Welcome to the Spanish Department!
Registration for spring term is around the corner and we invite you to take a look at the exciting advanced courses offered by Prof. Álvarez-Blanco and Prof. Ingrid Luna.
Are you interested in being a Spanish TA? This is a unique and rewarding experience. You will use your Spanish and gain skills in teaching in the classroom. Get in touch with the TA training director, Prof. Vera Coleman if you’re interested.
Students in SPAN 103 can apply for our two-week winter break program in Mexico associated with one of the Spanish 204 sections next fall. The information session with Prof. Beatriz-Pariente Beltran is coming on Wednesday, February 11. She will be happy to answer your questions.
Last, but not least, cook Guatemalan food with your peers and a guest from the Hispanic community in Northfield! More details available.
Spring Term Courses
SPAN 205: Conversation and Composition
A course designed to develop students’ 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
Spring 2026 | Ingrid Luna
SPAN 246: Not by Blood: Family Beyond Kinship
Motherhood is central in Latin-American literature of the twenty-first century. Beyond the tendency to represent motherhood as a paradise of love and snuggles, Latin-American writers have been proposing new reconfigurations of family. Families that are not bonded by blood.
In this class, we study novels, poems, and short stories about these non-traditional families. For example families that are led by trans-women, families that are formed between species (with plants or animals), among others.
We will analyze what insights these fictional families can offer on topics such as race, reproductive rights, legalization of abortion, marriage equality, and new feminisms.
Spring 2026 | Ingrid Luna
SPAN 320: Death and Dying Under Capitalism: An Ecological and Humanistic Perspective
With the capitalist system, the concept of dying well (Ars moriendi) has progressively lost its collective sense and meaning, relegated instead to the realm of individual responsibility.
Simultaneously, the notion of a dignified death has ceased to be an inalienable right for all individuals, becoming contingent upon inherited privileges and access to private resources.
Death, transformed into a taboo coexists with an apocalyptic culture and a state of eco-anxiety stemming from ecological crises and the looming extinction of numerous species, potentially including humans.
Some of our guiding questions will be: What implications does dying under capitalist conditions entail? Can cultural representation do more than merely comply with, comment, or oppose these scenarios?
Our exploration will encompass a diverse array of texts, films, and workshops featuring various guest speakers.
Spring 2026 | Palmar Álvarez-Blanco
Become a Teaching Assistant
- Share your passion for Spanish language and Spanish-speaking cultures
- Gain leadership and teaching experience
- Use your skills to help others and make an impact
- Earn International Peer Education Certification
Deadline to apply is Monday, February 16. Contact Vera Coleman, Spanish Language Program Director, with any questions.
OCS Info Session
Join us for an information session for the upcoming OCS program: Social Justice and Cultural Immersion in Mexico, winter break 2026!
- When: Wednesday, February 11, 5–6 p.m.
- Where: LDC 104, with professor Beatriz Pariente- Beltran
Apply for the program by April 6!
