- 2022–2023 Courses:
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Fall 2022
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SPAN 101: Elementary Spanish
This course introduces the basic structures of the Spanish language, everyday vocabulary and cultural situations. Students practice all four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) in Spanish. Taught five days a week in Spanish. Prerequisite: none (Placement score for students with previous experience in Spanish). 6 credits; Does not fulfill a curricular exploration requirement; offered Fall 2022 · Claudia Lange, Ingrid Luna -
SPAN 204: Intermediate Spanish
Through discussion of literary and cultural texts and films, as well as a review of grammar, this course aims to help students acquire greater skill and confidence in both oral and written expression. Taught three days a week in Spanish.
Prerequisites: Spanish 103 or equivalent 6 credits; Does not fulfill a curricular exploration requirement; offered Fall 2022, Winter 2023 · Vera Coleman, Jorge Brioso, Héctor Melo Ruiz, Silvia López, Beatriz Pariente-Beltrán, Fernando Contreras Flamand, Humberto Huergo -
SPAN 208: Coffee and News
An excellent opportunity to brush up your Spanish while learning about current issues in Spain and Latin America. The class meets only once a week for an hour. Class requirements include reading specific sections of Spain’s leading newspaper, El País, everyday on the internet (El País), and then meeting once a week to exchange ideas over coffee with a small group of students like yourself.
Prerequisites: Spanish 204 or equivalent 2 credits; S/CR/NC; Literary/Artistic Analysis, International Studies; offered Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023 · Silvia López, Jorge Brioso -
SPAN 212: Madrid Program: Navigating Madrid
This is an intense grammar/cultural workshop intended to help program participants navigate successfully through everyday situations such as ordering food at a restaurant, getting a haircut, describing your symptoms to a doctor, buying clothes or simply hanging out with your new Spanish friends. The course has two components—one strictly grammatical (“how do you say X exactly?”) and another cultural (“is it right to use the informal tú with a waiter?”).
2 credits; S/CR/NC; Does not fulfill a curricular exploration requirement; offered Fall 2022 · Humberto Huergo -
SPAN 229: Madrid Program: Current Issues in Spanish Politics
This course offers a fresh look of Spain’s current political and economic life. Discussion topics include the rise of Podemos and the new Spanish political scene, the Catalan separatist movement, political corruption, illegal immigration, and the role of the European Union.
Prerequisites: Spanish 205 or higher and acceptance in Madrid OCS Program 6 credits; Social Inquiry, International Studies; offered Fall 2022 · Humberto Huergo -
SPAN 244: Spain Today: Recent Changes through Narrative and Film
Since the death of Franco in 1975, Spain has undergone huge political, socio-economic, and cultural transformations. Changes in the traditional roles of women, the legalization of gay marriage, the decline of the Catholic church, the increase of immigrants, Catalan and Basque nationalisms, and the integration of Spain in the European Union, have all challenged the definition of a national identity. Through contemporary narrative and film, this course will examine some of these changes and how they contribute to the creation of what we call Spain today.
Prerequisites: Spanish 204 or equivalent 6 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis, International Studies; offered Fall 2022 · Palmar Álvarez-Blanco -
SPAN 330: The Invention of the Modern Novel: Cervantes’ Don Quijote
Among other things, Don Quijote is a “remake,” an adaptation of several literary models popular at the time the picaresque novel, the chivalry novel, the sentimental novel, the Byzantine novel, the Italian novella, etc. This course will examine the ways in which Cervantes transformed these models to create what is considered by many the first “modern” novel in European history. Prerequisites: Spanish 205 or above 6 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis, International Studies; offered Fall 2022 · Jorge Brioso -
SPAN 349: Madrid Program: Theory and Practice of Urban Life
More than a study of the image of Madrid in Spanish literature, this course examines the actual experience of living in a cosmopolitan city through a variety of disciplines, including Urban Studies, Geography, Architecture, Sociology, and Spanish poetry and fiction. Special attention will be given to imaginative walking and counter-tourist tactics as theorized by Phil Smith and the British psychogeographic movement.
Prerequisites: Spanish 205 or above 6 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis, International Studies; offered Fall 2022 · Humberto Huergo
Winter 2023
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SPAN 102: Elementary Spanish
This course introduces complex sentences and various tenses and short literary and cultural texts. Students practice all four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) in Spanish. Taught five days a week in Spanish.
