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Search Catalog
Spanish
The modern language curriculum is designed to give students an opportunity to become conversant in one or more languages from linguistic, literary and cultural perspectives. We encourage serious students to examine the social, philosophical and aesthetic themes in literature and to acquire fluency and sensitivity to structure and style in the languages offered which include French, German, and Spanish.
Careers in such fields as government, law, business, medicine, social service, journalism, or education are enhanced by the knowledge of foreign languages. Many graduate programs require proficiency in a foreign language.
Majors are offered in French, German, and Spanish, and also in modern languages and literatures (the study of three languages). Students should spend their junior year in an approved program of studies abroad, or participate in an approved program of summer studies. Minors are offered in French, German, and Spanish. In cooperation with other academic departments, the department also participates in programs providing a major in German Studies and a minor in Latin American Studies. The programs are designed to encourage the student to combine her interests in a language with other disciplines. The student considering such a program, or planning to study abroad, should consult the department chair as soon as possible to assure proper preparation.
A student who chooses one of these majors is expected to achieve a reading, writing, and speaking knowledge of the language (or languages) in which she concentrates. The foreign language is used exclusively in all advanced courses and as much as possible in the others. Not more than one approved course given in English may be credited toward the major. The department recommends participation in a Junior Year Abroad program or a residence of six weeks or more in a summer school where the exclusive use of the foreign language is required. Courses taken in programs abroad must be evaluated and approved by the appropriate departmental faculty before credit is granted toward the major. A student who has begun the study of a language in college will still find it possible to fulfill the major requirement in the language by arranging her courses in consultation with her major professor.
The Department of Modern Languages does not approve credit for online courses taken at any level. No course being counted toward the V.3 general education knowledge area may be taken on a P/CR/NC grading option.
The Spanish Major
The Spanish Minor
Course Descriptions
The Spanish Major
(33 semester hours)
Required:
SPAN 222 (3) Introduction to Hispanic Literatures
Senior Exercise:
SPAN 452 (3) Senior Seminar
Choose 1 of the following courses:
Peninsular Literature
SPAN 326 (3) Early Spanish Culture: Heritage and Identity
SPAN 330 (3) Topics in Hispanic Culture, Language, and Literature (approval required)
SPAN 349 (3) Realism, Naturalism, and Regeneration: Spanish Literature 1850-1914
SPAN 367 (3) Contemporary Artistic Expression in Spain: 1920-Present
Choose 1 of the following courses:
Latin American Literature
SPAN 330 (3) Topics in Hispanic Culture, Language, and Literature (approval required)
SPAN 382 (3) The Latin American Novel
SPAN 384 (3) The Latin American Short Story and Essay
SPAN 386 (3) Latin American Theatre
SPAN 388 (3) Latin American Poetry
Choose 1 additional three-credit course at the 300-level in Spanish or Latin American literature or culture.
Choose 1 course in Latin American studies.
Choose 5 additional three-credit courses in Spanish numbered 215 or above.
Note: Spanish majors are strongly advised to take at least one course in Spanish during the fall term of the senior year.
The Spanish Minor
(21 semester hours)
Required:
SPAN 222 (3) Introduction to Hispanic Literatures
Choose 6 additional three-credit courses in Spanish numbered 215 or above, of which at least two courses must be at the 300-level.
Note: One course taught in English may be counted toward the minor by permission when the topic is appropriate.
