Course Description
Students will hone their language skills by engaging topics related to the cultures, language, or literature of the Spanish-speaking world. Given in Spanish.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
A 15- to 20-page paper and an oral presentation.
Athena Title
Exploring Cultures in Spanish
Prerequisite
(SPAN 3030 or SPAN 3030E or SPAN 3030H) and (SPAN(LING) 3050 or SPAN(LING) 3050E)
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
To present students with integrative studies of various aspects of Hispanic culture, civilization, literature, literary theory, or linguistics. Students will improve their oral/aural and written skills by reading and analyzing texts in Spanish, and through classroom discussions, written and oral assignments, and exams in the target language (Spanish). Therefore, oral communication and writing skills are given the same importance as analytical skills. Given in Spanish.
Topical Outline
Topics will vary with each instructor. The following are two examples of possible topics: 1) "The Baroque Across Centuries: a Cultural Concept Applied to Spanish Literature": Studying a variety of literary, critical, and cultural texts, students will acquire deeper insight into 17th century Spain by first identifying and analyzing the "baroqueness" of their own culture. 2) "Contemporary Spain and Cultural Studies": Reading the Spanish constitution and other non-literary texts, students will a) discuss the relationship between law and culture, b) discuss historical, political, and ideological issues that brought about Spain's Autonomous Regions, c)discuss the relationship among different kinds of textual materials: literary, documentary, visual, etc.
Syllabus