Department of Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Cultures

The Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking worlds have a long and rich cultural history, and their economic and political significance is increasingly evident. A thorough knowledge of their cultures and societies is therefore invaluable for almost any career, in a global era in which mutual understanding and communication between cultures are paramount. 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.

Our department has 12 faculty members, 80 percent of whom are native speakers of Spanish or Portuguese. All faculty teach undergraduate courses, usually in small classes where dialogue and discussion are central. One of the key features of our department is the personal attention we devote to our students, and particularly to our concentrators.

The department offers language courses in Spanish and Portuguese at all levels. Students with knowledge of Spanish, French, or Italian can enroll into the Portuguese 108–109 sequence, which is designed to give in only one year enough fluency to travel in any Portuguese-speaking country. Our 200-, 300-, and 400-level courses in Spanish and Portuguese deal in depth with a great variety of topics, from literature and film to popular culture, history, and politics.

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.

The department offers two tracks for concentrators: (1) concentration in one literature and culture (Spanish or Portuguese) and (2) concentration in two languages and literatures (one of which must be Spanish or Portuguese). Of the eight courses needed for concentration, up to three cognate courses can be taken in other departments.

Recent senior theses have covered a very wide range of interests, from literature and politics to film and popular culture, including: “The Drama of Disappearance: Antígona Furiosa and Argentina’s ‘Dirty War’”; “Wine in the Global Era: Tradition and Modernization in La Rioja and Tuscany”; “Pelé: the Social Construction of a Hero”; “Memory, Myth, and the Making of Modernity: Political Cinema in Post-Franco Spain”; and “Race and Revolution in Cuba: Literary Expressions of the Afro-Cuban Voice.” The department can assist with research travel and materials for the senior thesis.

Concentrators in Spanish and/or Portuguese are strongly encouraged to spend a semester (or a year) in Spain, Spanish America, Portugal, or Brazil. Courses taken abroad in approved programs may fulfill departmental requirements up to a limit of two course credits per term.

The department offers a certificate in language and culture in either Spanish or Portuguese. The requirements are four 300-level courses (SPA) and three 300-level courses (POR), and a piece of independent work.

If you would like to find out more about Princeton’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Cultures, please contact our departmental representative or visit our Web site.