Prerequisites: Spanish 101 or equivalent 6 credits; Does not fulfill a curricular exploration requirement; offered Winter 2023 · Claudia Lange, Vera Coleman, Beatriz Pariente-Beltrán, Fernando Contreras Flamand -
SPAN 204: Intermediate Spanish
Through discussion of literary and cultural texts and films, as well as a review of grammar, this course aims to help students acquire greater skill and confidence in both oral and written expression. Taught three days a week in Spanish.
Prerequisites: Spanish 103 or equivalent 6 credits; Does not fulfill a curricular exploration requirement; offered Fall 2022, Winter 2023 · Vera Coleman, Jorge Brioso, Héctor Melo Ruiz, Silvia López, Beatriz Pariente-Beltrán, Fernando Contreras Flamand, Humberto Huergo -
SPAN 205: Conversation and Composition
A course designed to develop the student’s oral and written mastery of Spanish. Advanced study of grammar. Compositions and conversations based on cultural and literary topics. There is also an audio-video component focused on current affairs. Prerequisites: Spanish 204 or equivalent 6 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis, International Studies; offered Winter 2023, Spring 2023 · Humberto Huergo, Jorge Brioso, Palmar Álvarez-Blanco -
SPAN 208: Coffee and News
An excellent opportunity to brush up your Spanish while learning about current issues in Spain and Latin America. The class meets only once a week for an hour. Class requirements include reading specific sections of Spain’s leading newspaper, El País, everyday on the internet (El País), and then meeting once a week to exchange ideas over coffee with a small group of students like yourself.
Prerequisites: Spanish 204 or equivalent 2 credits; S/CR/NC; Literary/Artistic Analysis, International Studies; offered Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023 · Silvia López, Jorge Brioso -
SPAN 242: Introduction to Latin American Literature
An introductory course to reading major texts in Spanish provides an historical survey of the literary movements within Latin American literature from the pre-Hispanic to the contemporary period. Recommended as a foundation course for further study. Not open to seniors. Prerequisites: Spanish 204 or proficiency 6 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis, International Studies; offered Winter 2023 · Silvia López -
SPAN 345: Culture, Capitalism and the Commons
Have you ever wondered if not capitalism, then what? In this course we will critically approach the historical background, the causes and, most importantly, the consequences of the civil and ecological crisis unleashed globally in 2008. Both in its origin and its consequences, this crisis went beyond the financial field, extending into the realms of politics, economics, culture, media and ecology. In light of this context, we will take a transdisciplinary approach to the study of capitalist culture and analyze the main changes that have developed from the cycle of social mobilizations surrounding the “indignados” movement or Spanish 15M in 2011. With a primary focus on Spain, we will concentrate on analyzing cultural artifacts that mark a paradigm shift from a capitalist culture towards the development of a culture of the commons that seeks to improve the living conditions of the social majority, defending both human rights and ecological justice.
Prerequisites: Spanish 205 or equivalent 6 credits; Humanistic Inquiry, International Studies; offered Winter 2023 · Palmar Álvarez-Blanco -
SPAN 380: Dispossession, Gentrification, and Reoccupation in Latin America
This course studies the concept of property in Latin America. It analyzes historical events such as colonial dispossession, urban transformations in cities like Rio de Janeiro, cases of gentrification, reappropriation of territories, and occupations. The course offers a critical approach to Latin American modernization, both from a historical and cultural perspective, focusing on discourses of colonialism, hygienization, racial and class stigmatization, and state violence.
Prerequisites: Spanish 205 or above 6 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis, International Studies; offered Winter 2023 · Héctor Melo Ruiz -
SPAN 385: Riots, Rebellions & Revolutions in Latin America
Latin American cultural history is one of agitation and turmoil. Since colonial times, Riots, Rebellions, and Revolutions are not only at the center of Latin America’s politics, but also its art, literature, and culture. Through a survey of a representative selection of canonical and non-canonical Latin American texts (including literary pieces, films, pamphlets, periodicals, photographs, among others), this course will examine the intersections between literature, politics of unrest, and intellectuals in Latin America. Students will gain an understanding of fundamental topics of Latin American cultural and political history, including colonialism, modernity, racism, and political resistance.
