Spanish

Department Website:
https://www.haverford.edu/spanish

THE SPANISH DEPARTMENT and ITS CURRICULUM

Spanish is the second-most spoken language in the world, increasingly recognized as a domestic U.S. language. The Spanish Department at Haverford engages its students in the study and exploration of the varied cultures in the Spanish-speaking world. Through the use of multiple disciplinary approaches, including literary and cultural studies, environmental studies, gender and sexuality studies, film studies, educational linguistics, linguistic anthropology, and creative writing courses, the program prepares students to understand and interpret Spanish, Latin American and U.S Latinx texts and other modes of cultural expression, and to develop a strong competence in spoken and written Spanish. 

Majors and minors graduate from our program as strong critical thinkers who can write and make arguments effectively and persuasively. Spanish majors go on to succeed across a wide range of fields—as teachers, scholars, doctors, lawyers, and involved citizens.

Learning Goals

  • Students interact effectively with Spanish speakers in Spanish-speaking countries, including the U.S. 
  • Students critically analyze literary, media and/or language-related products and processes.
  • Students reflect on the world and on themselves through the lens of the Spanish language and cultures.
  • Students develop interpretive, critical thinking and research skills through their study of the Spanish language and of Hispanic, and Latinx cultural narratives.

Haverford’s Institutional Learning Goals are available on the President’s website, at http://hav.to/learninggoals.

Curriculum

The department offers a broad range of courses:

  • Elementary and Intermediate language courses (SPAN H001–SPAN H002, SPAN H100, SPAN H101, and SPAN H102) introduce and develop the basics of the language and emphasize the active use of Spanish for communication and understanding of the cultures that use it.
    • Placement test results are mandatory; we expect all students to enroll in Spanish Department courses at the level of placement the department determines at the beginning of every academic year. On occasion, we will consider requests by individual students to move to a higher or lower placement level, after close and detailed consultation with the course instructor, and the department chair.
    • Language courses in the department require attendance to all classroom sessions and all tutorials, which provide crucial complementary activities and are part of the student’s final grade.
  • Advanced courses at the 200 level in literature, film, culture and civilization, and linguistics introduce significant themes and authors, while further developing Spanish language skills in reading, writing, speaking, and oral comprehension.
  • Advanced courses at the 300 level explore in greater depth a specific line of inquiry; a literary, cultural, or historical issue; or a theme in Spanish and Spanish American writing and thought.
  • Courses in English, with readings in English or English translation, which aim to bring to a wider audience and across disciplinary boundaries important themes, issues, and accomplishments of the Spanish-speaking world (i.e. Spanish 240 Introduction to Latin American Iberian Latinx Studies). 

Major Requirements

  • Six courses in Spanish and Spanish American literature or film, and
  • Two semesters of SPAN H490 (Senior Seminar), in which students write a senior essay.
    • Of the six required courses, three should be at the 200 level and three at the 300 level.
    • A minimum of three of the 200- and 300-level courses must be taken at Haverford or Bryn Mawr; of these, at least two must be at the 300 level.
    • Students who qualify by pre-college training or study abroad may substitute 300-level courses for the 200-level offerings.
    • The program must include at least two courses at the 200 or 300 level that focus substantially on literature prior to 1898.

Students may not count Bryn Mawr courses SPAN B110 (Introducción al análisis cultural) and SPAN B120 (Introducción al análisis literario) toward major requirements.

Senior Project

The senior thesis research project in the Department of Spanish is a year-long process that serves as a capstone experience for our majors. To complete the project, all seniors enroll in the Spanish Senior Seminar (SPAN H490). In the fall, guided by a faculty member, students develop their thesis topic, compile critical bibliographies, and situate their writing in the context of scholarship in the appropriate field and subject, completing a prospectus. In the spring, students meet individually with a designated advisor on a weekly/bi-weekly basis, and submit sections of the work in accordance with a series of recommended due dates. The expectation is that the thesis will be about 25-30 pages in length.

Senior Project Learning Goals

Students will develop and hone the following abilities in writing their senior theses:

  • Conceptualizing a relevant research question.
  • Using bibliographic resources and research tools appropriately.
  • Analyzing literary and media products and/or certain language-related issues critically.
  • Expressing, orally and in writing, complex ideas in correct Spanish; writing in a clear and compelling manner.
  • Familiarizing themselves with and contributing to the relevant scholarship.
  • Making an original contribution to the intellectual conversation with the text(s) and/or scholarship related to the subject.

