Spanish Undergraduate Courses
Note: Not all courses listed are offered every semester Students should check the current class schedule for current offerings
Any native speaker wishing to register for a course below the level of SPA 210 must first obtain the permission of the language director.
SPA 101-102 Elementary Spanish 1st-2nd Semester (5-5)
SPA 102 prerequisite: SPA 101 or permission of instructor
For students who have never had Spanish or had one year or less in high school. Fundamentals of Spanish pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar, emphasis on oral proficiency. LEC
SPA 104 Transitional Elementary Spanish (5)
Students who have completed SPA 101 and/or 102 should not register for SPA 104 as no credit will be given for duplicate courses
One-semester review course designed for students who have taken the Regents' exams, but who are not yet able to go into the second year of language study. Involves all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and, to some extent, writing), emphasizing the grammatical structures and vocabulary fundamentals of simple, everyday conversation. LEC
SPA 151-152 Intermediate Spanish 1st-2nd Semester (3-3)
SPA 151 prerequisites: SPA 102 or SPA 104, or three or more years of high school Spanish
SPA 152 prerequisite: SPA 151 or permission of instructor
Grammar and pronunciation review structured around extensive conversation practice; vocabulary expansion through literary and nonliterary readings. LEC
SPA 154 Intensive Intermediate Spanish (5)
Prerequisites: SPA 102 or 104 or permission of instructor
A one-semester accelerated review of grammar and pronunciation structured around extensive conversation and writing practice. Covers, in one semester, the material offered in SPA 151-152. Students who have completed or are registered in Spanish 151 and/or 152 should not register for SPA 154 as no credit will be given for duplicate courses. LEC
SPA 171-172 Elementary Spanish for Heritage Speakers I-II (3-3)
Prerequisite: open to students who have not studied in a school in which Spanish was the language of instruction
Provides intensive practice of basic grammatical patterns and vocabulary expansion through reading and writing in the target language. It aims at teaching standard Spanish to students who learned Spanish at home but have little or no formal instruction in the language. SPA 172 will satisfy the intermediate proficiency requirement for general education. Students who need a fourth semester of a foreign language must continue with SPA 241. LEC
SPA 207-208 Spanish Conversation and Composition (3-3)
SPA 207 prerequisite: SPA 152 or equivalent
SPA 208 prerequisite: SPA 207 or permission of director of undergraduate studies
Oral communication and development of writing skills in Spanish; intensive conversation; writing of themes on contemporary topics; oral participation required. LEC
SPA 210 How to Read a Spanish Text (3)
Prerequisite: SPA 152 or permission of instructor
This course introduces students to the reading, discussion, and analysis of texts written in Spanish. Subjects will include literature (fiction, poetry, drama) and nonfiction (journalism, essay, biography). In addition, the class is designed to provide further language practice and cultural awareness. Evaluation is based on papers, tests, and class participation. Readings and discussion in Spanish. LEC
SPA 215 Intermediate Review of Spanish Grammar (3)
Prerequisite: SPA 152 or permission of director of undergraduate studies
Review of troublesome grammatical points through oral and written exercises; oral participation required. LEC
SPA 216 Hispanic Civilization (3)
Prerequisite: intermediate Spanish or three years of high school Spanish
Aims not only to strengthen the student's knowledge of twentieth-century Hispanic cultures and civilizations but also to improve the student's command of spoken and written Spanish. Examines some of the major events and trends of the twentieth century that are helpful in understanding the contemporary scene, including the Mexican Revolution, the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, World Wars I and II, the Spanish Civil War, the ascent of the United States as a global power, and the phenomena of neocolonialism and dependency in developing countries. Emphasizes contemporary issues and movements (from 1972 to the present) relevant to Hispanics in the United States, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, Spain, and South America. Gives students the opportunity to learn how to access cultural information on the Internet. Taught in Spanish. LEC
SPA 225 Spanish Language Through Theatre (3)
We will read Spanish and Spanish-American one-act plays whose dialogue will familiarize students with common expressions that reinforce difficult grammatical constructions. The chief objectives of the course include imporving the students' correctness and fluency in Spanish, increasing knowledge of certain aspects of Spanish culture, and stimulating critical thinking. Textbook: En un acto: diez piezas hispanoamericanas, edited by Frank Dauster and Leon Lyday
