SPAN309

SPAN309

Business Spanish of International Trade in the Hispanic World

Numerosas economías emergentes en Latino América (v.gr., Chile, México, Perú) han logrado establecer un importante rol internacional gracias a la comercialización de sus productos. Dicha situación le ofrece a quienes dominan el español como idioma materno o lengua adicional, explorar interesantes oportunidades de desarrollo profesional y personal.

El curso SPAN 309 introduce a los estudiantes al tema del Comercio Exterior. El énfasis es el intercambio comercial que existe entre Canadá y los países hispanoamericanos. Por ejemplo, los estudiantes aprenden acerca de las economías que se sustentan en base al intercambio internacional, los principales bienes y servicios que se comercializan y los mercados a los cuales se destinan dichos productos.

Para comprender y discutir las diversas unidades del curso (v.gr., los acuerdos comerciales, los procesos de transportes de los productos, la banca internacional, etc.), los estudiantes se familiarizan con la terminología técnica propia de estas materias. Asimismo, se estudian diversos textos audiovisuales y escritos relacionados con temas administrativos y logísticos propios de la importación y exportación, normativas legales y procedimientos que promueven el comercio internacional.

El curso SPAN 309 prioriza el aprendizaje empírico mediante el cual los estudiantes aplican a situaciones reales, los conceptos aprendidos. Por ejemplo, para completar el componente investigativo de las unidades, los estudiantes pueden: (a) visitar y conocer los departamentos de comercio exterior de los consulados latinoamericanos en Vancouver, (b) reunirse con representantes del Latino Canadian Chamber of Commerce, (c) contactar a representantes de compañías canadienses que comercializan productos desde y hacia los países hispanoamericanos.

Es así como el curso SPAN 309 permite a los estudiantes usar el español más allá de la sala de clases para conversar sobre las materias estudiadas, investigar temas relevantes y establecer sus propias redes de contactos.

Materiales de estudio:
Coursepack disponible en el sitio electrónico del curso.

Prerequisite: One of SPAN 207, SPAN 302.

Language of instruction: Spanish

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FREN348

[Cross-listed with Medieval Studies 301]

Journeys to the East: Tales of Travel and Conquest in Medieval French Literature

The European Middle Ages did not occur in a bubble: medieval Europe was part of an interconnected social, political, economic and cultural continuum that spanned much of Eurasia and Africa, and included a myriad religions, languages and societies. This course aims to explore this global medieval world through the lens of French literature: how it represented non-feudal and non-majority-Christian cultures, what sort of contacts it focused on (peaceful or agressive), and the ways in which it indirectly depicted itself through describing (or fantasizing) the “Other”.

The course will therefore focus on medieval representations of the world and of societies and cultures beyond Western Europe, as well as early instances of Orientalism and Othering, through fictional and factual accounts. Texts will include The Song of Roland and its confrontational depiction of the Muslim world; Villehardouin’s chronicle of the Fourth Crusade (in Constantinople) and Joinville’s chronicle of the Seventh (in Egypt); and two key travel narratives: Marco Polo’s real-life record of his journey to the court of Kublai Khan and back, and John Mandeville’s more dubious Book of Wonders. Study of these Western texts will be interspersed with excerpts from Byzantine and Arab texts that depict the obverse perspective, showcasing how the medieval continuum goes both ways.

This course is taught in English and cannot count towards a Major or Minor in French. It is cross-listed as MDVL 301 within the Medieval Studies program.

Required readings:

  • The Song of Roland and Other Poems of Charlemagne, Oxford World’s Classics, 2016, ISBN 978-0199655540
  • Joinville and Villehardouin, Chronicles of the Crusades, Penguin Classics, 2009, ISBN 978-0140449983
  • Marco Polo, The Travels, Penguin Classics, 2016, ISBN 978-0241253052
  • The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, Penguin Classics, 2005, ISBN 978-0141441436

Other texts will be made available on Canvas.

Prerequisite: Second year standing or higher. At least 6 credits of English, or equivalent, is strongly recommended.

Language of instruction: English

Note: Not available for credit towards a Minor, Major or Honours program in French.

