Spanish Course Descriptions

Spanish I - SPAN 05.101
(3 s.h.) (no prerequisite)
This course introduces the Spanish language and focuses on the students' development of communicative competence in Spanish, with emphasis on the four skill areas of listening comprehension, speaking, reading and writing.

Spanish II - SPAN 05.102
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.101, minimum grade of C-; or waiver)
This course focuses on the students' continued development of communicative competence in Spanish, with emphasis on the four skill areas of speaking, reading, writing and listening comprehension.

Spanish Topics in English - SPAN 05.140
(3 s.h.) (no prerequisite)
This course, taught in English, brings new perspectives and themes to the established World Languages curriculum, pertaining to the Spanish language, aspects of Spanish (Peninsular) and Latin American culture, and Hispanic literature in English translation. The particular course topic offered may vary, depending on the scholarly interests of the faculty member as well as student interest and demand

Spanish III - SPAN 05.201
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.102, minimum grade of C-; or waiver)
This course focuses on the students' continued development of communicative competence in Spanish, with emphasis on the four skill areas of speaking, reading, writing and listening comprehension.

Spanish Reading and Conversation - SPAN 05.211
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.201, minimum grade of C-; or waiver)
This course focuses on the students' continued development of communicative competence in Spanish, with practice in the four skill areas of speaking, reading, writing and listening comprehension, in addition to greater emphasis on reading skills and oral production.

Spanish Reading and Composition - SPAN 05.212
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.211, minimum grade of C-; or waiver)
This course focuses on the students' continued development of communicative competence in Spanish with special emphasis on written communication. Students will produce descriptive, narrative and expository texts.

Introduction to Anthropological Linguistics - SPAN 05.250/ANTH 02.250
(3 s.h.) (no prerequisite)
Students in this interdisciplinary course will engage in the scientific study of language with particular reference to the relationships among the languages, thoughts, and cultures of speech communities living all over the world, including within the United States, France, India, Canada, Spain, Japan and Peru, among others. Additional course topics include the process of human language acquisition, structures of human language, bilingualism and the ways in which race, class, gender, and other social characteristics may be displayed through the use of language.

Spanish Phonetics - SPAN 05.300
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.211, minimum grade of C-; or waiver).
This course provides a scientific study of Spanish pronunciation based upon the international phonetic system. It emphasizes exercises in diction and phonetic transcription and the correction of individual problems in pronunciation.

Appreciation of Hispanic Literature - SPAN 05.301
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.212, minimum grade of C-)
This course introduces students to the reading of Hispanic literary texts. Students acquire a vocabulary of basic critical terms necessary for the discussion and analysis of narrative works, poetry and theatrical texts. Through close reading of at least one text per genre, students develop critical approaches with emphasis on the comentario de textos method.

Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics - SPAN 05.302 
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.212, minimum grade of C-)
This course will introduce students to the major subfields of Hispanic linguistics, including phonology (sound structure), morphology (word structure), syntax (sentence structure), semantics (structure of meaning), pragmatics (language use), language change and sociolinguistics (language use among speakers with different social and geographical backgrounds).

Oral Spanish - SPAN 05.305
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.211, minimum grade of C-; or waiver)
This course is open to students who wish to improve their spoken Spanish skills. Its design reflects the objectives of current national trends in encouraging oral Spanish production as outlined and measured by the ACTFL standards. Students will develop greater grammatical accuracy and control, the ability to describe and narrative, and greater facility in the production of sentences and oral paragraphs.

Spanish for Business A - SPAN 05.312
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.212, minimum grade of C-)
This course is designed to help students interact with Hispanic communities on a business level, by improving their written and verbal skills, and exposing them to authentic print and visual media from the world of banking, advertising and commerce. It stresses the development of functional language skills for real-life purposes within an accurate cultural context that reflects the variety of the Hispanic world.

Spanish for Medical Personnel - SPAN 05.313
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.212, minimum grade of C-)
This course is designed to give students and practicing medical personnel the conversational and cultural tools they need to interact with Hispanic communities in a clinical setting. It stresses the development of functional language skills while addressing the special concerns of medical personnel working with Spanish-speaking patients and their families in hospitals, emergency rooms, doctors' offices and clinics.

Spanish for Business B - SPAN 05.314
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.212, minimum grade of C-)
This course is designed to help students interact with Hispanic communities on a business level, by improving their verbal and written skills, and exposing them to authentic print and visual media. Areas of study include the various Hispanic business cultures concerning human resources, labor relations, marketing, finance, goods and services, imports and exports.

Spanish for Law - SPAN 05.315
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.212, minimum grade of C-)
This course provides an overview of legal terminology, legal systems in Spain and Latin America, and legal disparities in Spanish-speaking communities. Students will develop reading, writing, and speaking skills for legal purposes. Students will also develop intercultural competency skills in legal contexts through participation in service-learning in the community.

Spanish for Medical Emergencies and Disaster Response - SPAN 05.316
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.211, minimum grade of C-; or waiver)
This course is designed to give students and practicing medical personnel the Spanish language skills they need to address common emergencies in the home, school and workplace and their management in the wider community.  It stresses the development of oral and written Spanish language skills applicable to the five phases of the emergency planning cycle: preparedness, prevention, response, recovery and mitigation.

Spanish Civilization and Culture - SPAN 05.320
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.212, minimum grade of C-).
This course provides an overview of the religious, political, artistic and social history of Spain. 

Spanish American Civilization and Culture - SPAN 05.324
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.212, minimum grade of C-)
This course is an overview of cultural, social, political and economic history of the different major periods that have shaped Spanish America through tradition, process and crisis.