Teacher Licensure Spanish
(33 semester hours in addition to required professional courses in education)
Required:
SPAN 215 (3) Spanish Conversation
SPAN 216 (3) Advanced Grammar and Composition
SPAN 222 (3) Introduction to Literary Analysis
SPAN 452 (3) Senior Seminar
Choose 1 of the following courses:
SPAN 219 (3) Hispanic Themes: Spain
SPAN 221 (3) Hispanic Themes: Latin America
Choose 1 of the following courses:
Peninsular Literature
SPAN 326 (3) Early Spanish Culture: Heritage and Identity
SPAN 330 (3) Topics in Hispanic Culture, Language, and Literature (approval required)
SPAN 349 (3) Realism, Naturalism, and Regeneration: Spanish Literature 1850-1914
SPAN 367 (3) Contemporary Artistic Expression in Spain: 1920-Present
Choose 1 of the following courses:
Latin American Literature
SPAN 330 (3) Topics in Hispanic Culture: Heritage and Identity (approval required)
SPAN 382 (3) The Latin American Novel
SPAN 384 (3) The Latin American Short Story and Essay
SPAN 386 (3) Latin American Theatre
SPAN 388 (3) Latin American Poetry
Choose 1 of the following courses:
LAST 201 (3) Latin American Culture I
LAST 202 (3) Latin American Culture II
Choose 3 additional three-credit courses in Spanish numbered 215 or above.
Note: In some cases, depending on the student’s background and proficiency, a student may receive a departmental exemption for one or more of the following: SPAN 215, SPAN 216, SPAN 219, or SPAN 221. The exemption is for the course(s), not the credit; students still need a minimum of 30 semester hours in Spanish numbered 215 or above and 3 semester hours in Latin American studies.
Recommended: The student is encouraged to spend the junior year or one term of that year in a Spanish-speaking country. Degree credit is granted for participation in an approved program abroad.
SPAN 101
Elementary Spanish I
CR:
3.0 Introduction to Spanish grammatical structures, vocabulary, and the cultures of Hispanic peoples. Formal study and practice in speaking, reading, writing, and understanding spoken Spanish at the elementary level. Lab work required.
SPAN 102
Elementary Spanish II
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 101. A continuation of SPAN 101. Lab work required.
SPAN 201
Intermediate Spanish I
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 102 or placement. An intermediate Spanish language course with a special emphasis on oral communication. Audio and computer-based lab work required.
SPAN 202
Intermediate Spanish II
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 201. A continuation of SPAN 201 with a special emphasis on Hispanic culture and literature. Audio and computerbased lab work required. V.3
SPAN 215
Spanish Conversation
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 202 or placement. A course designed to improve the student’s conversational ability through the reading and discussion of literary and cultural texts. III.O, V.3
SPAN 216
Advanced Grammar and Composition
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 202 or placement. Fine-tuning of language skills with an emphasis on applying grammatical principles and organizing strategies to the reading and writing of expository prose. III.W, V.3
SPAN 219
Hispanic Themes: Spain
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: One course in Spanish numbered 202 or above or placement. An advanced intermediate Spanish course that introduces students to historical and cultural issues in Spain through the reading and commentary of relevant texts. Reading strategies to enhance comprehension and analytical skills are emphasized. Offered alternate years. V.3
SPAN 221
Hispanic Themes: Latin America
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: One course in Spanish numbered 202 or above or placement. An advanced intermediate Spanish course that introduces students to historical and cultural issues in Latin America through the reading and commentary of relevant texts. Reading strategies to enhance comprehension and analytical skills are emphasized. V.3, V.4
SPAN 222
Introduction to Hispanic Literatures
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: One course in Spanish numbered 202 or above or placement. An advanced intermediate Spanish course that introduces students to the reading, discussion, and analysis of literary texts from throughout the Hispanic world. III.W, V.2, V.3
SPAN 240
Spanish for Business
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 215 or SPAN 216. A course that introduces students to business culture in the Hispanic world (with an emphasis on Latin America), the vocabulary of business, and business correspondence in Spanish. Weekly class meetings will be supplemented with extensive use of computer-based materials for communication and research. III.O, V.3, V.4
SPAN 255
Topics in Hispanic Literature in Translation
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: First-year students with permission. A study of significant Latin American and/or Spanish writers and the relationship between their work and society. This course may be counted as the one course in English allowed for the major in Spanish. Taught in English. Offered alternate years. V.2
SPAN 261
Directed Study
CR:
1.0 Prerequisites: One SPAN course and permission of the instructor. The study of introductory level material by an individual student or by a small group of students under the immediate supervision of a faculty member.