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ITST234

Introduction to Italian Cinema

This course introduces students to one of the world’s most respected and influential cinematic traditions and industries, which made the film art an inseparable part of Italian popular culture, and Italian cinema part of global cultural heritage. Each week we discuss one film from the post-WWII era by analyzing its historical, social, political, and aesthetic aspects. This in-depth study allows us to understand the larger cultural dynamics and the significance of the film’s thesis. Topics to be covered include war destruction, economic reconstruction, family, religion, industrialization, work, migration, identity diversity, and organized crime.

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Language of instruction: English

FREN483A

La France et la Deuxième Guerre mondiale

La Deuxième Guerre mondiale n’arrête pas d’être d’une actualité cuisante dans la France d’aujourd’hui, où les souvenirs de la défaite de 1940, de l’Occupation et des déportations ne cessent de troubler la conscience d’une nation. Quoique la génération de la guerre soit en train de disparaître, les souvenirs de cette triste époque restent vifs tant par les œuvres de l’époque que par celles d’aujourd’hui. Ce cours se donnera pour but d’étudier un livre écrit par un historien contemporain ainsi que trois livres écrits par des femmes de l’époque: Irène Némirovsky, Hélène Berr et Marguerite Duras. Ces écrivaines, dont deux sont mortes en déportation, ont témoigné des effets de la guerre et de l’Occupation allemande sur leur pays. Ces œuvres nous parlent et nous affectent par une écriture si proche des affreux événements des années quarante. Les dures réalités de l’Occupation, le contact quotidien avec les Allemands, ainsi que la disparition et parfois le retour des proches – ces événements ont inspiré les trois auteures à tenter une écriture limite aussi proche que possible du traumatisme personnel et national. Ces tentatives de dire l’indicible pourraient nous laisser dans un silence respectueux, mais elles peuvent aussi nous donner envie d’en savoir plus et de témoigner, tant d’années après, de nos propres réactions à ces œuvres poignantes qui ont marqué un siècle. On étudiera les thèmes de l’antisémitisme, de la solidarité, de la survie, de l’amour et de la mort, tels que trois écrivaines du XXe siècle les ont mis en scène, qui dans une fiction, qui dans un Journal, qui dans un livre de souvenirs, à l’époque de ce qu’Henry Rousso a appelé « les années noires » de la France.

Lectures obligatoires:
Irène Némirovsky, Suite française
Hélène Berr, Journal
Marguerite Duras, La Douleur
Henry Rousso, Les Années noires: vivre sous l’Occupation

Prerequisite:
One of FREN 320, FREN 321, FREN 328, FREN 329, FREN 330.

Language of instruction: French

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SPAN420

Women in Theatre: Romance, Honour and Murder

Ascent and Decline: Topics in Golden-Age Peninsular Literature and Culture

Expect murder, romance, magic and mayhem as we read some of the most outstanding theatrical plays of the Golden Age. Much of today’s drama, from Broadway musicals to intellectual farces, descends from a rich Hispanic theatrical tradition dating back to the Renaissance. In this course students will build their knowledge of Golden Age drama and performance from Spain and Latin America, while paying particular attention to the representation of female characters, artistic objects and private/public spaces in four thematic sections: 1) dramas of honor, 2) comedies of “capa y espada,” 3) masculine women on stage and 4) female playwrights. The course will incorporate cinematic adaptations of plays, videos featuring memorable staged performances, readings of historical texts and behavior manuals, as well as varied visual arts with which the plays were in dialogue. We will also take note of early modern literary criticism to discern how dramatists interacted with the social, economic, political and artistic concerns of their time within in their work. Primary readings will include texts from Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca, Tirso de Molina, Cervantes, Ana Caro de Mallén, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, and María de Zayas among others.

Required readings:

  • Lope de Vega, El arte nuevo de hacer comedias. Ed. Enrique García Santo-Tomás, Cátedra 2009.
  • Lope de Vega, El castigo sin venganza. Ed. Antonio Carreño. Madrid: Cátedra, 2009.
  • Lope de Vega, La dama boba. Ed. Diego Marín. Madrid: Cátedra, 2006.
  • Pedro Calderón de la Barca, La dama duende. Ed. Jesús Pérez Magallón. Madrid: Cátedra, 2011.
  • Additional required readings will be posted as pdfs on Canvas.

