Courses

An alternative approach to the first semester of Elementary Spanish which allows students to complete course requirements by working independently with technology-based materials. Two class hours weekly and laboratory practice.

An alternative approach to Spanish 102 which allows students to complete course requirements by working independently with technology-based materials. Two class hours weekly and laboratory practice.

An intensive review of all the topics covered in a full year of Elementary Spanish. Five class hours weekly, including two hours of practicum.

An alternative approach to Spanish 103. An intensive review of all of the topics covered in a full year of Elementary Spanish. Requires independent work with technology-based materials which help direct learning. Two class hours weekly and laboratory practice.

Taught in English, this seminar will focus on the literature of becoming written by women writers of the post-Civil War period in Spain. We will probe the relationship between fiction and reality, as well as the correlation between memory, history and representation in cultural works. As we analyze the cultivation of the adolescent female voice in the construction of literary works, our attention will center upon themes of learning, growth and the insufficiency of language. Representations of violence will be considered through the lenses of history, psychology, culture and gender. As we probe the loss of innocence and the entrance into adulthood, we will observe the psychological evolution of the adolescent heroine against the adult models and the inevitable solitude of the protagonist as she searches for her own voice. Writers include Mercé Rodoreda, Rosa Chacel, Carmen Martín Gaite, Carmen Laforet, Ana María Matute, Esther Tusquets, Adelaida García Morales. Readings and class discussions will be in English.

An intensive grammar review, followed by oral practice, and readings in literature and culture. For students who have completed Spanish 102 or 103 or the equivalent. Four class hours weekly, including one hour of practicum.

The second course in the two-semester intermediate sequence, this class provides further practice in all aspects of the Spanish language, with a continued focus on Hispanic culture. For students who have completed Spanish 201, Spanish 215 or the equivalent. Four class hours weekly, including one hour of practicum.

An alternative approach to Spanish 201 which allows students to complete course requirements by working independently with technology-based materials. One class hour weekly and laboratory practice.

An alternative approach to Spanish 202 which allows students to complete course requirements by working independently with technology-based materials. One class hour weekly and laboratory practice.

An intensive review of all the topics covered in both Spanish 201/215 and 202/216 using an alternative approach which allows students to complete course requirements by working independently with technology-based materials. One class hour weekly and laboratory practice.

A course which integrates science-based vocabulary and health-related cultural issues into a post-intermediate language curriculum. Medical Spanish continues to provide grammar and vocabulary instruction while developing writing, reading, speaking and listening skills required for effective communication with Spanish speaking clients. One hour per week of practicum required.

A prerequisite to other 300- and 400-level courses taught in Spanish, this course provides intensive composition and conversation practice while solidifying the student's command of Spanish grammar and vocabulary. Though the main focus is on speaking and writing, the course also emphasizes listening, reading and the development of a better understanding of the Hispanic world. Includes two one-hour Practicum sessions.

Designed for bilingual students who speak Spanish at home but would like to improve their reading and writing skills. Focuses on Latinx issues through discussion and commentary of the works of contemporary Latinx writers and filmmakers, with emphasis on using the language through reading and writing rather than reviewing the grammar. Class is limited in size to enable students to receive individualized attention.

Devoted to the study of outstanding examples of Spanish thought, art, and historical developments, including primitive cultures, Roman Spain, the Muslim invasion, the Reconquest, Imperial Spain, the age of Enlightenment, and modern Spain. Conducted in Spanish.

Devoted to the study of processes of cultural change in Spanish America from pre-Columbian times to the present, with a focus on the layering of beliefs and practices of Hispanic, Indigenous, and African origin. Readings and documentaries highlight the diversity of the five main cultural regions--Caribbean, Andes, Southern Cone, Central America, and North America.Includes an optional Community-Based Learning Project in the local Latinx community. Conducted in Spanish.