Senior Project Assessment

The grade for the thesis is assigned by consensus by the entire department, with special consideration of the input from the advisor. A rubric (based on the goals described above) is applied to assess the students’ work. Students also do an oral presentation of their work.

Requirements for Honors

The department invites students it considers qualified to become candidates for honors during the second semester of their senior year. Honors candidates are chosen from among students who do superior work in upper-level literature and culture courses (with a 3.7 average). The department awards honors and high honors on the basis of the quality of the senior thesis. It is expected that an honors thesis will be about 35-40 pages in length.

Minor Requirements

  • Six courses at the 200 or 300 level. 
  • A minimum of three of the six courses must be taken at Haverford or Bryn Mawr; of these, at least one must be at the 300 level.
  • One of the six courses should focus substantially on literature prior to 1898.

Students may not count Bryn Mawr courses SPAN B110 (Introducción al análisis cultural) and SPAN B120 (Introducción al análisis literario) toward minor requirements.

Latin American, Iberian and Latinx Studies Concentration

The Latin American, Iberian and Latinx Studies Concentration is an interdisciplinary program for students majoring in a related discipline who wish to undertake a comprehensive study of the cultures of Spanish America, Brazil, the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) or Latinx in the U.S. 

The Spanish Department supervises the concentration, which is available to students majoring in history, history of art, religion, political science, anthropology, psychology, economics, comparative literature, linguistics or Spanish. Working with the concentration coordinator, the student selects an array of six courses (as explained in detail in the relevant section of the Catalog) from among a list of approved courses relating to some aspect of LAILS, but also intersecting with the major. Then in the senior year the student incorporates the perspectives gleaned from these courses and disciplines into their senior capstone project.

For more information about the Latin American, Iberian and Latinx Studies concentration and its requirements, please see the LAILS website: https://www.haverford.edu/lails 

 

Affiliated programs

Haverford joins other distinguished colleges and universities in an agreement with the Center for Latin American Studies at Georgetown University to participate in a five-year joint degree program. The cooperative agreement allows undergraduate concentrators in Latin American, Iberian and Latinx Studies to pursue an accelerated course of study resulting in a graduate degree.

For detailed information about this opportunity, see the Latin American, Iberian and Latinx Studies website https://www.haverford.edu/latin-american-iberian-and-latinx-studies.

Study Abroad

The department encourages students to spend a semester or a year studying in a Spanish-speaking context, in Argentina, Chile, Cuba, México, Perú and Spain.

Credit for courses taken abroad will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Students will need to provide documentation about the content (e.g., syllabi, papers, and exams) of these courses. No more than two courses taken abroad are usually considered toward the Spanish major and minor. Three courses may be approved under very exceptional circumstances, provided that at least two of the three courses are taken at a local university.

The language requirement cannot be completed while studying abroad.

Prizes

Manuel J. and Elisa Pi Asensio Prize: In recognition of their many contributions to Spanish and Spanish American studies, and of their tireless support of Haverford students—especially Latinx and Latin American students—the Department of Spanish awards the Manuel J. and Elisa Pi Asensio Prize, to be given annually to the best senior essay submitted for the major in Spanish or for the concentration in Latin American, Latinx, and Iberian Studies.

Affiliated Faculty

Roberto Castillo Sandoval
Professor of Spanish

Roxanna Colón-Cosme
Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish

Aurelia Gómez De Unamuno
Associate Professor and Chair of Spanish

Ariana Huberman
Associate Professor of Spanish; Faculty Director of CPGC; Coordinator of Latin American and Iberian Studies

Gloria Lopez-Pesini
Visiting Instructor of Spanish

Ana López-Sánchez
Associate Professor of Spanish

Lina Martinez Hernandez
Assistant Professor of Spanish

Graciela Michelotti
Associate Professor of Spanish

Luis Rodriguez-Rincon
Assistant Professor of Spanish

Catherine Schroeder
Visiting Instructor of Spanish

Courses

SPAN H001  ELEMENTARY SPANISH  (1.0 Credit)