SPA 241 Spanish for Bilinguals (3)
Further development of reading and writing skills of heritage speakers of Spanish; spelling and style; grammar review; expository writing. Satisfies fourth-semester foreign language requirement for those who have completed SPA 171-172. SEM
SPA 301 Survey of Spanish Literature: Middle Ages to Seventeenth Century (3)
This courses is an introduction to medieval and early modern Peninsular Spanish literature. It presents literary texts that are exemplary of their historical moments, artistic movements, and fundamental concepts of literary analysis. The class includes extended reflections on certain repeating themes, including cultural diversity, heroism, honor, and the interaction of ideology and literature. In some cases we will also give consideration to the ways in which early texts have been “recycled” to contribute to a modern sense of “Spanish” identity. LEC
SPA 302 Survey of Spanish Literature: Eighteenth Century to Present (3)
Designed to introduce the student to the major cultural trends and some important literary works of modern Spanish literature. Class lectures present general background information on the artistic movements, philosophical vogues, and historical events that have directly contributed to the course of Spanish literature of the past three centuries. We read and discuss works by such authors as Bécquer, Galdós, Pardo Bazán, Unamuno, Lorca, Cela, and Martín Gaite. LEC
SPA 303 Romanticism and Realism in Spain (3)
An examination of the 19th Century in Spain and by extension, Western culture as a whole, in which we will focus on Romanticism as a defining moment at the beginning of
this period and Realism as the crowning achievement when high modernity is reached. Poetry, drama, essays, and fiction will be included, showing the impact of new ideas
by Marx, Darwin, Krause, and Zola, and the first sparks of democracy and feminism on the Iberian Peninsula. Two papers, two tests, a presentation, and other shorter
assignments will be used for assessment. Part of the course credit entails attendance and regular participation in class discussions. Three credits. LEC.
SPA 304 Early Spanish American Literature (3)
Covers works from the time of the encounter between Spain and the Americas and from the colonial period. Study of texts emphasizes cultural and historical issues. LEC
SPA 305 Spanish Literature of the Middle Ages (3)
The standard curriculum for Spanish literature of the Middle Ages is often organized as a function of the so called "Reconquista," a historigraphic term that heralds the alleged triumph of a Christian nation over Moorish tribalism. Such an approach neglects to take into account the rich history of the arts and letters of the Iberian contact zone, a rich and complex frontier world that was systematically reduced over a period of half a millennium by the advance of the Castilian war machine over the Muslim kingdoms of Al-Andalus. This course will attempt to place into proper context the intellectual traditions of Medieval Iberian peoples by studying the history of thought and the lettered traditions of all the peoples of Hispania/Isbaniyya, including not just the Romance literatures of the Christian kingdoms, but also the long and important history of Arabic and Hebrew letters, as well as the literary traditions of the frontier peoples, all of whom lived and fought for the land that would later become known as Spain. In the process we will question the proto-national Christian literary cannon by reading its "foundational" texts from the vantage point of the frontier world. LEC
SPA 310 Introduction to Literary Criticism (3)
This course will introduce students to a variety of theoretical models employed in literary criticism. We will read theoretical texts, and then explore the ways in which such readings can inform critical analyses of literary works. Theoretical readings will be in English. Literary texts will be in Spanish. LEC
SPA 311 Survey of Spanish American Literature (3)
This course will introduce the field of Spanish American literature in a historical and cultural context. Key questions: what kinds of literature have been produced (and consumed in the countries of Latin America where Spanish is spoken, and how has the diversity of "Latin America" manifested over the centuries? We will read representative literary texts (poetry, theatre, novel and short story, essay) with an eye toward explicating them. Short papers, exams. Course is conducted in Spanish. LEC
SPA 313 Advanced Grammar (3)
Practice in areas in Spanish grammar that are problematic for the English speaker (e.g., the subjunctive/indicative distinction, preterite vs. imperfect, etc.) through genre-based reading and writing exercises. LEC
SPA 314 Advanced Composition and Conversation (3)
Develops advanced grammatical and writing skills through literary and nonliterary translations from English to Spanish and vice versa.(3)