A mainstay of the Spanish major, this course is designed to help students develop as readers through close analysis of literary and cinematic texts. Provides an introduction to the forms and structures of Spanish-language poetry, narrative prose, theater, and film, as well as to critical analysis through close readings of selections from Spanish and Spanish-American works. Special emphasis is placed on writing critically and persuasively, with classroom discussion focused on close textual analysis. The course is a prerequisite to all other literature courses at the 300 and 400 level. Conducted in Spanish.

A thematic examination of Latin American literature from Colonial times to the present day. Through representative readings from the rich variety of Hispanic cultures in Latin America, including South and Central America, the Caribbean, and U.S. Latinx culture, the course teaches students to analyze primary and secondary sources related to a theme of the instructor's choosing as well as to contextualize representative primary texts' significance within Latin American culture and enhance their writing and speaking skills. Selected themes have included Fantasy and Reality, Borders, Power, and Protest Literature. A semester of Readings is a prerequisite to 400-level literature courses. Conducted in Spanish.

A thematic examination of Iberian Spanish literature from medieval times to the present day. Through representative readings from a range of genres and periods, the course teaches students to analyze primary and secondary sources related to a particular theme chosen by the professor, as well as to contextualize representative primary texts' significance within Spanish culture and enhance their writing and speaking skills. A semester of Readings is a prerequisite to 400-level literature courses. Conducted in Spanish.

Through a hands-on learning approach to the art of filmmaking, students will explore and experiment with the core components of cinematographic production: screenplay writing, directing, lighting, sound engineering, camera technique, and digital editing. As a focused language course, the class is designed to introduce students to the artistic and technical terminology employed in Spanish and Latin American film production. Moreover, students will purposefully use this language as they write, design, create and edit film projects of their own. This course includes a Community-Based Learning component in which students may collaborate with a local organization that serves Spanish-speakers to produce a short documentary film. Conducted in Spanish.

This introductory course in business Spanish aims at expanding the student's overall language proficiency through intensive practice in a variety of professional contexts (e.g. commercial transactions, travel arrangements, job interviews, imports, exports, and tax return preparation). The goal is not only to solidify the students' command of Spanish grammar and vocabulary and to introduce them to some basic business terminology, but also to develop their pragmatic skills, their cross-cultural awareness, and their ability to interact successfully with native speakers in a variety of formal and professional settings. Conducted in Spanish.

A practice course for improvement of pronunciation and introduction to phonetic transcription. Aimed at students with a desire to improve their pronunciation of Spanish, expand their knowledge of the various dialects of the language, and an interest in knowing how the sound system of Spanish works. Conducted in Spanish.

This course provides students with the opportunity, resources and stimuli to refine their oral skills in Spanish through structured and meaningful practice. Students will use language in context to expand self-expression through a variety of activities: poetry recitation, dialogues, role playing, debates and oral presentations. This course will also acquaint students with the rhythms, intonations and gestures typical of contemporary spoken Spanish. Students will use a variety of resources: literary texts, films, newspaper articles, and video interviews (reflecting a wide range of dialectal variation) and will explore controversial topics designed to provoke substantive conversation. Finally, frequent writing assignments and research tasks will complement the main emphasis on development of oral skills. Native speakers are not eligible to enroll in this course.

Students in advanced Spanish courses come from many backgrounds, but they share a desire to use the language. Translation is an activity that combines the intellectual with the practical: in order to produce an acceptable translation, students must focus their attention on lexical and grammatical detail. Translating into English requires students to understand every detail of the Spanish text, and then decide how these details might best be expressed in English. Translating into Spanish requires students to recognize how Spanish structures and words do and do not parallel those of English. Both activities provide advanced students of Spanish with an invigorating linguistic workout, and serve as an effective introduction to the practice of translation.

This course focuses on the writing of the short story in Spanish. Through the use of varied prompts, students will write brief texts of fiction exploring character, point of view, time, dialogue, setting, and other key elements of the story. In addition to these exercises, students will produce two short stories to be workshopped by the class as a whole. Throughout the semester, we will also read and discuss canonical and contemporary works of short fiction in Spanish in order to hone different short story writing techniques. Additionally, we will connect with contemporary Latin American authors by video conference to hear about their creative processes and learn from their experiences with the craft. Conducted in Spanish.