Ariana Huberman, Catherine Schroeder

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This course is the first part of the introduction to the Spanish language. We study grammar and vocabulary in order to learn about the culture of the Spanish-speaking world and to communicate effectively. The focus is on engaging in conveying meaning. The course meets for five hours (5) a week: three hours (3) with the instructor, one (1) hour with a TA, and (1) mandatory study group hour. This is a two-semester course. Both semesters need to be taken consecutively to receive credit. Students who take the first semester at HC have priority of enrollment in the second semester. Reserved for students with no previous to very little experience in Spanish.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

SPAN H002  ELEMENTARY SPANISH  (1.0 Credit)

Catherine Schroeder, Gloria Lopez-Pesini

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

This course is the second part of the introduction to the Spanish language. We study grammar and vocabulary in order to learn about culture of the Spanish-speaking world and to communicate effectively. The focus is on engaging in conveying meaning. The course meets for five hours (5) a week: three hours (3) with the instructor, one (1) hour with a TA, and (1) mandatory study group hour. Both semesters need to be taken consecutively to receive credit. Students who take the first semester at HC have priority of enrollment in the second semester. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 001 or instructor consent

(Offered: Spring 2025)

SPAN H100  BASIC INTERMEDIATE SPANISH  (1.0 Credit)

Aurelia Gómez De Unamuno, Gloria Lopez-Pesini

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This is a course for students who have achieved a basic knowledge of Spanish. Students will improve their conversational and writing skills while learning about contemporary issues of Spanish-speaking countries. The course meets for five hours a week: three (3) hours with the instructor, (1) hour with a TA, and (1) mandatory study group hour. Prerequisite(s): Placement score or instructor consent.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

SPAN H101  INTERMEDIATE SPANISH  (1.0 Credit)

Lina Martinez Hernandez, Luis Rodriguez-Rincon, Roxanna Colón-Cosme

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

The main goals of this course are to strengthen and expand writing and conversational skills, with a focus on key social, cultural, and historical issues of the Spanish-speaking world. Vocabulary and grammar are taught within the context of the specific themes chosen to enhance students’ familiarity with Hispanic societies and cultures. The course meets for five hours a week: three (3) hours with the instructor, (1) hour with a TA, and (1) mandatory study group hour. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 100, Placement score, or instructor consent.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

SPAN H102  ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE SPANISH  (1.0 Credit)

Roberto Castillo Sandoval

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This course aims to refine the student’s ability to exercise critical analysis and to communicate effectively in Spanish (orally and in writing) by learning about a variety of cultural themes and literary genres and to prepare to take courses at the 200 level The course meets for five hours a week: three (3) hours with the instructor, (1) hour with a TA, and (1) mandatory study group hour. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 101, Placement score, or instructor consent.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

SPAN H201  EXPLORING CRITICAL ISSUES THROUGH WRITING  (1.0 Credit)

Ana López-Sánchez

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

The course aims to provide students with the skills necessary to successfully undertake writing assignments in the upper-division Spanish courses. Students will be engaged in discussions of, and write about topics such as identity, borders and migrations, and manifestations of violence. This course is conducted in Spanish. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 102, placement, or instructor consent

(Offered: Fall 2024)

SPAN H206  DIGITALLY NARRATING SECOND LANGUAGE IDENTITIES  (1.0 Credit)

Ana López-Sánchez

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

An exploration of the students’ experience in bicultural/bilingual home, or abroad, and of the subjectivities they develop through their use of a second/foreign language. Readings include biographical texts by bilingual authors, and articles on the role of language in the construction of the self. This course is conducted in Spanish. Prerequisite(s): Interning/studying/knowing 2+ languages, or instructor consent.

SPAN H210  SPANISH AND SPANISH AMERICAN FILM STUDIES  (1.0 Credit)

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

Exploration of Latin American film. The course will discuss approximately one movie per week. The class will focus on the analysis of cinematic discourses as well as the films’ cultural and historic background. The course will also provide advanced language training with particular emphasis in refining oral and writing skills. This course is conducted in Spanish. Crosslisted: Spanish, Comparative Literature. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 102, or placement, or instructor consent.

SPAN H214  WRITING THE NATION: 19TH-CENTURY LITERATURE IN LATIN AMERICA  (1.0 Credit)

Roberto Castillo Sandoval

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

An examination of seminal literary texts written in Latin America in the nineteenth century. Novels, essays, travelogues, short stories, miscellaneous texts, and poetry will be analyzed and placed in the context of the process of nation-building that took place after Independence from Spain. A goal of the course will be to establish and define the nexus between the textual and ideological formations of 19th-century writings in Latin America and their counterparts in the 20th-century. The course fulfills the “pre-1898” requirement. This course is conducted in Spanish. Cross-listed: Spanish, Comparative Literature. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 102, placement, or instructor consent.

