The Department calls attention to the fact that Special Topics courses may be offered to students on either an individual or group basis.

Students interested in forming a group course on some aspect of Hispanic life and culture are invited to talk over possibilities with a representative of the Department. When possible, this should be done several weeks in advance of the semester in which the course is to be taken.

Fall and spring semesters. The Department.

How to handle overenrollment: null

(Offered as SPAN 460 and EUST 264) A patient, careful reading of Cervantes' masterpiece (published in 1605 and 1615), taking into consideration the biographical, historical, social, religious, and literary context from which it emerged during the Renaissance. The discussion will center on the novel's structure, style, and durability as a classic and its impact on our understanding of ideas and emotions connected with the Enlightenment and its aftermath.

In this course students will learn about the life and myths of Doña Marina, the Indigenous woman enslaved by Hernán Cortés during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire. A genius by many accounts, she served as his translator as she was fluent in Mayan, Nahuatl, and Spanish. Mother of the first “mestizo,” she has conveniently been viewed as a “traitor” to the Mexican nation. In the contemporary moment, she at times is seen as a feminist icon of resistance partly through a recognition of her victimhood as a woman who had to navigate multiple empires.

(Offered as SPAN 382, ARCH 382 and LLAS 382) This course aims to reconsider the concept of community in the context of migration and refuge rather than as a condition of settlement. It explores how communities form away from traditional places of belonging and national allegiances. We will investigate the distinctions between building community and practicing radical hospitality, examine spaces that welcome these initiatives, and explore practices that give rise to history, memory, and (re)telling for these communities.

The food and flavors of a country are a suggestive reflection of part of its identity. This course examines the cultural and literary history of food in Spain and Latin America from the sixteenth century to the present as a means to explore the relationship between what we eat and how we define ourselves. This approach is also a productive lens to examine interconnected topics such as gender, race, religion, and social identity as they relate to foodways in the Spanish-speaking world.

(Offered as SPAN 301 and LLAS 301) This course provides an introduction to the diverse literatures and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world over the course of six centuries, from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. Students will learn the tools, language, and critical vocabulary for advanced work reading the canon of Hispanic literatures from Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean Basin, identifying aesthetic trends, historical periods and diverse genres such as poetry, narrative, theater and film.

(Offered as SPAN 301 and LLAS 301) This course provides an introduction to the diverse literatures and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world over the course of six centuries, from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. Students will learn the tools, language, and critical vocabulary for advanced work reading the canon of Hispanic literatures from Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean Basin, identifying aesthetic trends, historical periods and diverse genres such as poetry, narrative, theater and film.

(Offered as SPAN 205 and LLAS 205) Heritage learners of Spanish are students who have grown up speaking, listening, reading and/or writing Spanish with family or in their community. Because of their unique backgrounds, Spanish heritage language learners (SHLLs) are bilingual and bicultural. They function between a Hispanic and an American identity. This fluid and multiple identity can bring challenges, as SHLLs try to fit into both groups.

SPAN 202 is the final course of the four-semester sequence in the Spanish Language Program.  It is designed for students who a) have successfully completed SPAN 201, b) who have placed into the course via the Spanish Department placement exam, or c) who have scored a 4 on the AP Spanish Language exam.

SPAN 202 is the final course of the four-semester sequence in the Spanish Language Program.  It is designed for students who a) have successfully completed SPAN 201, b) who have placed into the course via the Spanish Department placement exam, or c) who have scored a 4 on the AP Spanish Language exam.