• Elementary Spanish Courses

SPAN 110 Fundamentals of Spanish I

An intensive language course which teaches the basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing the language. This course also includes relevant cultural material.

SPAN 120 Fundamentals of Spanish II

Continues the development of the four basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This course also serves as a brief introduction to the study of culture and literature.

• Intermediate Spanish Courses

SPAN 210 Conversation and Composition

This course further develops language skills and introduces students to textual analysis and literary composition.

• Advanced Spanish Courses

Span 315: Hispanic Foods and Cultures

Through the theoretical framework of food studies, this course focuses on different Hispanic and pre-Hispanic cultures and identities, and how they relate to food and tradition. The course, conducted in Spanish, features a wide breath of countries and cultures across time. As part of this course, students will demonstrate awareness to equitably engage with and be inclusive of people from Hispanic cultures. Students will engage with journal articles, essays, literary excerpts, videos, movies, and documentaries.      

Span 325: Hispanic Cultural Studies and Media

Through the theoretical framework of cultural studies, this course focuses on different forms of media produced in Hispanic cultures. The course, conducted in Spanish, features a wide breath of countries and cultures. Students will engage with a variety of media from different countries and cultures including journal articles, newspaper articles, literary excerpts, podcasts, art, protest songs, short films, advertisements, comic strips, and television news. In a semester long project, students read and/or listen to news from a Hispanic country of their choosing and present reports to the class. As part of this course, students will demonstrate awareness to equitably engage with and be inclusive of people from Hispanic cultures. 

 Span 348: Graphic Narratives in Conversation

Using the study of comic and graphic narratives as a medium, this course focuses on the student’s ability to express themselves orally through in-depth conversations, discussions, and presentations. This course is designed to strengthen the student’s capacities to comprehend spoken Spanish and to express themselves in Spanish. The graphic narratives that this course explores are contemporary works written by Spanish authors such as Ana Penyas, Paco Roca, Raquel Riba Rossy, Ana Oncina, and Pere Ortín & Nzé Esono Ebale.  

SPAN 370 Love in Modern Short Story

In this course we read contemporary peninsular short stories that deal with love in its various forms, including familial love, romance, sexual and erotic relationships. We examine previously ignored topics in Spanish literature including domestic violence, fetishism and the use of new technologies in personal relationships. Special attention is paid to issues of gender when reading authors such as Lucia Etxebarria, Espido Freire and Jasone Osoro. Some Spanish translations from Galician and Basque-other official languages of Spain-are also treated.

SPAN 405 Queer Literature in Spain

This course explores peninsular Spanish literary production of topics related to queer and gay during the 20th and 21st centuries in Spain. Objectives include acquisition of broad knowledge about LGBTQ works and authors, recognition of the diversity in style and topics of this literary production, and an understanding of the evolution of Spanish gay literature from the early 20th century to the present. Genres treated include novels, essays, poetry and short stories.

SPAN 421 Survey Spanish Literature since 1700

This course is an overview of Spanish literature from the Enlightenment in the 18^th century to the contemporary works. We will start by briefly introducing the style and authors of the 18^th century. Then we will spend some time exploring the literary movements of the 19^th century and its most prominent authors and texts. Finally, we will focus on the historical, social and literary context of the 20^th century. We will study different canonical authors and frame them within their time and context. 

SPAN 488 Echoes of the Spanish Civil War

This course studies the Spanish Civil War using films and texts set during this period. We study not only what happened in Spain from 1936-1939, but also the circumstances that led to the war and the long-term consequences of this conflict. Historical information from before, during and after the war as well as the ideologies of both sides as expressed in songs, anthems and propaganda are examined. Cross-Listed as Literature in translation.

SPAN M41 (Oxford Style Tutorial) Lesbian Literature in Contemporary Spain

This course focuses on contemporary (20th & 21st century) lesbian literature in Spain. Through several articles that analyze lesbian literature and how it emerged, students learn about historical and societal facts that have been critical to the creation of a safe space for lesbian literature to flourish in Spain. Readings include canonical novels, collections of poems, and a short story, all written by five acclaimed authors crucial to the literary subgenre of lesbian literature. These readings inform students of how lesbian literature blossomed free from censorship after Franco's dictatorship. This course is in English and the readings are done in translation.

Tutorial courses, based on an instructional model developed at Oxford University in Oxford, England, feature weekly meetings where two to four students and a faculty member engage deeply in readings, discussion of student papers, or intensive translation work. Tutorials have long been considered the paragon of undergraduate instruction, promoting close relationships between faculty and students, intensive focus on texts (both reading and writing), and oral communication.