SPAN H216  MAPPING IBERIA: GEOCRITICAL APPROACHES TO MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN IBERIAN NARRATIVES  (1.0 Credit)

Roxanna Colón-Cosme

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This course will introduce the student to Medieval and Early Modern Iberia through the lenses of Geocriticism and space. Students will examine literature, cultural objects, and maps to understand the encounters among the different religious, ethnic, and linguistic groups in the Peninsula and understand the spatial shifts throughout its history. Topics include the fluidity of the political boundaries, the role of the Mediterranean in mercantile networks, urban and rural spaces, public rituals and imperial architectures. Pre-requisite(s): SPAN 102; placement exam Lottery Preference: Majors; minors; LAILS concentrators

SPAN H218  INTRODUCTION TO MAGICAL REALISM  (1.0 Credit)

Ariana Huberman

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This course introduces the body of Latin American literature known as magical realism. The authors of the literary boom transculturate European cultural elements with aspects of criollo, indigenous and African traditions in their works. This style’s leit motifs include folk beliefs, time and space warping, and the normalization of magic. Critical moments in Latin American history, such as the Cuban Revolution, the long history of dictatorships and strongmen, and the shadow cast by U.S. foreign policy and corporations, are essential to understanding these texts. Issues of race, gender, and class will be central in class discussions. This class can be taken in connection with the 300-level class on magical realism or independently. Pre-requisite(s): Students who completed SPAN 102 or placed into 200-300 level courses can take this course

SPAN H219  CONTEMPORARY LATIN AMERICAN SHORT FICTION  (1.0 Credit)

Roberto Castillo Sandoval

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression

This course focuses on recent (1990 to the present) Latin American short fiction, highlighting themes such as gender, violence, resistance, memory, politics and social transformation. The course will also explore the development of short narrative forms in Latin America, including the legacy of genre figures such as Quiroga, Borges, Cortázar, Peri Rossi, Monterroso, and García Márquez. Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of the genre by creating their own short stories in a workshop setting. Pre-requisite(s): Placement at the -200 level or permission of the instructor Lottery Preference: Majors, minors, seniors, LAILS concentrators

(Offered: Fall 2024)

SPAN H221  NARRATING MODERN MEXICO  (1.0 Credit)

Aurelia Gómez De Unamuno

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

This course analyses the construction of foundational narratives when rebuilding a nation. In the wake of the Mexican Revolution (the first revolution of the Twentieth Century), an extraordinary post-revolutionary culture and art production (Kahlo, Orozco, Rivera, among others) called the attention of intellectuals, leftists, and post-war artists such as André Breton, Leonora Carrington, Tina Modotti, and Leon Trotsky, among others. Social and political context will assist to understand avant-garde literary and visual works; to examine debates around revolutionary art, cosmopolitanism, Mexican roots, and national identity; and to assess why rural sectors including campesino and Indigenous groups still claimed the debts of the Mexican Revolution. This course is conducted in Spanish.

SPAN H222  RETHINKING LATIN AMERICA IN CONTEMPORARY NARRATIVE  (1.0 Credit)

Aurelia Gómez De Unamuno

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

An examination of literary texts, cultural production and practices that address issues of coloniality, subalternity, gender violence, forced disappearance and displacement, among others. This course explores how the concept of “nation” has marginalised different identities (Indigenous people, women, LGBTQ+), how they have become targets of violence, and what are the connections between coloniality, racism, and forced disappearance as a current practice. However, this course highlights community practices of resilience and agency. For example: radical change from Indigeneity literary works to decolonial Indigenous movements, from genocide to testimonials and Commssion of Truth, from forced disappearance to national search brigades and caravans of mothers looking for their beloved ones. This course is conducted in Spanish. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 102, placement, or instructor consent

(Offered: Spring 2025)

SPAN H226  LEARNING TOGETHER: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY ENGAGED LEARNING  (1.0 Credit)

