SPN - Spanish

SPN 101 Elementary Spanish Language and Cultures

This introductory, fully immersive course teaches foundational grammar and vocabulary in meaningful contexts and introduces the geography and cultures of the diverse Spanish-speaking world. Communicative activities and assignments build listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills. Authentic multimedia materials help students learn about and value cultural perspectives other than their own. SPN 101-102 are taken consecutively.

3

Prerequisites

Completed mandatory language placement exam (unless student is a true beginner of this language)

SPN 102 Elementary Spanish Language and Cultures

The second half of the year-long introductory, fully immersive course continues to build foundational grammar and vocabulary in meaningful contexts and introduce the geography and cultures of the diverse Spanish-speaking world. Listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills are built through communicative activities and authentic materials. Students who complete this sequence learn about and value cultural perspectives other than their own.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 101 with a grade of C- or higher

SPN 105 Accelerated Beginning Spanish

This class provides students with the opportunity to learn a full year of Spanish in six weeks with the advantage of intensive study, which promotes greater retention. Students will practice verb conjugations and usage, gain proficiency skills, and learn key grammatical concepts.

6

SPN 201 Intermediate Spanish Language and Cultures

Students increase listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills while advancing knowledge of vocabulary, geography, and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. Foundational grammar concepts are solidified through multimedia content, communicative activities, and projects. Students learn to identify components of other cultural perspectives and value other worldviews. SPN 201-202 are taken as a comprehensive, consecutive sequence.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 102 with a grade of C- or higher or completion of mandatory language placement exam

SPN 202 Intermediate Spanish Language and Cultures

As students complete the intermediate sequence, they solidify foundational grammar concepts and strengthen communicative skills in listening, reading, writing, and speaking. This immersion class engages students in the culture through work on projects and with authentic texts. By the end of the sequence, students will be able to identify components of other cultural perspectives and value other worldviews in comparison to their own.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 201 with a grade of C- or higher or completion of mandatory language placement exam

SPN 205 Accelerated Intermediate Spanish Language and Culture

Course will offer students an opportunity to immerse themselves in the Spanish language and strengthen their linguistic and relevant cultural skills. Follows SPN 102 and will build on the concepts covered at the introductory level. This intensive class substitutes for SPN 201-202, thus making it possible to complete the language requirement in the CAS B.A. core curriculum.

6

SPN 290 Directed Study

Credit arranged.

Variable

SPN 301 Advanced Spanish: Art and Soc in Latin Am and Spain I

Spanish 301 and 302 are bridges to all upper-division Spanish courses and develop advanced writing and conversation skills. Grammar review, reading, vocabulary building, and class discussion lead to essays and presentations on relevant cultural topics. Students will be able to recognize other cultural perspectives and use them in interactions in target language. These courses may be taken in any order.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 202 or 302 with a grade of C- or higher, or a score of 71% and above on Spanish placement test

SPN 302 Advanced Spanish: Art and Soc in Latin Am and Spain II

Spanish 301 and 302 are bridges to all upper-division Spanish courses and develop advanced writing and conversation skills. Grammar review, reading, vocabulary building, and class discussion lead to essays and presentations on relevant cultural topics. Students will be able to recognize other cultural perspectives and use them in interactions in target language. These courses may be taken in any order.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 202 or 301 with a grade of C- or higher, or a score of 71% and above on Spanish placement test

SPN 306 Advanced Spanish Grammar

Intense review of Spanish grammar which will benefit those who have a high proficiency in the language and need a thorough review of concepts in order to enhance writing, reading, oral, and speaking skills. Of special benefit to education majors who seek a Spanish endorsement and will be teaching the language at the elementary or secondary level.

3

SPN 308 Advanced Spanish for Heritage Speakers

SPN 308 is a bridge to upper-division Spanish courses that advances heritage speakers' writing, reading, and presentational skills. For bilingual and bicultural students, the course emphasizes Hispanic cultures in the U.S. Students will be able to recognize other cultural perspectives and use them in interactions in target language. Students self-select for this course and take it instead of SPN 301-302.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 202 with a grade of C- or higher, or a score of 71% and above on Spanish placement test and instructor's approval.

SPN 330 Together and Apart: Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Medieval Spain

This course examines the variable relationships between Christians, Jews, and Muslims in medieval Spain, when the proximity of these distinct cultures enriched each one in ways rarely seen since then. Analysis of primary and secondary literary and historical texts will address the coexistence and even flourishing of these three cultures, as well as tensions that eventually undermined their centuries-long collaboration.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 331 Faith, Fervor, and Fear in Golden Age Spain

This course studies cultural production during the Spanish Golden Age of the 1500s and 1600s. Readings and discussions will examine issues including love and its attendant emotions, religious identity, societal honor, attitudes towards death, and the perspectives of female authors and characters. Students will relate their understanding of Renaissance and Baroque literature to the 21st century and their own experiences.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 340 Donjuans and Domineering Mothers in Contemporary Spanish Theatre

Dramas, tragedies, and comedies illuminate stasis, change, and conflict in Spanish society across four centuries. Focused on the individual's struggle for rights against the reassertion of traditional social mores, we study the (re)formation of gender identities with a special focus on womanizers and maternal monsters. Activities include close reading of text, frequent writing, and live theater performance by students for oral practice.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 341 Twenty-First Century Spanish Literature

Short stories, essays, novel excerpts, poems (including readings from mass culture), and films present Spain's most recent artistic production to explore diverse aspects of Spanish society such as urban life, gender identity formation, and consumerism. This course offers introductory skills to literary and cultural analysis as well as continued advanced grammar review.
3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 350 Latin American Women's Voices

