Bachelor of Arts in SpanishSchool of Arts and Sciences

This is a four-credit class that will develop students’ communicative skills in Spanish through reading, oral and written exercises. The course aims to improve students’ overall language skills while increasing their awareness of Hispanic cultures through a variety of activities that offer balanced practice of reading, writing, listening and speaking. Vocabulary building activities, grammar exercises, videos, and cultural readings are integrated into the format of the textbook and its accompanying website.

This class will explore contemporary Hispanic societies from the perspective of the cinema, and how the Spanish-speaking world has been portrayed in film since the 1970s. The main goal of the course will be to study and understand many of the important themes to emerge from contemporary Spanish and Latin American cinema: including historical influences, social problems, gender relations, political upheaval, marginalization of oppressed sectors of society, globalization, the function of humor, the role of art and imagination in communicating these perspectives, and the contrasts with the “Hollywood” style of movie-making. By the end of the semester, students will have improved ability to read, write, and understand contemporary Spanish, and an enhanced understanding of the themes, traditions, and style of Spanish-language cinema.

Introductory survey of Latin American literature from colonial times to the present, exploring literary texts as products of the historical and cultural contexts that produced them. Study of and anthology followed by a novel, with secondary sources and videos. Develop advanced reading skills and vocabulary, together with enhanced writing and analytic abilities.