Lina Martinez Hernandez

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

In this class students will have the opportunity to explore different aspects, issues, challenges, and initiatives involved in co-creating social justice projects with communities (local and international). The class will be taught by Professor Martínez Hernández and Community Co-Instructor Marguerite Kise and it will explore different themes, including: what is Ethical Engagement; the basis for Mutuality and Co-Creation; How to build relationships of trust and leadership; and the importance of building multilingual spaces in social justice/migrant justice work, among others. Throughout the semester, we will invite different community educators and leaders, as well as visit different organizations and communities in Philadelphia. The class will be taught in Spanish and English. Pre-requisite(s): Fulfilled Language Requirement with Spanish, or instructor consent.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

SPAN H230  INTRODUCTION TO IBERIAN STUDIES: MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN LITERATURE AND CULTURE  (1.0 Credit)

Luis Rodriguez-Rincon

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This course surveys over a thousand years of literary, cultural, and political history in the Iberian Peninsula. In the context of European and world history, course readings will span from the 5th century CE to roughly 1700, that is to say, from the final dissolution of the Roman Empire through the middle ages and ending with the early modern period and the first centuries of Iberian colonization in the Americas. While most readings will be in Castilian (i.e. Spanish), the Arabic and Hebrew writers that called the Iberian Peninsula home from 711 CE to 1492 as well as early Gallego-Portuguese writers will likewise be discussed. These non-Castilian voices represent a linguistic, cultural, and religious diversity at odds with the commonplace notion of Spain as an exclusively Spanish-speaking and Catholic monarchy. Topics of discussion will include the politics of history, love and epic poetry, writing the self, and the changing role of women in Iberian society. This course is conducted in Spanish.

SPAN H231  CARIBE QUEER: SEXUALITIES AND NARRATIVES FROM THE HISPANIC CARIBBEAN  (1.0 Credit)

Lina Martinez Hernandez

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

The course will look at different narrative and artistic productions regarding alternative sexualities in the Hispanic Caribbean. We will take as a point of departure the Cuban revolution and move to the present. Crosslisted: Spanish, Comparative Literature Prerequisite(s): SPAN 102

SPAN H240  LATIN AMERICAN AND IBERIAN CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION  (1.0 Credit)

Roberto Castillo Sandoval

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

An interdisciplinary exploration of Latin America and Spain. Topics will include imperial expansion, colonialism, independence, national and cultural identities, and revolution. This course is designed to serve as the introduction to the Concentration in Latin American and Iberian Studies. Course taught in English. Students who wish to obtain Spanish credit are expected to read Spanish language texts in the original and write all assignments in the language.

SPAN H250  QUIXOTIC NARRATIVES  (1.0 Credit)

Luis Rodriguez-Rincon

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This course proposes a bilingual reading of Miguel de Cervantes’ famous novel, El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha. The adventures of Don Quijote and Sancho Panza force readers to probe the fraught and circular relationship between life and art. How do we know when something is true? What happens when fictions, dreams, or outright lies become confused with the truth? What role does art play in catalyzing this desire to transform the world? Course readings and discussion will be largely in Spanish with the option of reading the novel in translation and participating in course discussion in either Spanish, English or Spanglish. Please be advised: Students who wish to receive credit towards a SPAN major or minor must complete course readings and assignments in Spanish. This course fulfills the “pre 1898” requirement. Crosslisted: Spanish, Comparative Literature.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

SPAN H253  HISPANIC CARIBBEAN MIGRATION TALES  (1.0 Credit)

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

Students will learn about different Hispanic Caribbean migratory experiences through a selection of short stories, novels, memoirs, and essays, as well as in film, and performative production. The tales featured in this course will consider how gender and sexuality shape migration experiences. The texts that will be analyzed are mostly originally written in Spanish. Crosslisted: Spanish, Comparative Literature Prerequisite(s): SPAN H102 or 200-300 level in the placement test

SPAN H273  THE INVENTION OF PABLO NERUDA: POETICS AND POLITICS  (1.0 Credit)

Roberto Castillo Sandoval

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

This course deals with the principal works of Pablo Neruda’s long career as a poet. Close readings of his major poems will be accompanied by an examination of the criticism and reception of Neruda’s poetry at different stages of his trajectory. Special attention will be paid to the creation and elaboration of Neruda’s image as a poet, cultural icon, and political figure in Chile and in the Spanish-speaking world. This course is conducted in Spanish. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 102, placement, or instructor consent

SPAN H307  CREATIVE FICTION AND NON-FICTION WRITING WORKSHOP  (1.0 Credit)

