Spanish

Courses Taught

• FYS 152-3 From Madrid to Hollywood: Adventures in Cinema
  Did you ever wonder why so many actors and directors from Spain get so many Oscars? And why international stars like Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, or Rachel Weisz are so keen to work with Spanish directors? Immerse yourself in the cultural context that created stars such as Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, and world famous directors like Pedro Almodóvar. In this course, a semester will be spent exploring the many factors that make Spanish filmmaking so appealing to international audiences. We will watch the most important films produced in Spain from the 1980’s to the present day, learn basic concepts in film studies, and experience the exciting cultural environment that shaped cinematic centers like the eclectic and vibrant city of Madrid
• SPAN 102 Elementary Spanish
  Fundamentals of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Spanish. For students who have completed Spanish 101 or its equivalent, or based on Spanish placement test results.
• SPAN 201 Intermediate Spanish
  Overview of Hispanic cultures through readings and films, with emphasis on written and oral expression in Spanish. Through community-based education and cultural activities students gain a deeper understanding of the vast diversity of the Hispanic world. Prerequisite: Spanish 102 or consent of department. For students who have completed Spanish 102 or its equivalent, or based on Spanish placement test results.
• SPAN 202 Intermediate Spanish
  Continuation of an overview of Hispanic cultures through readings and films, with more emphasis on written and oral expression in Spanish. Through community-based education and cultural activities students gain a deeper understanding of the vast diversity of the Hispanic world. For students who have completed Spanish 201, or based on Spanish placement test results.
• SPAN 301 Spanish Composition, Conversation, and Culture: Topics
  Exercises in directed and free composition; extensive interaction with Spanish language and Hispanic cultures through readings, films and other media; group discussion and presentation of individual oral work; review of grammar and syntax at an advanced level. Organized around a central topic of importance in the Hispanic world. Prerequisite: Spanish 202, consent of department, or based on Spanish placement test results. Required for the major or minor (must achieve a “C” or better), and for the combined Spanish/LACLS major.
• SPAN 305 Textual Cultures: Methods and Theories
  Introduction to basic critical approaches to the reading of literary and cultural texts. Through the careful study of works in different genres, students acquire a knowledge of analytical skills and critical terminology in Spanish. Prerequisite: Grade of C or higher in Spanish 301/302, or consent of department. Required for the Spanish major and counts toward the minor; or towards the combined Spanish/LACLS major, and as MI-Humanities.
• SPAN 353 The Cinema of Spain
  Study of the cinema of Spain with emphasis on films made since the 1975. Examines film theory and technique. Considers how the interactions between audiences and political and commercial institutions influence movie content and film art and form. Offered alternate years. Prerequisite: Spanish 305 or consent of the department. Counts toward the Spanish major or minor, and as MI-Humanities.
• SPAN 356 Principles of Visual Analysis
  This course is an introduction to the analysis of visual media: films, documentaries, shorts, digital media and graphic novel/comics. Through an in-depth analysis of a variety of visual texts, students acquire knowledge of theoretical and analytical skills to examine the relationship between the story structure and the visual structure. Students also acquire knowledge of critical terminology in Spanish. Prerequisite: SPAN 305 or permission of the department.
• SPAN 367 From Realism to the Avant-Garde: Late 19th and Early 20th Century Peninsular Literature.
  Studies in the essay, poetry, prose fiction, and drama of the major writers of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries in Spain. Offered alternate years. Prerequisite: Spanish 305 or consent of the department. Counts toward the Spanish major or minor, and as MI-Humanities.
• SPAN 368 20th and 21st Century Peninsular Literature and Culture
  Study of major literary and cultural trends and works in Spain, beginning with the resurgence of Spanish literature in the 1940s and continuing to the present day. Offered alternate years. Prerequisite: Spanish 305 or consent of the department. Counts toward the Spanish major or minor, and as MI-Humanities.
• SPAN 400 Seminar
  Directed and specialized studies in Spanish. Course is taken by seniors during the final semester in order to complete their undergraduate work. Offered every spring. Prerequisite: Limited to seniors, except with permission of the department. Required for Spanish majors.
• SPAN 450 Individualized Study-Tutorial
  Individualized tutorial counting toward the minimum requirements in a major or minor, graded A-F
• WGS 220 Women in Film: European and North American Directors
  Course explores various images of women as constructed for the male and female spectator in both dominant and independent film. Traditional ways in which women have been represented in film are examined critically through the use of feminist theories. Course aims to examine how various feminist filmmakers challenge the traditional uses of the female voice in their own films. Films from other cultures than the U.S. are included. WGS 220 and CIMS 225 are cross-listed.