SPA 315 Advanced Writing for Native Speakers I (3)
Prerequisite: SPA 241
For native speakers of Spanish; practice in developing and sustaining forms of complex writing in Spanish. LEC
SPA 316 Advanced Writing for Native Speakers II (3)
Prerequisite: SPA 315
Continuation of SPA 315. LEC
SPA 317 Spanish Literature of the Golden Age (3)
Golden Age of Spanish culture refers to the period stretching roughly from the end of the sixteenth to the beginning of the seventeenth centuries, a time identified by many historians and scholars today as the dawn of the modern age. Examines this "early modernity" through careful attention to the works of such authors as Miguel de Cervantes, Francisco de Quevedo, Lope de Vega, and Calderón de la Barca. LEC
SPA 320 Contemporary Spanish American Literature (3)
Study of the principal characteristics of contemporary Spanish American literature, centered in the analysis of poems and short stories. LEC
La Revolucion Cubana (1959-) provoco varios movimientos historiccos contrariados a lo largo de las proximas tres decadas. Por un lado, la inteligencia intellectual latinoamericana--- generalmente de la izquierda politicamente—considero el surgimiento de Fidel Castro como una coyuntura historica senalando la llegada de una nueva epoca de independencia latinoamericana. Pore so, en los anos 60 se nota en el campo de la literature un optimismo, entusiasmo y idealismo patente---una esperanza para el futuro de la region. Por otro lado, sin embargo, el regimen comunista en Cuba tambien causo reacciones muy fuertes por parte del derecho politico, mas que nada en los sectores militares. Los Estados Unidos—ya en medio de su Guerra Fria con la Union Sovietica---promovio programas de contrainsurgencia y entrenamiento military, guiados por la presencia clandestine de la CIA en todos partes de America Latina. Y en el momento de cualquier crisis politica o economica, los ejercitos latinoamericanos respondieron con golpesde estado y el establecimiento de regimens dictatoriales. En fin, los anos entre 1964-1995 estan marcados por la caida de democracies—y la imposicion de dictaduras militares que mantenian su poder por medio de la intimidacion y la tortura de sus ciudadanos.
La lista de golpes militares es espantosa: Brasil (1964), Uruguay (1972), Chile (1976) y Argentina (1976) entre otros. Y el nivel de tortura y violencia utilizado por los militares er tan alto y brutal que se empazaron a llamarlo la “Guerra Sucia.”
Eneste curso vamos a trazar tales transiciones historicas de la epoca contemporanea por medio de la literature. ¿Como era la reaccion de artistas latinoamericanos en frente de la disolucion de sus suenos para el futuro, y el camienzo de una pesadilla historica? ¿Como trataron de meterse en la historia para cambiar la situacion de sus pueblos?
Vamos a centrarnos en la experiencia del llamado Como Sur (Argentina, Chile y Uruguay), aunque pasaremos por la literature centroamericana si el tiempo permita.
SPA 323 Business Spanish (3)
The emphasis of this course is on the acquisition of Spanish vocabulary for the business world. Some attention will be given to practical situations such as the composition of business letters, invoices, tax forms, etc. Business practices and customs will be discussed, as well as short readings and translations of articles on financial subjects. In addition to written exercises and examination, students will be expected to develop short oral presentations individually or in groups. Students will write a final research paper. Course will be taught in Spanish. LEC
SPA 325 Phonetics (3)
The course is intended as an introduction to the sound pattern of Spanish, emphasizing differences with the sound pattern of English and focusing on Spanish pronunciation phenomena that should be mastered by native speakers of English if their goal is to approximate as much as possible a native Spanish pronunciation. The textbook for the course will be one written by the instructor which includes an audio program. Using the audio program outside class should help those of you who are native speakers of English. We will do many of the exercises in class also. If you are not a native speaker of English, I hope that you will find the information in the course interesting for its own sake. Those of you planning to teach Spanish as a second language to English-speaking students might benefit from what you will learn here. You will also learn how to transcribe Spanish words and sentences using the International Phonetic Alphabet. LEC
SPA 327 Spanish Culture and Civilization (3)
History, geography, art, architecture, music, cuisine, and customs of Spain. LEC
This course explores the history of Spanish civilization, with a progression through Prehistoric and Classical Iberia, the Medieval Convivencia of Christians, Jews, and Arabs, the Renaissance, Baroque, Enlightenment, Modern and Postmodern Eras. Attention will be focused on artistic expression as well as on social and political developments, including art history and architecture, music, film and literature.