Roberto Castillo Sandoval

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

A fiction- and creative nonfiction-writing workshop for students with advanced Spanish writing skills. The class is conducted as a combination seminar and workshop, with time devoted to discussion of work by established authors and by students. The course will focus on the development of essential elements of craft and technique in fiction and non-fiction writing (point of view, voice, dialogue, narrative and rhetorical structure, etc.) We will focus more on how fiction and non-fiction stories work rather than on what they mean. This writerly perspective can be useful for reconsidering and judging pieces of writing long accepted as “great,” as well as a practical method for developing individual styles. Short fiction, crónicas, personal essays, travel narratives, and memoirs are some of the forms we will work on. At the end of the semester, each student will produce a dossier with four edited, full-length pieces of original writing, consisting of a combination of fiction and non-fiction work. Previous experience in creative writing is recommended, although it is not necessary. Prerequisite(s): At least one 300-level course in Spanish, or instructor consent

SPAN H308  BLACKNESS IN LATIN AMERICA  (1.0 Credit)

Lina Martinez Hernandez

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

This course offers a historical and cultural approach to blackness in Latin America. Understood as an epistemological discourse and as embodied practices, blackness has been at the center of Latin American identity since colonial times. Taught in Spanish. Prerequisite(s): 200 level Spanish course

SPAN H314  SPANISH IN THE US: LANGUAGE, IDENTITY AND POLITICS  (1.0 Credit)

Ana López-Sánchez

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

The course introduces students to basic concepts of (critical) sociolinguistics with a focus on Spanish in the US. It examines the history and politics of Spanish in the US, the relationship of language to Latinx identities, and how language ideologies and policies reflect and shape societal views of Spanish and its speakers (and contribute to discrimination and social injustices). Course taught in Spanish. Prerequisite(s): Course at the 200-level in Spanish or Linguistics

SPAN H316  WOMEN AND THE ARMED STRUGGLE IN LATIN AMERICA  (1.0 Credit)

Aurelia Gómez De Unamuno

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

An examination of socialist armed struggles in 1970s, women’s rights and feminist movements in Latin America. A comparative study of literary texts, testimonials and documentary films addresses theoretical issues such as Marxism, global feminism, hegemony and feminisms produced in the periphery. This course is conducted in Spanish. Cross-listed: Spanish, Gen/Sex, and PJHR Prerequisite(s): One 200-level, preferred 300- level course, or instructor consent

(Offered: Spring 2025)

SPAN H322  POLITICS OF MEMORY IN LATIN AMERICA  (1.0 Credit)

Aurelia Gómez De Unamuno

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

An exploration of the dynamics of memory, narration, censorship and oblivion after a period of state violence either under a dictatorship or an official democracy. This course analyses and compares literary genres (testimonies, diaries, poetry and fiction), visual archives, documentary films, practices and projects of memory (Parque por la Paz Villa Grimaldi, Museo de la Memoria in Chile, Museo Casa de la Memoria Indómita in Mexico, “sitios de memoria” and digital resources). Students will be able to compare debates, outcomes and current controversies of production of memory in Chile after the coup and dictatorship of Pinochet, and in Mexico after the repression of the student movement of ‘68 and the guerrilla movement. This course is conducted in Spanish. Cross-listed: Spanish, Comparative Literature, PJHR

SPAN H323  MAGICAL REALISM: LATIN AMERICA AND THE WORLD  (1.0 Credit)

Ariana Huberman

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

Magical realism is a literary style that transcends cultures, geographies, and even the chronological order of the history of the world. It is both inherently Latin American and representative of World literature. This course tackles the central motifs, socio-political contexts, and narrative techniques of more complex literary pieces of magical realism from Latin America. We will also discuss the global dimensions of magical realism such as cosmopolitanism and post-colonialism in world literature. This class can be taken in connection with the introduction to magical realism or independently. Pre-requisite(s): Students need to have completed SPAN 102 or Placed into 200-300 level classes

(Offered: Spring 2025)

SPAN H329  FEMINIST FUTURES: SPECULATIVE FICTIONS OF LATIN AMERICA  (1.0 Credit)

Staff

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

An exploration of twentieth and twenty-first century feminist science fiction from Latin America and the Caribbean. Through novels, short stories, performances, and films, students will evaluate how the genre of science fiction addresses questions of gender, sexuality, race, class, and colonialism. Students will consider how feminist science fictions (re)imagine gender and sexuality in the future and the progression or regression that awaits. Pre-requisite(s): One 200 level Spanish course Lottery Preference: Majors; minors & LAILS concentrators.