SPAN 304
Spanish-English Translation
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 222. An introduction to the methods, techniques, and problems involved in translation from Spanish to English and English to Spanish with regard to sentence structure, vocabulary, idioms and colloquial phrases. Emphasis is on general material with some consideration of specialized material (ex: business, journalistic or literary texts).
SPAN 326
Early Spanish Culture: Heritage and Identity
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 222. An advanced course in which students read and analyze literary and historical texts that helped to shape the values and sense of Spanish identity as a nation from the early middle ages through the seventeenth century. Topics of discussion will include the impact of multi-culturalism (Islamic, Jewish, Christian), the development of the concept of the hero, the changing role of women, the emergence of the Catholic state, and the rise and decline of Imperial Spain. Offered alternate years. V.2
SPAN 330
Topics in Hispanic Culture, Language, and Literature
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 222. Topics will vary by semester. Offered alternate years.
SPAN 349
Realism, Naturalism, and Regeneration: Spanish Literature 1850-1914
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 222. An examination of the Peninsular novel, theater, and poetry from the point of view of the underlying social, historical, and theoretical influences of the time. Authors studied may include Galdós, Pardo Bazán, Clarín, Unamuno, Machado, Valle-Inclán, and others. Offered alternate years. V.2
SPAN 361
Special Study
CR:
1.0 Prerequisites: 100-level SPAN course and permission of the instructor. The study of an intermediate level topic by an individual student or by a small group of students under the immediate supervision of a faculty member.
SPAN 367
Contemporary Artistic Expression in Spain: 1920-Present
Prerequisite: SPAN 222. Dictatorship, democracy, civil war, economic booms and busts, radical social change - contemporary Spain has experienced them all in the years since 1920. In this course, students will gain insight into contemporary Spanish society through the analysis of important works of art, film, and literature that reflect the fundamental underpinnings of life in today's Spain. V.2
SPAN 377
Internship
CR:
1.0 Prerequisites: Three credits in SPAN and permission of the instructor, department chair, and dean. This course is graded P/CR/NC only.
SPAN 382
The Latin American Novel
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 222. A study of the Latin American novel with an emphasis on major twentieth-century authors and literary trends. Writers studied may include Bombal, Rulfo, Fuentes, Garcia-Marquez, Allende and Argueta, among others. Offered alternate years. III.W, V.2
SPAN 384
The Latin American Short Story and Essay
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 222. A study of the major writers and themes of the Latin American short story and essay (cultural, political and social commentary). Writers studied may include Palma, Echeverria, Marti, Quiroga, Borges, Donoso, Cortazar and Valenzuela, among others. Offered alternate years. V.2
SPAN 386
Latin American Theatre
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 222. A study of Latin American theatre with an emphasis on historical trends and social and political themes and contexts. Offered alternate years. V.2
SPAN 388
Latin American Poetry
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: SPAN 222. A study of Latin American poetry from the colonial period through Romanticism and Modernism to the present. Poets studied may include Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Heredia, Dario, Mistral, Vallejo, Guillen, Neruda, Paz and Cardenal, among others. Offered alternate years. III.W, V.2
SPAN 452
Senior Seminar
CR:
3.0 Prerequisite: Required of all seniors majoring in Spanish. Open, with permission of the department, to other qualified students. An examination of different critical approaches that may be taken in dealing with literary texts. This is the senior exercise in Spanish. III.O, III.W
SPAN 461
Independent Study
CR:
1.0 Prerequisites: One 100-level SPAN course, one 200-level SPAN course, and permission of the instructor. Pursuit of an upper level research project determined in advance by the student in consultation with a faculty member who will act as the sponsor.