Discussions, writing assignments, and most reading assignments will be in Spanish.
SPA 328 Spanish American Culture and Civilization (3)
This is an interdisciplinary course, conducted in Spanish, and spanning the entire breath of cultural and historical experience of Spanish American civiliazation, from pre-Columbian times in the New World and the Old, to the present. The course will explore a wide variety of expressions, ranging from politics, literature and architecture, music and the arts, to popular culture, religion and high theory, delving into the puzzling world of what Anibal Quijano calls the "coloniality of power" and its contestation.
SPA 330 Spanish American Themes (3)
Some of the most important themes in Spanish American life through selected readings (The Indian; Emancipation and Revolution; Country and City; Education: The University Reform of 1918), music, song, and dance. The majority of the readings that illustrate the themes are literary works but their content deals with historical, political, sociological, anthropological, educational, and artistic matters. LEC
SPA 333 Intensive Communicative Spanish Abroad (3) (Su)
Prerequisite: two semesters of intermediate Spanish or the equivalent
Intensive oral and written practice in Spanish for participants in the department's summer program at the University of Salamanca in Spain. LEC
SPA 350 Spanish American Short Story (3)
Involves the study of theories on the short story and their application to selected works of Isabel Allende, Juan José Arreola, María Luisa Bombal, Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Gabriel García Márquez, Horacio Quiroga, Juan Rulfo, Arturo Uslar Pietri, and others. Conducted in Spanish. LEC
SPA 360 Spanish American Literature in Translation (3)
Prerequisite: ENG 201
In this course we will examine the writings of authors from Spanish America. Themes for discussion include: machismo, feminism, sexuality, gender, colonialism, reality/fantasy, absurdism, and magical realism. We will read novels by Adolfo Caminha, Reinaldo Arenas, Jorge Luis Borges, Alejo Carpentier, Carlos Fuentes, Sylvia Molloy, Virgilio Piñera, Manuel Puig, Edgardo Rodríguez Juliá, Juan Rulfo, Luis Rafael Sánchez, Severo Sarduy, and Luis Zapata. LEC The course will be conducted in English.
SPA 361 Spanish Literature in Translation (3)
Prerequisite: ENG 201
Study of English versions of major works by Spanish authors. LEC
SPA 382 Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Theory (3)
In this course we will examine what contemporary research has to say about second language acquisition, how it differs from first language acquisition and what factors facilitate it or impede it. since the course is not language-specific, all readings are in English. Course format will be a flexible combination of lecturing, small-group discussion, and student presentations. There will be one objective test taken in class without notes or materials and several take-home tests emphasizing problem solving and critical thinking. You will also have to write a short paper on your experiences as a second language learner. There will be no final exam.
