Advanced Topics

Thematic and Regional Specializations (topics 9–14) are optional deeper tracks.

You do not need to study all of them (you can choose 2–4 tracks that interest them most after completing the Core).

How to choose which ones to pursue:

Pick topics that connect to questions or issues you already care about (for example, environment and climate, migration, gender and social change, Indigenous rights, or U.S. involvement in the region).
Choose tracks that feel like natural extensions of something that surprised or excited you while studying the Core sections.
If you’re unsure, start with one or two that seem most relevant to current events or personal interests.

You can study the specialization topics in any order you prefer – they build on the Core but do not depend heavily on each other.

Thematic and Regional Specializations

#	Topic	Rationale	Book / Text
9	Indigenous Peoples and Movements	Indigenous continuity, rights, and political mobilization.	Indigenous Latin America in the Twenty-First Century (World Bank – open-access report/reader)
10	Gender, Family, and Social Change	Gender systems, feminism, care economies, and LGBTQ+ movements.	UN Women – Latin America & Caribbean Regional Reports (official portal with multiple reports)
11	U.S.–Latin American Relations	Intervention, migration, trade, and diplomacy.	Beneath the United States – Lars Schoultz (Internet Archive free borrow/digital scan)
12	Revolutions, Dictatorships, and Human Rights	State violence, memory, truth commissions, and activism.	Inter-American Commission on Human Rights – thematic reports (official OAS/IACHR portal)
13	Environment, Extractivism, and Sustainability	Deforestation, mining, climate vulnerability.	UN Environment Programme – Latin America & Caribbean portal (official UNEP regional hub)
14	Migration and Diaspora	Transnationalism, remittances, identity formation.	Migration Policy Institute – Latin America regional profiles (MPI official initiative page with reports/profiles)