Through focused discussion and applied activities, this course offers an in-depth inquiry into conceptual and practical aspects of grammar and mechanics in the Spanish language. Students will hone their written and verbal communication in, and refine their cultural and linguistic understanding of the Spanish language, while approaching the study of Spanish grammar from a conceptually, culturally, and politically-informed perspective. Class activities are designed to enhance not only the students command of Spanish, but also their understanding of relevant historical, political, symbolic and conceptual aspects of grammar. Spanish 399 covers the Area 2: Focused Language requirement for Spanish majors.

Focuses on different aspects of Medieval Spanish Literature. Topics previously offered have included Medieval Heroes, Saints and Sinners, The Image of Women, Love in Medieval Spain, Death and Dying. Conducted in Spanish.

Focuses on different aspects of Spanish Golden Age Literature. Topics previously offered have included Golden Age Drama and its Staging, Spanish Golden Age Sentimental Fiction, The Evolution of Spanish Romance, and Renaissance and Baroque Poetry. Conducted in Spanish.

A close reading of Cervantes' masterpiece in order to provide a coherent understanding of the author's attitude toward life and art. Through an analysis of such elements as point of view, plot structure, characterization, interpolated novels and poems, language, and irony, the course defines Cervantes' conception of narrative prose fiction and his role as the originator of the modern novel. Conducted in Spanish.

Thematic studies of literature and culture in Spain from the late Enlightenment to the fin de siglo. Focusing on the relationship between writing, culture, and modernization, the course considers some of the ways in which authors such as Jovellanos, Mesonero Romanos, Larra, Bécquer, de Castro, Pardo Bazán, and Galdós helped determine the course of romanticism, realism, and naturalism in Spain. Conducted in Spanish.

A study of major trends in writing after the realist and naturalist eras in Spain. Through works by authors such as Unamuno, Pío Baroja, Cela, Sender, and Matute, this course examines the formal and thematic characteristics of Spanish narrative before and after the Spanish Civil War. Conducted in Spanish.

Explores the response of several modern Spanish-American writers to the following questions: What is fiction? What are the roles of the author, the narrator, and the reader? Special attention is given to such outstanding novelists of the "Boom" as Rulfo, Cortázar, Cabrera Infante and García Márquez, and to the development of their works within the context of the modern novel. Conducted in Spanish.

Over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Spanish theater has reflected the nation's tumultuous history. It has challenged the status quo by staging many controversial topics: dictatorship, war, modern society, terrorism, immigration, domestic violence and alterity. This course engages such themes both through the study of theater as literary text and the power of theater as performance. In class, students will not only read, watch and analyze dramatic texts but will also perform dramatized readings. The texts to be studied include plays by contemporary Spain's most notable playwrights: Federico García Lorca, Antonio Buero Vallejo, Jerónimo López Mozo, Diana M. de Paco Serrano, Gracia Morales, Paloma Pedrero and Ana Diosdado. Conducted in Spanish.

Examines various aspects of Spanish and Spanish-American poetry since Modernismo. Among these are: Rubén Darío and Modernismo; Antonio Machado; Hispanic vanguard poetry; the Grupo poético de 1927; Pablo Neruda; and Spanish-American social poetry. Conducted in Spanish.

Provides a general introduction and overview of García Márquez' writing career and analyzes some of his most notable novels. Students learn to read works analytically in order to uncover the relationship between the aesthetic and historical dimensions of García Márquez' literary universe. Conducted in Spanish.

An advanced course on the origins of Spanish-American literature. Readings emphasize the diversity of the colonial period, with in-depth analyses of works from several major genres. Topics previously offered have included Mesoamerican Codices and Myths and Counter-myths of the Conquista. Discussion focuses on the significance of these works from a contemporary perspective as well as on the historical and cultural distance that separates us from the world views contained therein. Conducted in Spanish.

