Spanish and Portuguese
Photo: Angelica Ferrandino
The Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking worlds have a long and rich cultural history, and their economic and political significance is increasingly evident. There are 350 million speakers of Spanish and 200 million speakers of Portuguese on both sides of the Atlantic. Furthermore, 40 million Latinos constitute the largest ethnic minority in the United States. A thorough knowledge of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking cultures and societies is therefore invaluable for almost any career in a global era, in which mutual understanding and communication between cultures are paramount. The Department of Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Cultures offers a liberal arts major in Spanish and/or Portuguese designed to give students a thorough grounding in the language, literature, and cultures. Students are encouraged to complement their courses in Spanish or Portuguese with related and varied courses in other literatures, as well as in art history, anthropology, sociology, comparative literature, and other humanities subjects. Concentrators in Spanish and/or Portuguese acquire a sophisticated knowledge of the culture, society, and politics of the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking worlds, which offers them an array of professional opportunities that can rarely be matched by other disciplines. Recent concentrators have taken up careers in law, government service, business, teaching, medicine, nongovernmental agencies, and international affairs.
What Students Say
• What is Spanish and Portuguese?
• What is it like being a Spanish and Portuguese major?
• What are common misconceptions about Spanish and Portuguese majors?
• What kind of internships and international experiences have majors had?
• Why would anyone want to date a Spanish and Portuguese major?
What is Spanish and Portuguese?
• What is it like being a Spanish and Portuguese major?
• What are common misconceptions about Spanish and Portuguese majors?
• What kind of internships and international experiences have majors had?
• Why would anyone want to date a Spanish and Portuguese major?
What is Spanish and Portuguese?
By choosing to concentrate in Spanish and Portuguese, you will find yourself in a very flexible plan of study. The concentration is whatever you make of it. You can focus on literature, politics, cinema, poetry, history, or any subset of topics that grab your interest. You can do the work English majors do, but in a second language. You can study history through the perspective of another culture. Your individual interests are allowed to roam free in this department because you get individual attention from the best professors on campus.
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What is it like being a Spanish and Portuguese major?The department is small, supportive and incredibly flexible. There are no core classes that you must take; you can take any eight upper level courses that interest you. You can also write your two JP's and thesis on almost any topic you desire.
Writing a JP can be a fun experience. The Spanish and Portuguese department is small, so every student gets lots of individual attention and guidance. The professors get to know you really well and can provide you with concrete, personal, useful advice. Nothing could be more valuable than that. So the JP experience is low-stress because the Spanish professors guide you creatively and don't set rigid deadlines. Yet they demand good quality work, and you can look back and be proud of your independent project.
The department runs in much the same way. Professors are reasonable and treat you well; they are understanding and flexible. At the same time, this department will challenge you in ways you have not been challenged before. You will read and write at a very advanced level in a second language and will be expected to contribute your own personal interests and passions to the pool. It's a good balance of exams and formality mixed with engaging seminars and conversations over coffee.
A common misconception is that Spanish and Portuguese majors dedicate their studies to learning the language and perfecting their grammar. Obviously fluency is required among majors, but we do not study the language itself. We study culture through the lens of these languages.
You do not need to be a native speaker of either language in order to major in Spanish and/or Portuguese. At times, it can be intimidating when the person sitting next to you in class gives this eloquent answer with a beautiful accent to the question about the Spanish poem your professor just posed, but don't be afraid to speak up and make mistakes. Your teacher will correct you, and that is really the best way to learn the language. Plus, once you get good at it, you can go visit another country and it's so much fun to be able to interact with people of other cultures, especially when they're not expecting you to be able to speak their language!
Spanish and Portuguese majors travel the world. The department encourages us to live in the regions we study because it truly is the best way to learn the language and culture. Professors will match you with a program that suits your time and interests, and the department is extremely generous with funds for independent work and study abroad.
For instance, the department granted one student considerable funds to travel to Barcelona in the summer, which was a dream come true. She studied art history in the hometown of some of the world's greatest artists and was able to travel to other towns on weekends. The next summer, the department generously contributed to her internship in La Paz, Bolivia. As a premedical student, she was studying health care issues specific to adolescents in La Paz by performing hospital rotations and volunteer work in halfway homes. The summer was incredible and full of eye-opening learning experiences. This is this type of learning that the Spanish department fosters.
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Obviously, Spanish and Portuguese majors are the most attractive students on campus. We appreciate true beauty as well as embody it. If you are going to spend three hours in a seminar, you may as well have some pretty faces to look at.