Readings in Contemporary Spanish Literature - SPAN 05.325
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.301, minimum grade of C-)
This course examines Peninsular works of various genres from Contemporary Spanish writers.

Spanish American Poetry - SPAN 05.327
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.301, minimum grade of C-)
Students are introduced to the various movements and philosophies of Spanish American poetry which began to take shape in Spanish American Modernism and continue through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Students will examine its genesis and evolution as it adapts and reacts to socio-cultural, geographic and political issues.

Spanish American Theatre - SPAN 05.328
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.301, minimum grade of C-)
This course examines Spanish American drama in both its textual and performance aspects, tracing its relationships to ethics, society, history, culture and contemporary public issues. Representative works from the European tradition as well as non-traditional, regional and vanguard theater will be examined.

Introduction to Spanish Translation - SPAN 05.340
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.212, minimum grade of C-)
Beyond acquiring the basic skills necessary for professional Spanish-to-English and English-to-Spanish translation, students of this course will improve their Spanish and English reading comprehension skills, sharpen their insight into the linguistic nature of both Spanish and English, gain knowledge regarding the ways in which both languages communicate cultural values and become acquainted with social and geographical variations of both languages. In addition, students will acquire experience in translating general material, such as from magazines, newspapers, and letters, and specialized material from the fields of literature, business, medicine, law and the social sciences.

Introduction to Spanish Interpretation - SPAN 05.350
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.212, minimum grade of C-)
This course provides an introduction to the strategies, theories, and techniques in interpretation with a primary focus on consecutive interpreting, intercultural competence, and Spanish/English contrasts (e.g., phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, etc.). Simulations and service-learning are integrated in the course to develop students’ interpretation skills in both the classroom and community contexts.

Contemporary Spanish Theatre - SPAN 05.381
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.301, minimum grade of C-)
This course introduces students to recent trends in Peninsular drama beginning with the initial manifestations of formal renovation towards the beginning of the twentieth century and continuing through to present-day Spain.

Spanish American Short Story - SPAN 05.383
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.301, minimum grade of C-)
This course analyzes a selection of Spanish American short stories and their relation to culture, aesthetics and modernity, covering a wide variety of authors, both canonical and vanguard.

History of the Spanish Language - SPAN 05.400
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.212, minimum grade of C-)
This course gives students an overview of the historical evolution of Spanish from its Latin roots to present-day varieties spoken in Spain and Latin America. It provides an introduction to the science of linguistics.

Advanced Spanish Grammar (WI) - SPAN 05.409 (WI) / SPAN 05.410 (non-WI)
(3 s.h.) (prerequisites COMP 01.112, minimum grade of C-; and two additional 300-level courses in Spanish)
This course focuses on the continued improvement of writing Spanish with emphasis on narrationn and description situated in time. It provides an advanced grammar review and practice in the process of writing and in the expression of nuances and idioms in Spanish.

Advanced Spanish Conversation - SPAN 05.411
(3 s.h.) (Any 300-level course in Spanish)
This course is open to students who wish to improve their spoken Spanish skills. Students will develop enhanced grammatical precision, the ability to produce connected and cohesive discourse and communicative strategies in a variety of conversational situations.

Spanish American Novel - SPAN 05.426
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.301, minimum grade of C-)
This course deals primarily but not exclusively with contemporary Spanish American novels, analyzing their political, historical, social and cultural importance. Also examined are critical aspects such as voice, narratology, discourse and gender.

Spanish Individual Study - SPAN 05.435
(1 to 8 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.301, minimum grade of C-)
This course gives students an opportunity to study independently in order to strengthen their background in a particular area of Hispanic studies.

Special Topics in World Languages - SPAN 05.440 (undergraduate) / SPAN 05.540 (graduate)
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.301, minimum grade of C-)
This course brings new perspectives and themes to the established World Languages curriculum. Each semester the instruction of this course rotates among faculty members who select topics according to their current scholarly interests. In this way, the course expands options for upper-level electives.

Advanced Spanish Translation - SPAN 05.441
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.340, minimum grade of C-)
As a continuation of Introduction to Spanish Translation, this course examines translation theories, strategies, and Spanish-to-English and English-to-Spanish and practices in classroom and community contexts through service-learning. Students in this course will further develop their translation, critical thinking, intercultural, linguistic, and analytical skills to examine Spanish/English contrasts via practical application in diverse fields and contexts. This course encompasses ethical translation practices in a variety of disciplines including (but not limited to) medical, legal, scientific, literary, and commercial.

Internship in Spanish - SPAN 05.452
(3 s.h.) (prerequisites SPAN 05.212, minimum grade of C-; and Instructor Approval)
The faculty-supervised Internship in Spanish requires 120 hours of internship experience in a professional context. Students maintain a supervisor-signed log of working hours, write weekly diary entries, and prepare a final reflective paper. The Internship in Spanish enables students to apply their extensive coursework in Spanish to practice. Students will be assigned an internship by the faculty member or may obtain instructor approval for internships.

The Generation of 1898 - SPAN 05.481
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.301, minimum grade of C-)
This course studies the origin, development and influence of the so-called "Generation of `98," its philosophy and outstanding characteristics. Students read and discuss works of some of the major authors.

Contemporary Spanish Novel - SPAN 05.482
(3 s.h.) (prerequisite SPAN 05.301, minimum grade of C-)
This course studies the contemporary novel of the twentieth and twenty-first century Spain, examining its most outstanding characteristics. Texts from several important periods such as posguerra, Transición and present-day Spain among others will be studied. Areas of emphasis include voice, narratology, discourse and gender.

Study Abroad - SPAN 05.499
(1 to 6 s.h.)
The Department encourages students to study abroad. In addition to formal study, this course is designed to provide exposure to the social and cultural life of a Spanish-speaking country.