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MSc in Latin American Studies (MSc LAS)

This is a nine-month programme which spans three academic terms.

The programme is intended to provide an interdisciplinary understanding of the main developments in Latin America since c1900 to the present. While the programme emphasises the specific features of individual countries, there is also broad comparative coverage of major trends such as authoritarianism and democracy, the economic cycle, the effect of international factors, the evolution of the Left and Right, revolutionary movements, and the effects of neo-liberal economic models.

These topics are addressed through taught classes for a number of academic disciplines (including History, Politics, Sociology, International Relations and Economics), individual preparation for a range of exam papers, and a lively programme of seminars and conferences with visiting speakers. Students are asked to submit two portfolios of essays on subjects of their choice during the first two terms. These essays serve both as a focus for tutorials to review student progress, as well as preparation for exams at the end of the year.

In the final term of the programme, students will be required to sit three exam papers from a list to be provided on their arrival in Oxford. The exam papers for 2012/13 are not yet confirmed, but you may view the range of papers available for the current year in the programme specification document below.

In addition to the three exams, students are required to submit an extended essay of 10,000 words. The preparation of this extended essay will allow students to develop a critical focus by examining a particular topic in depth. Click on the document below to see the titles of essays submitted by previous MSc LAS students.

Extended Essays Submitted in 2011

Antecedents to the 1912 electoral reform in Argentina.

La cuarta urna es una cortina de humo: The Honduran Constitutional Crisis and Presidential Instability in Latin America During the 21st Century.

Towards an Understanding of Women's Empowerment: Evidence from Brazil.

Regional Integration And Power In Latin America: The Case Of Alba.

Racial Self-identification and Affirmative Action in Brazil.

With Friends Like These…: Is Mercosur Still Necessary for Brazil to Achieve Its Foreign Policy Ambitions?

Failure Of Democratic Police Reform In Post-Authoritarian Brazil.

The EU and regional integration initiatives in Latin America.

Los Cartoneros of Buenos Aires: Waste Scavenging and the Appropriation of Space in the Neoliberal City.

How effective were CCTs in Brazil and Mexico in improving educational outcomes? An introduction to Bolsa Família and Oportunidades and their comparative effectiveness on educational outcomes.

Evo Morales: The Role of Discourse in the Rise of Inclusive Indigenous Politics in Contemporary Bolivia.

A new project or old policies made popular, to what extent are Lula’s socioeconomic policies a rupture from the neoliberalism of FHC?

The Church and the Military in Argentina: A Study of El Movimiento de Sacerdotes para el Tercer Mundo.

Do the policies pursued by centre-left governments in Latin America represent a new development model for the region?

A New Foreign Policy in the Dominican Republic: An Analysis of U.S. – Dominican Relations.

Tunnel Visions: Photographing Development in Peru, 1860-1890.

The Role of the United States in Colombian-Venezuelan Relations during the Uribe Presidencies.

Order and Opposition in Early Republican Chile.