.
Action taken by the Senate Committee on undergraduate Studies
at its meeting on 1978-03-21 gives rise to the following
motion:
MOTION
That, the proposal for a Joint Major in Latin
American Studies, as set forth in S.78-50,
be approved and recommended to the Board
for approval.
?
. ?
.
?
.
Note - There was a great deal of support in SCUS for the
'concept of an Area Studies Major built upon or taken
concurrently with substantial work in a discipline. -Therefore,
although some reservations were expressed about an Area.Studies
Major alone, there was little hesitation about endorsing
the proposal for a Joint Major.
?
.
D.R. Birch
DRB/cg
40
SIMON FRASER
MEMORANDUM
UNIVERSITY
S
WS
7e/..
ro ..........
Mz'.
.....
Hay Evans ., ... Registrar ... and
....................
Secretary of the Senate Committee
Onundergraduate ...
Studies
.......................................
subject
.......I.SC ... 77-10 .... (revision ... a...updated...............
to March 9/78
From ..... . .....
J,....Blanchet
....Secretary...o,f...the.................
Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies
Undergradua.. ... curriculum..Cmnittee.......
Date...... .....
.March... 13.,....1978 ............................................. ..............
PROPOSAL FOR JOINT MAJOR - LATIN
?
.
AMERICAN STUDIES ? .
i am forwarding the proposal for a joint major in Latin American Studies to
you with editorial revisions for inclusion on the
.
agenda of the Senate Committee
on Undergraduate Studies. ?
.
At
?
<;.
LJST
J. Blanchet
I
?
MEMORANDUM
To ........ .
ii.M......
......
EVAN
.
....
.
SECRETARY....
...................
....
..
cQI.TE...QN...u.GRADuAT.E....
STUDIES
Subject .....
...PRQPOSAL FOR ... A...JOINT.. MAJOR. IN..............
LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES
From.....
J.
?
CHASE., ?
SECRETARY...................................................
SENATE. .COt*IITT.EE...ON. ACAD.EMIC..PLANN.ING
Date ......
.MARCH
. .10.,.. 1978.
The Senate Committee on Academic Planning has approved
motion as follows:
"That approval be given to the Joint Major
in Latin American Studies proposal."
It was accepted that a number of minor adjustment'
s to the
paper were required before further consideration.
For general information a copy of the minutes of SCAP
pertaining to this topic is attached to give some clarification on
the position of Joint Majors.
?
.
?
. .
?
.
end.
?
Chase
-4-
?
SCAP 25/1/78
6.
?
SCAP 78-2
?
PROPOSAL FOR A JOINT MAJOR IN LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES
Moved by T. Calvert, seconded by D. Foth,
'?That approval be given to the Joint Major
An
Latin
American Studies proposal."
T. Calvert stated that the proposal was similar to that in
Canadian Studies for a major, but Latin American Studies could propose
only a joint major and the selected joint disci
plines
were Archaeology,
Geography, History, Political Science, Sociology/Anthropology and
• ?
Spanish.
H. Evans noted that the submission fell in line with recent formal
approvals for some joint majors, and gave background information.
?
Al-
though the Academic Planning Committee in 1971 had given formal approval
to joint majors requiring at least 45 hours of uooer division courea
with not less than 22 hours in each of the disciolines, and joint honors
requiring at least 60 hours of upper division courses with at least 30
in each discipline, these have not been finalized into complete regulations
through SCIJS and Senate but had been used as guidelines when specific
joint majors have been discussed.
?
Az examples, the joint major in
hours
Economics
in Economics
and Càmeerce
and at
requires
least 26
in
in
upper
Commerce.division
?
The
courses
joint
at
honors
least
in
25
?
.
Economics and Commerce requires at least 30 hours in Economics and at
PLP
least
requires
30 hours
at
in
least
Commerce.45
upper
?
The
division
recently
hours
approved
with specific
joint major
discipline
in
?
00
requirements.
?
The joint major in S.A. has been approved with 40 upper
division hours, with 20 in Sociology and 20 in Anthropology, whereas
the joint honors in S.A. calls for at least 60 upper division hours with
32 in one
of
the disciplines and 28 in the other.
?
The usual type of
provision for preventing multiple credit count pertains in the same
fashion as applies to double majors, major-minors, and similar combinations.
The present naper on-LAS calls for completion of the full major require-
ments for some of the related joint disciplines but not for each one of
them.
?
The general provision is for not less than 40 upper division hours with
at least 20 in LAS and variations from 20 through 30 in the various related
Joint disciplines.
?
A student who selects the joint major in LAS is entitled
to have that officiall
y
recorded but the transcri
p
t will not reflect com-
pletion of a double major although the related joint discipline's full
major might be completed.
?
It was accepted that's number of minor adjust-
ments to the paper are required from further consideration.
J. Garcia joined the group and clarified that Portuguese is recognized
as a major Latin American language and is acceotable as equivalent competence
to a working knowledge of Spanish.
?
lie added that a large contingent of
students from the Caribbean could give rise to recognition of the languages
of the. West Indies.
Question was called on the motion, and a vote taken.
MOTION CARRIED ?
