Master of Arts (MA) in Interdisciplinary Latin American Studies at Freie Universität Berlin

About

The Master's programme is modularised, with each module comprising two courses. It consists of a central area of studies, a specialisation area and an elective area. The central area of study serves the development and treatment of new interdisciplinary questions and the consolidation of knowledge about the region â€œLatin Americaâ€ as well as the conveyance of specific theoretical and methodological knowledge and capabilities that are necessary for the academic investigation of the topics of the MA. The students have the choice between the following specialisation areas: Specialisation Area A: Representation and Entanglement Questions of representation and entanglement are of central importance for the processes of societal transformation and cultural dynamics in Latin America. These are based on societal heterogeneousness and structures of power. In Specialisation Area A, actor, image and discourse-led actions in the past and present are examined. At the same time, the culturally diverse Latin American academic traditions and epistemic productions are dealt with alongside the specialist traditions of historiography, and literary and cultural studies. Representations and entanglement in their transregional and constantly changing dimensions will be analysed on the basis of theoretical and methodological approaches that build on the close link between the approaches of cultural studies and social sciences in the humanities, social and cultural anthropology as well as Latin American literature and cultural studies. Specialisation Area B: Transformation and Development In this specialisation area, students examine the complex processes of societal change and cultural dynamics that characterise the development of Latin American societies and their complex inclusion in transregional and national processes as well as in global structures in the past and present. Here, the perception of Latin America as a â€œcrisis continentâ€ and at the same time a â€œlaboratory of modernityâ€ represents a special focus. Specialisation Area C: Brazil in World Context: Literature, Culture and Societies Brazil plays a special role in Latin America because of its greater size and cultural area, unique language and specific historical formation. This specialisation area aims at a better understanding of Brazil and the Caribbean through studies of social and economic processes, cultural dynamics, and development in a regional and global context. Specialisation Area D: Gender Relationships, Lifestyle, Transformations This specialisation area offers the foundation for the historical and contemporary understanding of gender relations in Latin America while taking into consideration the theoretical and methodological approaches of interdisciplinary gender studies. Against the backdrop of gender-specific problems that account for the socio-economic and cultural heterogeneousness of Latin America, the area focuses on questions of democratisation and violence (inter alia developmental policy, law and public spheres, social movements, ways of life and praxes) interculturality (ethnicity, hybridity and transnationalism) and representation (body and discourse).

Requirements

Entry Requirements

An above-average Bachelor's degree or other equivalent qualifying university degree in accordance with the study regulation handbook of the Master of Arts programme in Interdisciplinary Latin American Studies, or certification of an equivalent foreign degree For further information, please visit our website.