Minor in CMALS

The Center for Mexican American and Latino/a Studies offers a minor in Mexican American Studies. The material covered in the minor conveys the broad and rich experiences of Latinos and Latinas in the United States. A minor in Mexican American Studies augments a student's major area of study and prepares them to better understand the history, culture, social relations, folklore, literature, politics, and numerous contributions that Latinos and Latinas have made to U.S. society.

All student advising will be offered online via Navigate found in your AccessUH portal.

Requirements for Obtaining a Minor in Mexican American Studies

The minor in Mexican American Studies requires 15 semester credit hours. This includes MAS 2340 Introduction to Mexican American Studies (required course - three credit hours) and a minimum of three or nine semester credit hours from approved liberal arts courses and a minimum of three or nine credit hours from approved social science courses. Nine of the 15 hours must be taken at the University of Houston (in residence) and nine hours must be advanced (junior and senior level). Of these nine, at least six must be taken in residence. A 2.00 minimum grade point average overall courses applied to the minor is required. No more than 3 semester credit hours can be taken in Spanish “language” courses. "MAS" prefixed courses can be used in the social science category for the minor as well as in the liberal arts.

If you have a question about the minor (i.e., completion, program requirements, if you want to declare your minor in Mexican American Studies, etc.) please make an appointment with Dr. Cortina through Navigate send an email to Dr. Cortina with the subject line "Minor in MAS."

To find out more about your specific case in minoring in Mexican American Studies, click here to see our Minor Checklist. 

To obtain a General Petition, please click here and bring the completed form with you to your scheduled appointment.

Be sure to check out our Minor Brochure PDF to print out for easy reference. 

Courses

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Liberal Arts

MAS 2340: Introduction to Mexican American Studies. This course introduces the field of Mexican American studies, its origins, purpose, and role in society. It provides a background to the Mexican-American experience in the United States taking an interdisciplinary approach.

MAS 3340:  Development of the Mexican American Urban Community. Prerequisite: English 1304.  This course provides an interdisciplinary approach to the origin and historical development of Mexican American neighborhoods in the United States with a special focus on Houston and other Southwestern cities. This course can satisfy the 3 semester credit hours in language, philosophy, and culture as part of the U of H core curriculum.

MAS 3341:  Mexican American Experience through Film. Prerequisites: six semester credit hours of sophomore-level English. This course analyzes the Mexican-American experience in the United States through films. Emphasis is on essay writing.

MAS 3342: Mexican Immigration to the United States. This is an interdisciplinary analysis of Mexican immigration to the United States. It emphasizes class discussions, films, and incorporates historical, literary, journalistic and relevant academic material.

MAS 3343: Latino Psychology. This course analyzes and evaluates the social, psychological, political and historical factors that impact the psychological development of various Latino groups in the United States. *

MAS 3344: Research and Methods in Mexican-American Studies. This course will teach selected research methods that will be used in conducting research on the Mexican American/Latino population in the US. These methods may include a combination of the following: field methods; survey research; qualitative and quantitative methods; experiments; archival research; evaluation research; and other research methods. Students will conduct a written research paper using one or more of these research methods.

MAS 3345: Latino Leadership, Activism & Organizing. This course will provide students with the basic tools to become more effective leaders at the grassroots levels. It will examine theories of social justice, social change, leadership styles, and basic components required to organize at the local level for creating meaningful social change among working-class Mexican American/Latino communities.

MAS 3346: Latinas in the United States. This course will examine the important role that Mexican American females and other Latinas have played in the broader Latina/o community. The course will focus on how Latinas have played important roles in historical and contemporary settings. The course will focus on systemic oppression and intersectionality, particularly how race/ethnicity, gender, class, sexuality, and citizenship function to marginalize Latinas.

MAS 3347: Latino American Popular Music. This course will examine how US-based Latino communities create, maintain, and re-create cultural connections and how musicians express these experiences through songs and music. It will explore the roots and routes of Latino music to understand how Latino and Latina musicians innovate longstanding musical traditions, maintain cultural and political links within possible respective diasporas, and how they articulate Latinidad.