•
i.c.e. .77- lo
2)
Proposal for a Joint Major in Latin American Studies
The Latin American Studies Program Steering Committee strongly
recommends the introduction of a joint major program in Latin American
Studies in conjunction with a selected Arts discipline. The rationale
for extending the existing program to include a joint major is based on
the following considerations:
1.
?
While the minor offering makes a useful beginning in developing an
area studies program, by definition it does not represent a substantive
student commitment. Our enrollment figures since the inception of the
program in 1972 demonstrate a level of student interest in courses with
Latin American content far in excess of the limited number of graduated
.__ and declared minors. Consultation with students as to the reasons for this
discrepancy suggest that declaration of an LAS. minor is not a particularly
attractive option because:
a)
The language requirement is considered heavy for a
minor ? .
b)
transfer students have to pick up the compulsory
course LAS. 200 as only one college offers an
introductory Latin American survey
c)
students tend to become interested in Latin America
through the offerings of their major department.
Declaration of an LAS. minor, would thus require
completion of additional courses in their major
discipline.
•1\
2
d) those students who do declare an LAS.ininor
tend to graduate with many credit hours in excess
of the official requirements
Thus, a joint major offering would both provide an incentive for picking
up essential lower division requirements and give appropriate recognition
to student interest in Latin American Studies as well as disciplinary
proficiency.
• 2. ?
With recent expansion at SRi there are currently 18 faculty
associated with the Latin American Studies Program offering 18 courses
with full Latin American content and 13 with partial content. Conse
-
quentlya joint major can be offered without immediate addition of new
courses and teaching staff, although further. courses will be developed
as demand increases.
The Latin American Studies Program is running an interdisci-
plinary field school in Guatemala. During the s.miner semester 1977 the
departments of Arthaelogy, Modern Languages, and Sociology and Anthro-
pology participated. 'During the summer 197 8
the field school will be
offering also dirèctéd reading courses for students , of associated
disciplines. The field school will be offered in a Latin American
location each year with participation of associated disciplines in
rotation. The field school will operate as the core element of the joint
major program providing a unique opportunity for language training
combined with first-hand field experience.
?
•
...
?
3
4.
A dual emphasis combining area specialization with disci-
plinary training is preferred by commercial and government agencies
hiring area studies graduates.
5.
The joint major will provide a firmer backbone for the Latin
American Studies Program, acting as a cohesive force for the associated
faculty.
In summary, the introduction of a joint major appears to be the
logical next step to satisfy student interest in the Latin American area
• and incorporate a growing number of Latin American specialists into a
cooperating interdisciplinary faculty. It is especially appropriate to
institute the joint major at a time when SFU students are having their
first direct exposure to Latin American culture in formal terms via the
LAS. Guatemala field school.
40
le-1-
4
.
LAS. Calendar Statement
Joint Major
The Latin American Studies Program offers an interdisciplinary
joint major in Latin American Studies combined with selected Faculty of
Arts disciplines leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree. Course work
designated as counting in the credits used towards the Upper Division
requirements for the LAS. component of the degree cannot be used as part
of the selected joint discipline's credit requirements, or vice versa.
The individual disciplines participating in the joint-major program are:
Archaeology, Geography, History, Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology,
and Spanish.
Joint Major in Latin American Studies
A.
Language
Reading and speaking competence in Spanish or Portuguese equivalent -
to the successful completion of three college level courses must
be demonstrated. (Other language training programs or demonstrations
of competence may be accepted at the discretion of the tearing
Committee.)
B.
Lower Division Courses
(as prerequisites)
1. Latin American Studies: Students must complete nine hours in a minimum
?
of three courses listed with Latin American content. LAS. 200 must
be included.
Nine credit hours from the following:
LAS.
200-3
?
(required)
HIST
208-3
ARC.
273-3
HIST
209-3
S.A.
280-4
SPAN
140-3
GEOG
263-3
SPAN
240-3
/
..
2. Joint Discipline: Students must satisfy the lower division
requirements of the selected joint discipline.
C. Upper Division Courses-Required for the LAS. Joint Major.
A minimum of 40 upper division credit hours is required, including
at least 20 credit hours in Latin American Studies, and from 20 to 30
credit hours in the joint discipline selected, as specified below.
1. Latin American Studies (20 hours)
10 credit hours from: LAS. 402-5, LAS. 403-5, LAS. 404-5
10 credit hours in recognized Latin American content courses
.t-
These requirements apply to all the joint majors described below.
2. Joint Major Disciplines (from 20 to, 30 hours, as indicated for
the specific disciplines)
MC. - LAS. 20 credits in Archaeology at the 300 and 400 division
GEOG - LAS. 30 credits in Geography from specified upper division
courses, including: five courses (15 hours) from
Division A; two courses (10 hours) from Division B;
GEOG 467-5 (5 hours), which course cannot be used
for LAS. requirements.
HIST - LAS. 30 credits in upper division History, as required
for History majors.
POL. - LAS. 30 credits in upper division Political Science, as
required for Political Science majors. POL. 337-3
and POL. 338-3 cannot be used to satisfy LAS. require-
ments.
S.A. - LAS. 20 credits in upper division Sociology and Anthropology.
SPAN - LAS. 20 credits in upper division Spanish. Only one of
•t-
?
SPAN 341-3 or SPAN 451-5 can be used for this requirement.
