Spanish and Portuguese

An advanced course in Spanish composition and conversation designed to give students increased fluency and expertise in written and verbal Spanish skills. Extensive review of grammar and vocabulary through written and oral exercises. Course material includes literary texts, news-related publications, and films. Three classes. Prerequisite: SPA 107 or SPA 108 or equivalent AP/SAT score.

Designed to enhance oral and written skills in Spanish while increasing familiarity with Hispanic cultures through cinema. Language skills development is connected to the content of films and will be combined with in-class debates on cultural topics and writing of compositions. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: SPA 107 or SPA 108 or equivalent AP/SAT score.

This course offers an introduction to translation practice for the Spanish-English language pair, focusing primarily on the task of translating from Spanish into English. However, students will also carry out a number of brief English into Spanish translation tasks. The course is conducted entirely in Spanish and follows a communicative approach to translation, with a good balance between theory and praxis. It will provide students with a solid foundation in the field, and prepare them to take more specialized translation courses.

Offered as an overview of sociolinguistic variation in the Spanish-speaking world, students will learn about social, political, and cultural aspects related to dialectal variation in Spanish and become acquainted with important linguistic features present in various dialects. Upon completion of the course, students become familiarized with particular features distinguishing one dialect from another, while gaining knowledge of the development of these differences. This course will greatly enrich a student's view of Spanish, either as a native/heritage speaker or Spanish learner, and allows for the development of analytical skills.

Major developments in Spanish literature and civilization from the Muslim conquest to the 17th century. Beliefs and attitudes underlying the rise of the Spanish empire and the ways in which the interaction (convivencia) of Christians, Jews, and Muslims brought about the cultural differentiation of Spain within the European context. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: 207 or higher, or instructor's permission.

Introduction to modern Latin American cultural and literary traditions with emphasis on the political uses of writing and art, national identity vis-à-vis popular and indigenous groups, memory and representation, the definition of modernity, and trans-American dialogues. The course may focus on national foundational fictions, the literary and artistic avant-gardes of the 1920s and 1960s, Mexican and Peruvian indigenismo, and memory art and cinema. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: SPA 207 or higher, or instructor's permission. Strongly recommended before 300-level courses.

An introduction to textual analysis and interpretation of Hispanic literatures. The course will be organized on discussions of various genre (narrative, poetry, drama, essay). Readings will include authors from early and modern periods from Spain and Latin America, such as Garcilaso de la Vega, Cervantes, Calderón de la Barca, Miguel de Unamuno, García Lorca, Sor Juana, José Hernández, Rubén Darío, Jorge Luis Borges, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Margo Glantz. Popular music and film will also be studied. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: 107 or 108, or instructor's permission.

This course will focus on current political, social, and cultural issues in Latin America and/or Spain, including social movements, new artistic developments, economic changes, environmental debates, globalization and culture, politics of memory, immigration and cultural conflicts, nationalist movements, etc. Each semester, the course will focus on one of two particular regions and countries, such as the Southern Cone, the Andean region, Central America, Brazil, Mexico and the borderlands, Spain, etc. This course will also strengthen the students' conversational skills through team discussion and oral presentations.

Through selected texts from Spain and colonial Latin America, the course will explore the formation of a literary tradition in Spanish. The main objective is to foster comparative studies within literatures and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world so as to identify points of contact and differentiation currently defining this field of studies. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Prerequisite: one 200-level Spanish course.

Poetry, prose, and drama of the Golden Age. Readings might include the works of authors such as Garcilaso, Saint Theresa, Saint John of the Cross, Góngora, Quevedo, Lope de Vega, and Calderón. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or instructor's permission.

Spanish literature and culture from the early Middle Ages to the beginning of the 16th century. Emphasis on both literary works (most read in modernized versions) and original documents. Special attention will be given to medieval Spain's pluralistic society of Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Prerequisite: a 200-level course in Spanish or instructor's permission. Two 90-minute seminars.

Key literary works are analyzed in relation to main cultural, political, and social currents in Spain in the last three centuries. The course combines analysis of specific texts with a panoramic view of the complex articulation of cultural forces that have led to the present configuration of contemporary Spain. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or instructor's permission.