SPA 383 The Folktale in Spanish Literature (3)
Content, structure, and function of the traditional types of the folktale; ramifications into other literary genres between the Middle Ages and the eighteenth century in Spain. LEC
SPA 405 The Quijote (3)
Introduces students to questions of life, literature, and art in the time of Cervantes and to the meaning these problems can have for us today. Stresses the importance of genre as a means of interpretation. Attention is given as to how modern feminist studies impact the experience of reading and understanding a literary text. LEC
SPA 406 Early Twentieth-Century Spanish Literature (3)
Historic and aesthetic backgrounds and selected readings of the works of Unamuno, Valle-Inclán, Azorín, Baroja, A. Machado, and others. All literary genres (poetry, drama, novel) are treated. Special emphasis is given to the theme of Spain, its history, and its myths as they were recreated by these writers. LEC
SPA 407 Contemporary Literature of Spain (3)
We begin with the controversial fiction of the most recent Spanish Nobel in Literature, Camilo José Cela, then sample the work of writers who have made their mark in Spanish letters over the last twenty years: Javier Marías, Eduardo Mendoza, and Cristina Fernández Cubas. We will also consider the relationship between literature and other cultural discourses such as nonfiction, film, and popular media. LEC
SPA 408 History of Spanish Cinema (3)
Prerequisites: two years of college Spanish or the equivalent; completion of, or concurrent enrollment in a 200-level Spanish course; one literary survey course recommended
Introduces Spanish film history, including renowned directors, the current scene, and the principles of film theory. Accompanying readings deal with cinema as an integral part of the Spanish cultural heritage. Class discussions conducted in Spanish. LEC
SPA 409 Age of Lorca (3)
Centered on García Lorca's poetry and theatre, the course deals with one of the most important poetic groups in Hispanic letters and in twentieth-century European literature: the so-called Generation of 1927 (Lorca, Salinas, Guillén, Diego, Alexandre, Alberti, Cernuda). Several important avant-garde movements, such as surrealism, are studied, as well as currents in the contemporary period. LEC
SPA 411 Spanish American Novel (3)
Prerequisite: SPA 210 or SPA 310
We will begin this course by learning about the literary strategies necessary to read novels. We will also situate each of the novels in their social and historical context and examine the characteristics that allow critics to classify them within one or more of the subsequent literary movements: Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism.
The 19th century novels we will read -- Clemencia by Ignacio Altamirano (México), Doña Bárbara by Rómulo Gallegos (Venezuela), Sab by Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda (Cuba), María by Jorge Isaacs (Colombia), and Amalia by José Mármol (Argentina) -- traditionally have been referred to as "novelas de la tierra" or "novelas regionales," and more recently as "foundational fictions." According to Carlos J. Alonso these novels are labeled "novelas de la tierra" by critics who have considered them "to be the coarse, unfinished foundation of the structure, whose principal function is to give support to the building erected on them." The purpose behind the classification is "to identify in them everything that present-day Latin American literature has transcended, has left behind on its way to achieving its currrent preeminence."
The format of the class will consist primarily of discussions about the particularities of each novel. However, because they were written at a time when the question of nationality was a vital topic around the world, I will give short presentations on the intellectual ideas regarding nation formation and the engendered nation by critics and theorists such as Benedict Anderson, Doris Sommer, Anthony D. Smith, Ida Blom, Karen Hagemann, and others. LEC
SPA 413 Grammar: Writing and Translation (3)
Development of advanced grammatical and writing skills through literary and nonliterary translations from English to Spanish and vice versa. LEC
SPA 415 Spanish-American Poetry (3)
In this course we will explore the poetry of Spanish America, concentrating primarily on that of the twentieth century. Since we cannot think of poetry without also thinking of the voice, we will be looking at the ways Latin American poets have attempted to create a distinctly American voice. Especially as we enter into the contemporary era, the creation of this American voice also seems to accompany the dissolution of traditional poetic values. Our exploration in this course will therefore require two ways of looking at poetry: First, a formal method, whereby we understand the traditional rules of writing and reading poetry so that we can learn how to break these rules; and second, a historical method, whereby we understand how even the most abstract poetry relates to its moment in society and history. LEC
SPA 416 Spanish American Theatre (3)
