)
- AFA 5005 African and African Diaspora Studies Theory - 3 credits
- AFA 6245 The African Diaspora in Latin America - 3 credits
These two required courses should be taken at the start of the Certificate Program. The other 12 credits must come from the list of elective courses, comprising both Arts and Humanities courses, and Social Sciences courses. The program director may approve other courses upon request. Students requesting an exception from these lists must present a syllabus for the course they would like to enroll in, prior to enrollment. The courses considered for such an exception should have at least a 35% Afro-Latin American content. Not all courses are offered every semester.
Electives
List I: The Humanities
- AFA 5302 - Africana Visual Arts
- AFA 5600 - National and Transnational Policy Analysis: The African Diaspora (with relevant course focus)
- AFA 5855 - Research Methods and Scholarly Writing in Africana Studies—NEW!
- AFA 5932 - Special Topics in African and African Diaspora Studies (with relevant course focus)
- AFA 6325 - Pedagogy in the African Diaspora: Literacy, Culture, Race and Gender (with relevant course focus)
- AFA 6905 - Independent Study (with relevant course focus)
- AFA 6911 - Research Paper / Proposal Writing in African and African Diaspora Studies (with relevant course focus)
- AFA 6920 - African and African Diaspora Studies Graduate Colloquium
- AFA 6940 - Community Project/Internship Research in African and African Diaspora Studies (with relevant course focus)
- LAS 5907 - Independent Study (with relevant course focus)
- LAH 5905 - Readings in Latin American History (with relevant course focus)
- LAH 5935 - Topics in Latin American History (with relevant course focus)
- LAH 6906 - Advanced Readings in Latin American History (with relevant course focus)
- LAH 6915 - Research in Latin American History (with relevant course focus)
- LAH 6932 - Research Seminar in Latin American History I (with relevant course focus)
- LAH 6933 - Research Seminar in Latin American History II (with relevant course focus)
- REL 5384 - Rasta, Vodou, Santeria
- REL 5488 - Theology and Liberation Movements
- SPN 5536 - Afro-Cuban Culture
- SPN 5537 - Special Topics in Afro-Hispanic Culture
- SPW 5776 - Black Literature in Latin America
- SPW 6368 - 19th Century Spanish-Caribbean Narrative
- WOH 5237 - The African Diaspora Since the End of the Slave Trade
- WOH 5236 - The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Making of the African Diaspora, 1441-1807
List I: The Social Sciences
- ANG 5396 - Representations of Africa and Africans in Films
- ANG 5397 - Advanced African Diaspora Cultures and Performativity
- ANG 6339 - Seminar on Latin America (with relevant course focus)
- ANG 6472 - Anthropology of Globalization (with relevant course focus)
- ANG 6473 - Diasporas, Migration, and Globalization
- ANT 6319 - The African Diaspora: Anthropological Perspectives
- ECS 5406 - Latin American Economies
- SYD 6626 - Cuba Seminar
Cost of Attendance
Click here to access information regarding the cost of tuition for graduate students at Florida International University.
External funding opportunities may be available. Please note that graduate assistant-ships cannot be offered to graduate students that are not enrolled in a degree program.