Selected literary forms and themes in relation to the major historical, social, and cultural currents of the Golden Age. Possible topics include the function of the theater in the absolutist state; the Inquisition and the literature of alienation; the impact of the Counter-Reformation on artistic activity; the image of woman in literature. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or instructor's permission.

Since 1605, Don Quixote has elicited passionate reactions: Faulkner read it once a year, as some read the Bible, while Malraux saw it as the most meaningful book for survivors of concentration camps. Quixote has been construed in disparate ways, from debating good and bad reading and writing, to mocking the medieval world view; from exploring the serious impact of the printing press, to benevolently satirizing the conquistadors; from being a study of deviant social behavior and the nature of madness, to a meditation on human sexuality and ageing. One lecture, two precepts. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or equivalent.

An advanced language course which develops and reinforces accuracy and fluency in both writing and speaking Spanish. Students will learn to identify linguistic features that characterize different genres, as well as social and cultural factors that aid in the interpretation and understanding of different texts and types of speech. The course also aims at providing the tools for discourse analysis, raising awareness of the social and ideological values that permeate discursive practices, and developing autonomy and proficiency as an advanced learner of Spanish language. Three classes. Prerequisite: One 200-level SPA course.

An introduction to the study and practice of translation, this course provides students with an awareness of the complex tasks involved in translating written materials from one cultural context to another. The cultural encounter between the Hispanic and the Anglo-Saxon will be explored through the translation of increasingly difficult texts--newspaper articles, interviews, economic reports, and scientific articles. Through the examination of the students' own translations, the course will study the process of cultural exchange between Spanish and English. Prerequisite: 307. One three-hour seminar.

A survey of the major forms of Spanish drama of the Golden Age, including plays by Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, and Calderón. Emphasis on the development of the theater in relation to the rise of the absolutist state, the Counter-Reformation, and the impact of the Inquisition on Spanish society. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course. Two 90-minute classes.

Topics may include the literature of non-Castilian cultures in the Peninsula; the nonconformist drama of Galdós, Unamuno, Valle-Inclán, and García Lorca; the artist against the state (poets, essayists, and novelists under the Franco regime); the commitments of the avant-garde. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or instructor's permission.

Major cinematic movements in Latin America and/or Spain: their influence and their relationship to literary and cultural issues. Possible topics include: the art of adaptation of narrative to film or Spanish surrealism. Two 90-minute seminars. Prerequisite: 207 or instructor's permission.

The development of the novel and short story, as art forms, from 19th-century realism to the avant-garde of the 1920s and 1930s. An analysis of literary problems and their historical background, drawing on the works of Galdós, Clarín, Unamuno, Baroja, Valle-Inclán, Miró, and others. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or equivalent.

Special attention to its European context. Course may focus on a few important essayists (such as Ortega, Unamuno, d'Ors, and Zambrano) or may trace the development of an influential idea (such as the function of art, the individual and the masses) or map the characteristics of a certain period. One three-hour seminar. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or equivalent.

Poetry from the late 19th century to the Spanish Civil War, considering modernismo and the generations of '98 and '27 in relation to European symbolism and the avant-garde. One three hour seminar. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or equivalent.

Major themes, forms, and techniques in Latin American novels and short stories. Close analysis of texts by Borges, Rulfo, García Márquez, Bolaño, Vallejo, and others. Consideration will be given to historical contexts and contemporary ideological currents. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or instructor's permission.

An introduction to the major poets and poetic trends in modern Latin America and the Caribbean, with emphasis on Martí, Darío, Huidobro, Vallejo, Mistral, Neruda, Palés Matos, Borges, and Saer. Special attention also to the rich oral traditions represented by popular genres such as boleros, tango, nueva canción and rock, and particularly the work of Silvio Rodríguez, Violeta Parra, Rubén Blades, Tite Curet Alonso, and Charly García available in audio recordings or videos. Two 90-minute seminars. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or equivalent.

Symbolic systems and social life in specific historical eras. Topics will vary. Recent courses include, for example, magic, art, and science in Renaissance culture, political discourse and nationalism, culture and inequality, history of technology, and the rhetoric of new media.