A study of the novels of Puerto Rican, Mexican-American, U.S. Dominican, and Cuban-American writers from 1970 to the present. Explores how the experience of biculturality and displacement is dramatized in the literature of these authors. Conducted in Spanish.

This sociolinguistics course explores the presence, use and characteristics of Spanish in the U.S.. Main topics include: an overview of U.S. Latinx communities, the context of their presence here and their experience as an ethnolinguistic minority; bilingualism and language acquisition; 'Spanglish', borrowing, code-switching and other language-contact phenomena; language maintenance and loss; language policy and minority language rights; bilingual education; the Official English movement; linguistic identity and ideology; and the interaction between language, gender, race, social class and ethnicity. Includes an optional Community-Based Learning Project in the local Latinx community.

An introduction to the study of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), with a special focus on Spanish. Main topics include: first vs. second language acquisition; age-related effects on language acquisition; the role of presumably innate vs. environmental factors; immersion vs. classroom learning; study abroad; theories of SLA and approaches to foreign language teaching; the role of input and output practice; 'heritage' speakers; proficiency assessment; and the different areas of second language development (e.g. literacy, oral fluency, and grammatical and pragmatic competence). The course also considers some specific aspects of the acquisition of Spanish as a second language, including vocabulary, pronunciation, pronouns and different grammatical contrasts (e.g. indicative vs. subjunctive, and preterit vs. imperfect), among others.

This course examines what it means to know two or more languages, with a particular focus on the Spanish-speaking world. Besides exploring the very notion of bilingualism and multilingualism, the course examines how individuals and communities come to be multilingual; the social, cognitive and linguistic dimensions of knowing more than one language; and the results and dynamics of language contact, particularly in communities where Spanish has come into contact with other languages (e.g. Basque and Catalan in Spain, Quechua and Aymara in Bolivia, and English in the U.S.). Includes an optional Community-Based Learning Project in the local Latinx community. Conducted in Spanish.

This advanced literature course explores the evolution of the concept of gender and its literary representations in 19th- through 21st-century Peninsular writings. Students will examine the influence of Church and State on gender formation and explore the body as a site of conflict and, ultimately, awareness. Through the study of particular essays, novels, and short stories, this course analyzes the social and aesthetic tensions between the traditional ideal of the sexes (i.e. women and men as belonging to separate and irreconcilable spheres) and the revolutionary emerging notion of the new woman, whose role is no longer confined to the home. The selected texts reflect these different representations of gender while highlighting the tensions and transitions between the old and the new social roles. Conducted in Spanish.

Serves as an introduction to film analysis, studies the development of the medium in Latin America, and explores issues of cultural difference through discussion of the cinematic portrayal of representative historical periods, figures, and intellectual and political movements. Conducted in Spanish.

Studies some of the most relevant historical, political, and social issues in 20th-century Spain as depicted through film. Focuses on films which portray Spain at its different historical stages (pre-Franco era, Francoist Spain, transition era, and modern Spain). Conducted in Spanish.

Provides a general overview of the Spanish language as the result of historical and cultural developments. Examines the main characteristics of the Spanish language and the different varieties of Spanish that are spoken today. Conducted in Spanish.

A study of the life and works of Spanish poet and dramatist Federico García Lorca. Through analysis of his poems and plays, as well as his letters and speeches, the seminar will contextualize García Lorca's works within the complex political, social and literary movements during his lifetime. Discussion will focus on the power with which theater and poetry can communicate such vital and controversial human themes as gender identity, political ideology, freedom of self, feminist issues, public behavior and private desires, inequality, death, race and religion. Conducted in Spanish.