This course aims to deepen students’ understanding of the historical and cultural transformations in Latin America through the experiences, artistic productions, and testimonies of women whose actions were crucial to social changes. It has a multidisciplinary approach that includes traditional literary texts and visual and performative forms of expression. Course embeds grammar to build advanced reading and writing skills.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 351 Latin American Cinema

This course introduces students to major directors of Latin America and examines the various cultural and national issues that these artists explore in their films. The course includes a basic introduction to the technical aspects of filmmaking and terminology used to analyze films. It also aims to improve students’ writing and reading skills.
3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 360 Literature and Culture of Contemporary Mexico

Through the study of different cultural manifestations such as literature, film, music, comics, painting, cuisine, and folklore this course introduces students to significant aspects of Mexican history, sociocultural traits, and current affairs that have shaped the country and its people. This class also focuses on literary analysis, interpretation, and refining advanced writing skills.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 361 Latin America through its Story Tellers

Close reading of short stories by prominent contemporary Latin American writers with the goal of enhancing reading comprehension and improving grammatical accuracy in writing, while enhancing understanding of the cultures and history of the region. The course focuses on vocabulary building, linguistic analysis, and literary interpretation, in order to acquire a deeper understanding of how the Spanish language carries meaning.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 367 Culture of Ecuador

This course introduces students to Ecuador’s present-day culture and society. To achieve this goal, the course covers significant aspects of Ecuadorian history, sociocultural traits, and current affairs that provide students with some of the fundamental facts and information that have shaped the country and its people. This course is offered in the Quito, Ecuador, Summer Program.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 202

SPN 380 Medical and Public Health Spanish

Course is designed for students in professional programs who need a thorough review of oral and written Spanish language skills in addition to specific terminology related to health and social issues: immigration, education, employment, workers' compensation, and domestic violence, and their influence in Latino health and medical services.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 430 Cervantes: Don Quixote and Beyond

This course studies the literary production of Miguel de Cervantes, one of the most iconic writers of the Spanish Golden Age. Students will read selections of his great masterpiece, Don Quixote de la Mancha, as well as examples of his lesser-known but equally important work in other genres, including plays, shorter fiction, dramatic interludes, and the pastoral novel.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 440 Young Survivors in Spanish Civil War Fiction and Film

This course focuses on the representation of the Spanish Civil War’s aftermath in fiction and film from 1939 to today in order to identify the strategies writers and filmmakers used to avoid censorship under the dictatorship, to recount the past during the pact of silence, and to break the silence after the Law of Historical Memory was passed in 2007. Special research focus devoted to representations of youth before, during and after the conflict.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 441 Activism and Inertia in Spain Today

After an introduction to Spain's geography, peoples, and system of government, the course examines the broad social, political, and cultural trends which define Spain today through historical, literary, and journalistic readings. Readings and films embed special topics such as family, marriage, immigration, youth cultures, and the coastal environment to build vocabulary and support research projects for course.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 450 Special Topics in Latin American Studies

Through the study of different representations such as literature, painting, popular art, film, and music, the course addresses questions of cultural unity and national identity; ethnic and racial heritage and diversity; social and cultural institutions; struggle for social change; and the controversial role of the United States in the politics of Latin America.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 451 Latin American Culture through Literature

An introduction to the literatures and cultures of Latin America from pre-Columbian times to the present. Students will read a variety of works from different periods, regions, and genres, and discuss them in class in the context of the historical moment in which they were produced.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 468 Comparative Health and Social Issues in Ecuador

Students will spend six weeks engaging in services in Quito, Ecuador. The focus is on issues impacting mental, physical, and spiritual well-being of individuals/communities in Ecuador and services designed to address these issues and work for social/economic justice. Comparisons are made to systems in the U.S.  Approval of Studies Abroad Director required.

3

Prerequisites

SOC 101, SPN 301, SPN 302 or equivalent

Cross Listed Courses

SOC 468, SW 468

SPN 469 Latin American Jewish Literature and Culture

This course studies the Jewish experience in Latin America from the colonial era to the present, a time and place where Jews have historically been marginalized or invisible. Readings, discussions, and student production will address the fluidity of Jewish identity, the importance of memory creating this identity, and the oft-antithetical relationship between Jews and non-Jews in Latin America.
3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 480 Introduction to Medical Interpretation

This course offers training in oral interpretation between health care providers and patients, as well as sight translation of healthcare documents. In addition, students will be exposed to the linguistic and cultural background of Spanish-speaking communities in the USA in order to better understand their health issues and medical conditions.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & SPN 302 or SPN 306 or SPN 308

SPN 482 Advanced Spanish through Translation

This course is designed for learners who would like to improve their Spanish and English skills through translation and who want to develop basic translation skills.

3

Prerequisites

SPN 301 & 302, or 306, or 308

SPN 490 Directed Study

Credit Arranged.

Variable

SPN 491 Seminar

Credit Arranged.

Variable

SPN 492 Seminar

Credit arranged.

Variable

SPN 493 Spanish Research

Credit arranged.

Variable

SPN 499 Senior Thesis

Research, study, and original work under the direction of a faculty mentor, leading to a scholarly thesis document with a public presentation of results. Requires approval of thesis director, department chair, dean, and the director of the honors program, when appropriate.

Variable

Prerequisites

Senior standing; 3.0 G.P.A. in the thesis area, or good standing in the honors program.