Prerequisite: SPA 210 or SPA 310
Read and analyze ten plays while examining the following literary movements: realism, vanguardism, the Theatre of the Absurd, metatheatre, and postmodernism. Students use their Spanish speaking skills, as class participation is strongly encouraged. SEM
SPA 421 Introduction to Spanish Linguistics (3)
This course is an introduction to the basic methodology and results of modern linguistics, mostly within the framework of generative grammar. The focus is on developing, evaluating, and improving hypotheses concerning the structure of the language user’s unconscious linguistic knowledge. You will be asked to learn some basic linguistic concepts and terminology (for example, what linguists understand by universal grammar, or what recursivity is). However, the emphasis is on techniques of analysis for linguistic problem-solving rather than on theoretical ideas or facts about particular languages. The empirical domain will be the Spanish language. The goal of the course is not so much to accumulate specific facts about Spanish grammar, as to learn tools of linguistic analysis that would allow us to develop hypothesis to better understand the structure of Spanish as well as its relationship to other human languages. LEC
SPA 422 History of the Spanish Language (3)
Traces the progressive changes that Spanish grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and pronunciation have undergone during the past 2,000 years, pointing out interesting parallels between Spanish and its sister Romance languages (French, Portuguese, and Italian) in their common evolution from Latin. The course has a strong historical focus and accounts for many of the linguistic changes in the light of political, cultural, and socioeconomic events, such as the eight centuries of Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula. Taught in Spanish. LEC
SPA 423 Cervantes: Novel and Drama (3)
Focuses on Cervantes' dramatic and shorter prose works, including the Novelas Ejemplares, the Comedias, and the Entremeses. LEC
SPA 435 Mexican Film (3)
This course explores how directors avail themselves of techniques such as camera angles, lighting, and composition to produce specific emotions and to further a particular ideological stance. According to G. Scott Owen, film viewers are conditioned "to interpret the cameras 'eye level' as containing meaning," and to expect the camera to show that level of horizon lest it appear "sinister" to them. Therefore, we will look at how Mexican films deviate from established norms to jolt audiences out of complacency in order to encourage critical viewing. Within this context, we will examine how historical events--such as the Mexican Revolution (1910) and the massacre of Tlatelolco (1968)--as well as Mexican culture and identity are represented in these films. Finally, when pertinent, we will discuss the aesthetic, thematic, and ideological relationship of the films to the novels on which they are based. Some of the films we will watch include: "Pedro Páramo" (1967 or 1973), "El bulto" (1991), "Rojo amanecer" (1992), "Como agua para chocolate" (1992), "El Jardín del Edén" (1994), "Entre Pancho Villa y una mujer desnuda" (1995), "Cilantro y Perejil (1995), "Amores perros" (2000), "Demasiado amor" (2001), "Y tu mamá también" (2001) and "El crimen del padre Amaro" (2002). Note: Most of the films are for mature audiences. This class will be taught in Spanish. LEC
SPA 440 Caribbean Short Stories (3)
In this course we will examine the short fiction of authors from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. Themes for discussion include: machismo, feminism, sexuality, gender, colonialism, reality/fantasy, absurdism, and magic realism. We will read short stories by Reinaldo Arenas, Juan Bosch, Calvert Casey, Rosario Ferré, Magali García Ramis, Asela Gutiérrez Kann, Alfonso Hernández-Catá, Carmen Lugo Filipi, Jacobo Morales, Virgilio Piñera, Lucia Quintero, Mervin Román, Luis Rafael Sánchez, and Ana Lydia Vega.
The course will be conducted in Spanish. Prerequisite: junior/senior standing and open only to students who have taken at least two courses at the 300/400 level. SEM
SPA 444 Special Topics Abroad (3) (Su)
Spanish civilization: history, geography, literature, art, culture. For participants in the department's summer program at the University of Salamanca. LEC
SPA 449 (3) Special Topics: Spanish Women Writers (3)
An examination of women writers in Spain from Early Modernity to the present, including poetry, fiction, plays, and essays, as well as cultural texts illustrating the effect of
gender roles. Students will become able to identify the major Spanish women writers throughout the ages, name the works for which they are known, and describe the
historical and social contexts in which they wrote. Readings for each class meeting will be assigned from the course bibliography. Students will complete two tests and two
papers, participate in class discussions based on the readings and supplementary cultural texts, conduct a dramatization and a short oral presentation on a selected topic.
Three credits. LEC.