A seminar dedicated to exploring the ways in which U.S. Latinx identities (Latinidades) are constructed in literature and popular culture. Through a variety of texts, including poetry, theater, fiction, and graphic novels, students will explore questions surrounding how nation-specific identities both work with and challenge the monolithic label of Latina/o. Theoretical texts will help guide such questions as: What does it mean to be a Latina/o? How do we construct and assume Latinidad? How are Latinidades reflected in literature and pop culture? Do these art forms challenge or reaffirm mainstream stereotypes about Latinos? In what ways are literature and pop culture viable means to discuss differences and pluralities (Latinidades) among Chicanos, Dominicans, Cubans, Colombians, Puerto Ricans, and other groups? How do questions of race, ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, and language enter into a discussion about identity construction? Readings and other media will be in Spanish, English, and Spanglish. Conducted in Spanish.

Examines some of the outstanding women writers of the 19th and 20th centuries of Spanish literature. Explores the most prominent literary, social, cultural, and existential issues expressed in their works. These works are studied in the context of the major trends of European literature in the past two centuries. Conducted in Spanish.

Eligible third-year students may elect one or both of these courses only with the permission of the Department Chair. Tutorials are offered only to students who have taken previously all other advanced courses offered in a given semester. One unit each semester.

Eligible third-year students may elect one or both of these courses only with the permission of the Department Chair. Tutorials are offered only to students who have taken previously all other advanced courses offered in a given semester. One unit each semester.

Eligible fourth-year students may elect one or both of these courses only with the permission of the Department Chair. Tutorials are offered only to students who have taken previously all other advanced courses offered in a given semester.

This seminar will focus on women writers of the Early Modern period in Spain, including Santa Teresa de Jesús, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, and María de Zayas. Close textual readings and discussions of works in various genres (poetry, theater, novellas, essays) will delve into the worlds of mystics, lovers, saints, and sinners from the female perspective.

In recent years, there has been a new boom of Latin American fiction writers, which has brought renewed attention to literary production in the region. What is distinctive of this phenomenon is the prominence of women writers from all Latin American countries. Some of these writers are still in their home countries but publish their short stories or novels with foreign publishers or with local independent presses. Other writers have become migrants and are writing about Latin America from Germany, Spain, or the United States. This course will focus on some of the writers who have been gaining more visibility through media, literary competitions, and whose works have been getting translated into other languages. There will be a focus on current topics, including articulations of gender and sexuality, racism, various forms of social violence, as well as the literary techniques and genres women writers use to address contemporary concerns. Liliana Colanzi (Bolivia), Mónica Ojeda (Ecuador), Fernanda Melchor (México), Samanta Schweblin (Argentina), Rita Indiana (Dominican Republic), Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro (Puerto Rico), Denise Phé-Funchal (Guatemala) are some of the short story writers and novelists we will be reading throughout the semester. Readings, class discussions, and students work will be in Spanish.

This course focuses on the writing of the short story in Spanish. Through the use of varied prompts, students will write brief texts of fiction exploring character, point of view, time, dialogue, setting, and other key elements of the story. In addition to these exercises, students will produce two short stories to be workshopped by the class as a whole. Throughout the semester, we will also read and discuss canonical and contemporary works of short fiction from Latin America in order to hone different short story writing techniques. Additionally, we will connect with contemporary Latin American authors by video conference to hear about their creative processes and learn from their experiences with the craft. Conducted in Spanish.

This course explores race and racism in 15th- through 17th century literature written in the Iberian Peninsula and in its wider sociohistorical context. We will look at the origins of race through texts from early modern Portuguese and Spanish colonial projects in Iberia, Africa, and the Americas, including Gomes Eanes de Zuraras Chrónica do Descobrimento da Guiné, Francisco de Vitorias Des indiis, Bartolomé de Las Casas Brevísima relación, etc. These texts lay out early modern Iberian ideologies that contribute to race and radicalization such as honor, blood purity, and religious orthodoxy. We will also draw on the work of scholars of race from different disciplines to think about the history of anti-blackness (Ibram X. Kendi), get an overview of the major concepts of critical race theory (Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic), and consider the intersection of race and language (Nicholas R. Jones), and others.