Intermediate Spanish I

The chief goals of the course are to expand vocabulary and conversational skills, strengthen grammar and learn about key social, cultural and historical issues of the Spanish-speaking world. Vocabulary and grammar are taught within the context of the specific themes chosen to enhance students’ familiarity with the realities of Spanish-speaking countries. Prerequisite: SPN 112Y, SPN 120 or Spanish Placement Exam. Enrollment limited to 18.

Intermediate Spanish I

The chief goals of the course are to expand vocabulary and conversational skills, strengthen grammar and learn about key social, cultural and historical issues of the Spanish-speaking world. Vocabulary and grammar are taught within the context of the specific themes chosen to enhance students’ familiarity with the realities of Spanish-speaking countries. Prerequisite: SPN 112Y, SPN 120 or Spanish Placement Exam. Enrollment limited to 18.

Beginning Spanish II

This course is for students who have some previous experience with the language and emphasizes speaking, listening, writing and reading. Students work on developing linguistic proficiency as well as cultural knowledge. The course uses a student-centered, learner-driven, communicative approach to language learning. Prerequisite: Spanish Placement Exam (https://www.smith.edu/academics/spanish-portuguese#placement) or successful completion of SPN 110. Restrictions: First-years and sophomores only. Enrollment limited to 18.

Sem:Gendr&SocCh-Conserv

This class focuses on challenges to and changes in gender and sexuality during conservative time periods. Focusing on the U.S., the course primarily examines the 1980's and the contemporary period as case studies. The class looks at how political and other institutions affect gender and sexuality and at social movements addressing gender and sexuality from both the right and the left.

Sem: Ghettos & Ethnic Enclaves

This class explores the roles of communities in an era of globalization by focusing on ghettos and enclaves in U.S. cities. Immigrant communities and ethnic enclaves are often viewed as temporary platforms for assimilation, while ghettos are seen as inner-city neighborhoods marked by stigma, where minorities are trapped in cycles of poverty. Why are some minority neighborhoods seen in a positive light, while others are not?

Media, Tech, Society

The mass media are an important social institution that reflects and shapes norms and values. But the processes governing media production and reception are often taken for granted, immersed as society is in a highly mediated social world where preconceived notions about "the media" and its effects hold sway.

Sociology of Sexuality

This course examines sexuality from a sociological perspective, focusing on how sexuality is constructed by and structures major social institutions. The course examines the social construction of individual and collective identities, norms and behaviors, discourses, institutional regulation, and the place of sexuality in the state, education, science and other institutions, and social movements. Consideration of gender, race, class, time, and place are integrated throughout.

Feminism & Women's Movements

Offered as SOC 244 and LAS 244. This course is designed to familiarize students with the history of Latin American and Latina (primarily Chicana) feminist thought and activism. A central goal of the course is to provide an understanding of the relationship between feminist thought, women’s movements, and local/national contexts and conditions. The writings of Latin American and Latina feminists comprise the majority of the texts.

Asian American Experience

Since the 19th century, Asian Americans have been perceived as mysterious and threatening foreign beings—"yellow perils." At the same time, however, they have also been portrayed as exemplars of highachieving, successful minorities, with aspirations for higher education and hard work. How can ethnic minorities be perceived simultaneously as "model minorities" while still being viewed as "forever foreigners?" This class examines how Asian America is defined and formed, and why understandings of Asian Americans have evolved over time.

Gender & Globalization

This course engages with the various dimensions of globalization through the lens of gender, race, and class relations. It studies how gender and race intersect in global manufacturing and supply chains as well as in the transnational politics of representation and access in global media, culture, consumption, fashion, food, water, war, and dissenting voices. Prerequisite: SOC 101. Enrollment limited to 25.
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