SPA 450 Special Topics 2: Spanglish (3)
Spanglish is one of the terms used to refer to a conversational strategy that native speakers of both Spanish and English oftentimes use in within-group linguistic exchanges. Far from being an oddity, varieties equivalent to Spanglish involving other languages are common around the world, oftentimes included in the wider set of code-switching phenomena. For some, Spanglish is the result of clumsy and ineffective learning, a threat to the beauty, dignity and unity of both Spanish and English languages, and therefore should be condemned. Yet others think that it is just the most natural way bilingual speakers have to communicate, a source of identity and pride, and it should therefore be cleansed from any negative connotations and even commended. We will examine both positions, and we will also see how from the perspective of modern linguistics we can see varieties like Spanglish as a privileged window into the grammar of both languages, a magnificent opportunity to investigate ways in which the grammars of multilingual speakers differ from those of monolingual ones, and moreover, a laboratory in which to observe known processes of language change in action. LEC
SPA 451 Catalán (3)
Modern Catalán syntax; readings in contemporary fiction and poetry; for those familiar with the grammar of another Romance language; oral participation required. LEC
SPA 452 Special Topics: Spain, Portugal and the World (3)
Crosslisted with History 338
This course is a broad historical survey of the Iberian Peninsula from prehistory to the present. Significant attention will be given to the following topics: the complex cultural and religious interactions of medieval period; the rise and historical development of the Spanish and Portuguese empires; the numerous crises to beset the peninsula in the modern period; and the return of stability and prosperity over the last half-century. In addition to a general text, students will read several primary documents in translation, which will form the basis of essay assignments and an in-class exam. Finally, students will be asked to contemplate the methodological implications of studying a single region over a long period, and consider the extent to which such an approach can help us to understand contemporary Iberian civilization. MOD
SPA 453 Comparative Romance Linguistics (3)
The similarities and differences between the three major Romance languages will be examined from several standpoints, including their linguistic development from Latin and the historic or social factors that encouraged (and inhibited) their development.
The course will take up issues such as "natural" vs. "directed" language change, the construction of national linguistic norms, and the effects of institutions such as education and the media. "Sister" languages, such as Catalan and Occitan will also be presented. An introduction to the resources available in the library will prepare students to do their own brief comparisons of selected lexical items in the three languages. This course will be taught in English. LEC
SPA 454 Special Topics: Spanish Sociolinguistics (3)
Course Description: This course is an introduction to sociolinguistic theory and research. We will study principles of how languages change and vary with particular emphasis on Spanish. These principles will be examined against social variables that affect the progress or delay of linguistic changes. Students will read excerpts of research conducted on Spanish changes and will also perform short research projects in which these principles will be investigated. The course will be taught in Spanish.
SPA 455 Spanish Phonology (3)
We will look at the sound system of contemporary Spanish mainly from the viewpoint of generative theory but making special reference to sociolinguistic variation. The course takes the position that Spanish is a set of historically related dialects: we will look closely at dialectal variation in the Americas, including U.S. Spanish dialects. We will also examine the applications of phonology for the teaching of Spanish as a second language to native speakers of American English.
There will be several quizzes and at least three tests: one taken in class and at least two take-home. Tests will emphasize critical thinking and problem solving.
The course is taught in Spanish but paper and tests may be written in English. You may ask questions in English in class.
Dual-Listed with:
SPA 555
Reg. # 468753
SPA 456 Spanish Syntax (3)
Introduction to the contemporary semantically based analysis of Spanish sentence structure. We will look primarily at grammatical case and voice in the light of semantic-role theory. Topics will include role/case relationships in actives and passives, the semantic structure of pronominal constructions (reflexives, impersonal se and passive se), the semantic-role analysis of the ser/estar distinction, and the syntax and semantics of psych verbs (e.g. gustar). We will also look at the syntax and semantics of complex sentences with special reference to mood in dependent clauses (subjunctive vs. indicative in noun and relative clauses) and cleft constructions.
You will have to write at least three take-home exams emphasizing data analysis and critical thinking. There will be no paper and no final exam. The course will be taught in Spanish. Readings will be in English and Spanish. A good knowledge of Spanish is expected. LEC
SPA 488 Undergraduate Literature Seminar Abroad (3)
Major figures, works, and/or movements in Spanish literature; for participants in the department's summer program at the University of Salamanca. SEM
SPA 499 Independent Study (var)
Open only to students who have taken at least two courses at the 300/400 level and have a minimum grade of "B" in their Spanish major or minor. Students must design a course of study they want to undertake in one semester. They choose a professor whose area of expertise most closely approximates their topic and must consult with the professor prior to registering for the course. The topic must not duplicate the content of a regular course. TUT