SPAN H331  LIMINAL BODIES: EMOTIONAL LANDSCAPES AND GENDER IN PAN-MEDITERRANEAN LITERATURES AND CULTURES  (1.0 Credit)

Roxanna Colón-Cosme

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

The course explores gender in late medieval to 17th century Iberia, including canonical and lesser-known works, texts written by women, cultural materials, plays, and popular chapbooks. It will delve into specific analyses of the liminal representations of gender and sexuality in Ibero-romance materials, including a critical review of the limitations and liberties afforded by gender and giving special attention to the thematical evolution of gender across centuries in Pan-Mediterranean literatures and cultures. Taught in Spanish. Pre-requisite(s): Completed 102 or placement exam in 200-300 level courses or instructor consent. Lottery Preference: None

SPAN H336  HUMANIMALS IN SPANISH LITERATURE AND CULTURE FROM PREHISTORY TO THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD  (1.0 Credit)

Luis Rodriguez-Rincon

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

Humans are animals and yet most people consider animals to be something other than humans. This course sets out to understand from a specifically Iberian perspective how humans have come to define themselves in relation to animals and vice versa how animals have come to be defined in relation to humans. Readings in this course will approach animals as both living and literary figures with an emphasis on the medieval and early modern periods as well as key theories in Animal Studies. Crosslisted: COML. Pre-requisite(s): A 200 level-course; or permission of the instructor Lottery Preference: Spanish majors; Spanish minors; Comparative Literature majors; LAILS concentrators

(Offered: Spring 2025)

SPAN H338  “I NEED A HERO”: CHIVALRIC SAGAS IN LATE MEDIEVAL IBERIAN LITERATURES AND CULTURES  (1.0 Credit)

Roxanna Colón-Cosme

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This course explores the rich tradition of chivalric literature in late medieval Iberia. Students will evaluate the sociocultural and literary significance of chivalric literature in Iberia through a wide range of texts, including chanson de geste, ballads, chivalric romance, and legends from the 13th-16th century. The course evaluates themes cardinal to the chivalric genre, such as courtly love, honor, knightly conduct, revenge, adventures, warfare, fantastic geographies, world creation, and the origins of the novel. Pre-requisite(s): 200-level, placement exam at the 300 level, or instructor consent Lottery Preference: None

(Offered: Fall 2024)

SPAN H360  LEARNING-TEACHING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE  (1.0 Credit)

Ana López-Sánchez

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This course is designed for the advanced student of Spanish, who is interested in the processes involved in learning a foreign language, and/or contemplating teaching it. This course is conducted in Spanish. Crosslisted: Spanish, Education Prerequisite(s): One 200-level course, or instructor consent

(Offered: Fall 2024)

SPAN H392  ROGUES, CROSS-DRESSERS, AND CONQUISTADORS: THE TRANSATLANTIC PICARESQUE  (1.0 Credit)

Luis Rodriguez-Rincon

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This course sets out to assess the early colonial accounts of Colón, Cortés, and Cabeza de Vaca alongside the picaresque narratives of Lazarillo de Tormes, Cervantes, and María de Zayas as literary acts of self-fashioning that showcase the artful constructability of history and identity in the early modern period. Taught in Spanish.

SPAN H480  INDEPENDENT STUDY  (1.0 Credit)

Ariana Huberman

SPAN H490  SENIOR DEPARTMENTAL STUDIES  (1.0 Credit)

Ariana Huberman

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

The course will consist of two one-semester parts. The first, taken in the fall semester, will have the format of a seminar under the supervision of one Spanish department faculty member. Students will also consult with other professors in the department (potential thesis directors). The purpose of this seminar is to prepare students for the research and writing their senior theses by 1) enhancing and refining the reading tools and critical approaches to Spanish and Latin American texts; 2) elucidating and contextualizing relevant aspects of literary history, theory, and culture 3) determining the thesis topic, key secondary sources and approach to be deployed in writing the thesis, and 4) polishing the skills and methods for successful research and proper use of available resources. Problems in literary and cultural analysis-selected with a view to their pertinence in relation to the group’s interests-will be discussed through close readings of selected works of criticism or theory. The second semester will involve the process of writing the thesis under the supervision of individual professors.

(Offered: Fall 2024)