Spanish Major Courses Offered - Fall 2006
250 Gateway to the Spanish-Speaking World (GE: WRI)
How do you begin to get into the midset of another culture? How do individuals relate to a society as a whole? We'll start to answer these questions with respect to the Spanish-speaking world in this course by exploring different stories and documents about families in Spain from the early 1900s through 2006. We will work on strategies of academic reading in Spanish through analysis of a series of "cultural texts" -- from statistical data to periodical press articles to films to a novel. You will respond to these texts and develop your skills in Spanish through class discussions and oral activities, and most importantly, through various modes of academic writing. The course includes participation in out-of-class conversation groups.
Novel: Historia de una maestra (Josephina R. Aldecoa)
Films: La lengua de las mariposas, Eres mi heroe, Pidele cuentas al Rey
272 Cultural Heritage of Latin America
This course invites students to sense, measure and understand the consequences of Columbus's voyages which ultimately gave birth to an array of utopias and dreams that resulted in a variety of hybrid cultures, changes the ethnic composition of the "New World," and opened and developed lines of commerce that helped set the stage for the coming industrial revolution and modified the Western World's diet.
This virtual trip begins with an overview of Latin America's topographical features and a discussion of its ethnic composition. Then, it continues with the "discovery," the conquest and colonization of the New World, and moves on to Independence and the national period, from 19th century to the present.
By studying the most significant of Latin America's events, places, dates, and names, students will learn about Latin America's languages, cultures, and civilizations and will gain insight into the hopes and fears, dreams, joys and sorrows, of a creative, talented, industrious people, with a remarkable power of endurance.
Tentative Course Material
Carlos A Loprete, Iberoamerica: historia de su civilizacion y su cultura (2001) (subject to change)
Carlos Fuentes, El espejo enterrado (1994 / book & video material)
Material on the Pre-Columbian Civilizations: The Aztecs, The Mayas, The Incas
Articles, Poems & Short-Stories related to the topics above
Video material related to the topics above
A novel by a Spanish American writer related to any of the topics above (to be announced)
- counts as an elective for the Spanish major
- can count as a Latin American course for the Hispanic Studies major
- you are eligible to take 272 in the fall if you have completed 250
- you are not eligible to take 272 if you have previously completed 254
275 Exploring Hispanic Literature
Memory Identity in Latin America (GE: ALS-L)
What is Literature? What can literature tell us about society? How can literature help us understand contemporary Latin America and the ghosts of its past? In this course you will be introduced to the fundamentals of literary analysis as we examine some of Latin America's finest works of literature from significant genres (poetry, short stories, a novel and a play). We will explore the topic of memory and identity in the works of talented authors - some of them Nobel-Prize winners - to discover what they can teach us about such issues as the conquest of the indigenous, the consequences of urbanization and the effects of political violence. What does a society remember about the horrific events of its history, be they long ago, like the Conquest, or the more recent military dictatorship of Pinochet in Chile? How does a society process the effects of rapid transformation such as those brought about by the Mexican Revolution and its ambitious modernization projects? We will study the specific ways that litereary texts can question what a society remembers of its history and how it might come to terms with its past.
A tentative reading list for this course includes poetry by Pablo Neruda, Gabriela Mistral, Cesar Vallejo, Octavio Paz, and Cecelia Vicuna, and short stories by Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vagas Llosa, Elena Garro, Carlos Fuentes and Cristina Peri Rossi. We will read Ariel Dorfman's post-dictatorship play La muerte y la dama and Juan Rulfo's classic novel, Pedro Paramo.
- required for all majors who have not completed any literature course previously
- you are eligible to take 275 in the fall if you have taken 251 & 254 (old Spanish curriculum) or 250 (new Spanish curriculum)
- you are not eleigible if you have completed two or more literature courses on campus (313, 314, 373, 374, 375, 387, 388, and 399)
276 Spanish as a First and Second Language
So, you have been learning Spanish as a second languge for many years, but...have you ever wondered how a second language is learned and acquired> Or have you ever asked yourself why you acquired English "effortlessly" while you really need to work hard at learning Spanish? This course will introduce you to the cognitive and social processes involved in learning Spanish as a first and second language. You will also explore Spanish as a first languge through the study of the history of the Spanish language, the different varieties (dialects) of Spanish spoken in the Spanish-speaking world, as well as the influence of English and other langugaes on Spanish in situations of language contact. Finally, you will have a chance to improve your pronunciation. This course if offered Fall 2006 and Spring 2007.
Koike, Dale A. y Carol A Klee. Linguistica aplicada.
Teschner, Richard V. Camino oral.
Lipsky, John. El espanol de Latinoamerica.
Packet of journal articles.
Allende, Isabel. El plan infinito (a novel).
- required for all majors who have not completed 261 previously
- you are eligible to take 276 in the fall if you have taken 250
- you are not eligible if you have completed 261 or 311 previously
313 Literature and Society in Spain
Madrid: Community, Class, Race, Race, and Space (GE: ALS-L)
Madrid is a city of millions, a capital, and the crossroads to many culyures and and classes of people. In this constantly moving city, authors, artists, anf film director have often used Madrid as the backdrop to tell their stories, yet what does this city represent? How do we "see" Madrid? Can the city be place and character? What role does the city play in the formation of a culture? How has the idea of city changed from the 19th to the 21 st centuries?
In this course, Madrid will be explored and analyzed pushing beyond its physical landscape to explore the city as an active participant in a constantly evolving society. To realize more fully how we understand Madrid and all of its complexities, students will study different difining themes through art, literature, essay, film, and television. Through varied modes of expression, students will able to be better conprehend the importance of Madrid as a cultural phenomenon and as an active agent of change in literature, art, and film.
Tentative Course Material
Misericordia
La novela en tranvia - Benito Perez Galdos (short story)
Historia de una escalera - A. Buero Vallejo
Picospardos - Javier Garcia Maurino-Muzquiz (play)
Ultimas noticias del paraiso - Clara Sanchez
Selected poems and short stories
Selected essays
Selected newspapers and magazine articles
Selected pieces of artworks
- course counts as a required on-campus literature course for the Spanish major
- you are eligible to take 313 in the fall if you have completed 275 (new curriculum) or 251 & 254 and at least on literature course on campus (373, 374, 375, 387, 388, and 399, from the old SPanish curriculum)
315 Comparative "Hispanidades"
Hispanic Literature: Chance, Environment and our Destiny
Among many Americans there is the belief that the individual determines his/her destiny based on hard work and making good choices from among the alternatives that life presents. There is a certain tendency to downplay the influence of the environment -- the circumstances of the person and the actions of others -- on our lives. Through two Latin American novels, two Spanish novels and a play, the play written by a Spaniard living in exile in Buenos Aires, we will explore various forms that environmental influences take and with what results. We will analyze examples of good and bad fortune. This comparative exploration will allow us to think more deeply about the different factors that perhaps influence each of us and limit our free will.
Tentative Course Material
El Sombrero de Tres Picos, Alarcon (ciudadano espanol nacido en Mexico)
Nada, Carmen Laforet (espanola)
Los Pasos Perdidos, Alejo Carpentier (cubano)
Los Arboles Mueren de Pie, Alejandro Casona (espanol exiliado en la Argentina)
La Guerra del Fin del Mundo, Mario Vargas Llosa (peruano)
- course counts as a 300-level elective for the Spanish major
- you are eligible to take 315 in the fall if you have completed 250 and one 270-level course (new curriculum) or 251 & 254 (old Spanish curriculum)