6 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Winter 2023 · Héctor Melo Ruiz
Spring 2023
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SPAN 103: Intermediate Spanish
This course continues the study of complex sentence patterns and reviews basic patterns in greater depth, partly through the discussion of authentic short stories. Students practice all four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) in Spanish. Taught five days a week in Spanish. Prerequisites: Spanish 102 or equivalent 6 credits; Does not fulfill a curricular exploration requirement; offered Spring 2023 · Vera Coleman, Palmar Álvarez-Blanco, Ingrid Luna, Fernando Contreras Flamand, Claudia Lange, Mar Valdecantos -
SPAN 205: Conversation and Composition
A course designed to develop the student’s oral and written mastery of Spanish. Advanced study of grammar. Compositions and conversations based on cultural and literary topics. There is also an audio-video component focused on current affairs. Prerequisites: Spanish 204 or equivalent 6 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis, International Studies; offered Winter 2023, Spring 2023 · Humberto Huergo, Jorge Brioso, Palmar Álvarez-Blanco -
SPAN 208: Coffee and News
An excellent opportunity to brush up your Spanish while learning about current issues in Spain and Latin America. The class meets only once a week for an hour. Class requirements include reading specific sections of Spain’s leading newspaper, El País, everyday on the internet (El País), and then meeting once a week to exchange ideas over coffee with a small group of students like yourself.
Prerequisites: Spanish 204 or equivalent 2 credits; S/CR/NC; Literary/Artistic Analysis, International Studies; offered Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023 · Silvia López, Jorge Brioso -
SPAN 210: The Spanish Civil War Through Graphic Novels
This course serves as a bridge between beginning (Spanish 204-208) and advanced courses (Spanish 220-300) in the Department of Spanish. It is designed to help students improve their written and oral skills while reading some of the best graphic novels about the Spanish Civil war published in recent years, including: Vida y muerte de Federico García Lorca, Soldados de Salamina, Tres heridas de Miguel Hernández, El arte de volar, La muerte de Guernica, and others. This course is ideal for students who have recently completed Spanish 204 and are ready to tackle an introductory history and literature course in Spanish.
Prerequisites: Spanish 204 or equivalent 6 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis, International Studies; offered Spring 2023 · Humberto Huergo -
SPAN 218: Introduction to Latin American Cinema
This course will introduce the student to several production systems and aesthetic traditions in Latin American cinema, from silent cinema to current Netflix productions, allowing students to engage cinematic debates by situating them in their national, regional and global cultural contexts. Be prepared to be immersed in the moving image and its cultural significance through the viewing of many films and critical work on them. Recommended as a foundation course for further study.
Prerequisites: Spanish 204 or the equivalent 6 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis, International Studies; offered Spring 2023 · Héctor Melo Ruiz -
SPAN 318: Islamic Spain
Muslims conquered Spain in 711 and lived in the country roughly until 1614. This course will examine the Islamic origins of Spain from a variety of disciplines, including literature, religion, history, and art history. Topics covered include:Hispano-Arabic literature, the fall of Granada, the repression of Moriscos under Philip II, aljamiado literature (literature written in Spanish with Arabic characters), the expulsion of Moriscos, and the diaspora in Tunisia. We will also devote two weeks to the study of the representation of Turks, Muslims, and Moriscos in Cervantes’ plays and novels, including several chapters of his famous Don Quixote. All texts are in Spanish, including Arab sources by Ibn Hazm, Wallada, Muhya, and other Hispano-Arabic and Morisco writers.
Prerequisites: Spanish 205 or above 6 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis, Writing Requirement, International Studies; offered Spring 2023 -
SPAN 366: Jorge Luis Borges: Less a Man Than a Vast and Complex Literature
Borges once said about Quevedo that he was less a man than a vast and complex literature. This phrase is probably the best definition for Borges as well. We will discuss the many writers encompassed by Borges: the vanguard writer, the poet, the detective short story writer, the fantastic story writer, the essayist. We will also study his many literary masks: H. Bustoc Domecq (the apocryphal writer he created with Bioy Casares) a pseudonym he used to write chronicles and detective stories. We will study his impact on contemporary writers and philosophers such as Foucault, Derrida, Roberto Bolaño, etc. Prerequisites: Spanish 205 or above 6 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis, International Studies; offered Spring 2023 · Jorge Brioso