MAS 3348: Pre-Columbian Life & Religion in Mexico. This course provides students with an understanding of life and society in Mexico before the arrival of the Spaniards with a special focus on “Aztec” civilization. Students will examine various aspects of Aztec society including its social organization, government structure, language, religion/mythology, economy, agriculture, medicine, and educational system. 

MAS 3395:  Selected Topics in Mexican American Studies (Students may take more than one course in MAS 3395 when the topics change)

ENGL 3361: Mexican American Literature. Prerequisite: ENGL 1304 or equivalent. This course focuses on the works of Mexican American writers in the English language, including fiction, poetry, drama, the essay, and autobiography.

HIST 3332: Chicano History to 1910.   Prerequisite: junior standing or the consent of the instructor. This course can take the place of the state requirement in history (History 1376 or History 1377). Prerequisite: junior standing or consent of the instructor. This course focuses on the role of Mexican Americans in American history from the colonial period to 1910.

HIST 3333:  Chicano History since 1910.  Prerequisite: junior standing or the consent of the instructor. This course can take the place of the state requirement in history (History 1378 or History 1379). This course focuses on the role of the Chicano in American history since 1910.

HIST 3369: Colonial Mexico. Prerequisite: junior standing or consent of the instructor. This course focuses on the evolution of Mexican society from the Spanish conquest in 1521 until 1810.

HIST 4319: Chicanos and American Education. Prerequisite: junior standing or consent of instructor. This course focuses on the socioeconomic, political, and ideological forces that have shaped the educational opportunities and experiences of Mexican Americans.

HIST 4369:  Modern Mexico, 1810 to the Present: Prerequisite: junior standing or consent of the instructor. This course focuses on the social history of modern Mexico.

SPAN 3331: Mexican American Literature. Prerequisite: SPAN 3301 or 3307 and 3302 or 3308; ENGL 1304. Literature in the Spanish language produced by people of Mexican origin in what is today the United States from Colonial times to the present.

SPAN 3345: Hispanic Folklore of the Southwest. Prerequisite: SPAN 3301 or 3307 and 3302 or 3308. This course is an introduction to the folklore of the people of Hispanic descent living in what is the American Southwest with an emphasis on people of Mexican descent.

(Other special topics as appropriate from individual departments)

Social Sciences

ANTH 3312:  Mexican American Culture. Prerequisite: ANTH 2302. This course focuses on the culture of Mexican Americans in the United States and the role it plays in U.S. society.

ANTH 4372:  Maya Archaeology. Prerequisite: ANTH 2303 or consent of instructor. Current data and hypotheses concerning the evolution of human behavior within the “Maya Area” of southern Mexico, Honduras, Belize, and Guatemala prior to Spanish contact.

ANTH 4373: Archaeology of the Aztecs and their Neighbors. Prerequisite: ANTH 2303 or consent of instructor. This course focuses on current data and hypotheses concerning the evolution of culture within Mexico north of the Maya Area prior to Spanish contact.

POLS 3372:  Latino Politics. Prerequisite: POLS 1336 and 1337 or equivalent, or consent of instructor. This course analyzes Chicano (Mexican American) political behavior. It also analyzes the cultural, economic, sociological, and psychological roots of the political life of Chicanos and their impact on current political struggles.

SOC 3324: Hispanic Identity. Prerequisite: SOC 1300. This course focuses on the historical, socio-cultural, and structural aspects of the construction of identity among Hispanics (Latinos) in contemporary U.S. society.

SOC 3326: Immigration in U.S. Society. Prerequisite: SOC 1300. This course focuses on patterns of immigration since World War 11 and the resulting societal change in the United States.

SOC 3372: Mexican-American Family. Prerequisite: SOC 1300. This course focuses on the historical, cultural, and social trends of the diverse living arrangements of Mexican Americans in contemporary U.S. society including the nuclear and extended family structures and the role of fictive family relationships.

(Other special topics courses as appropriate from individual departments)

*Indicates that this is a special topics course (not necessarily taught on a regular basis). On occasion, the special topics courses not listed here can qualify for the minor.

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