Recommended readings:

  • Ignacio Arellano, Historia del teatro español del siglo XVII. Madrid: Cátedra, 2008.
  • Ignacio Arellano and José Antonio Rodríguez Garrido, El teatro en la Hispanoamérica colonial. Madrid: Iberoamericana, 2008.
  • Cervantes, Teatro Completo. Florencia Sevilla Arroyo. Barcelona: Penguin Random House, 2016.
  • Francisco Ruiz Ramón, Historia del teatro español (desde sus orígenes hasta 1900). Madrid: Cátedra, 2011.
  • Malveena McKendrick, Theatre in Spain, 1490-1700. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1989.
  • Teresa Scott Soufas, Dramas of Distinction: Plays by Golden Age Women. Lexington: The U of Kentucky P, 1997.

Prerequisite: SPAN 221

Corequisite: SPAN 302

Language of instruction: Spanish

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FREN425A

Studies in French Autobiography

This autobiography course is designed for advanced students/majors in French, preferably, but not necessarily, who are engaged with contemporary literary studies. We will examine issues related to a literary genre and its manifold transformations in late 20th century, starting with the construction of the self. What are the interconnections between narrative voice, literary form, and subjectivity, for instance? Does autobiography fit in some happy realism (claiming to represent facts)? Is it an exercise in reshaping cultural imagination (French, bourgeois, gendered, social memory, etc.)? Is the impulse to self-narration universal? How does time inform narrative, or is it the other way round? We’ll also seek to examine what the impact of the theoretical discourse has been on writing autobiography.

Required readings:
Patrick Besson. Tour Jade (2003)
Marguerite Duras. L’Amant (1984
Marie Nimier. La Reine du silence (2004)
George Perec. W. ou le souvenir d’enfance (1975)

Prerequisite:
One of FREN 320, FREN 321, FREN 328, FREN 329, FREN 330.

Language of instruction: French

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FREN470A

French Language and Societies

This course is an introduction to sociolinguistics, with a focus on French-speaking societies. Throughout the semester, we will discuss basic concepts in sociolinguistics and address main topics in the field, including language variation, language contact and its possible outcomes, standardization, multilingualism, identity questions, and language attitudes and ideologies. This course aims to enable students to analyse, understand and discuss the links between language and society by providing students with the knowledge of sociolinguistic theory, research methods, main concepts and terminology along with developing the relevant application skills. All discussions and work submitted in this course will be in French.

Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

  • Recognize the challenges of linguistic and sociocultural diversity in the French-speaking world.
  • Understand the main concepts and theories in sociolinguistics and apply them to the study of French and multilingual communities.
  • Discuss and explain the link between various social factors and language use.
  • Conduct their own sociolinguistics research in a French-speaking community.

Required readings:
Readings will be made available through the Canvas site.

Prerequisite: FREN 370

Corequisite: FREN 370 may be taken concurrently with the permission of the instructor of FREN 470.

Language of instruction: French

The Holy Mountain

While Alejandro Jodorowsky’s El Topo inaugurate the midnight movie phenomenon, its success spawned The Holy Mountain. The film production was aided by the intervention of John Lennon and Allen Klein. However, after a scandalous release and a sixteen-month midnight career, The Holy Mountain was relegated to the underground world of fan bootlegs for over thirty years until its limited, restored release in 2007.  Anchored in post-1968 critiques, this short study reveals how this poetic, hilarious, and anarchist cult film by an international auteur is in fact a time capsule of the counterculture movement, a subversion of mystical tenets, and one of the most mysterious films in the history of world cinema.

Alessandra Santos. The Holy Mountain. Wallflower Press Cultographies Series. New York: Columbia University Press, 2017.
ISBN: 9780231182317

ITAL325

This course introduces you to various theoretical approaches and techniques that facilitate the transplantation of texts from one language to another as well as from one culture to another. Designed to enhance bilingual competence and cross-cultural communication skills, this course will expand your glossary of professional terminology and will help you gain practical skills for translation. Particular emphasis will be placed on issues of cultural adaptation. The course is student-centered and task-based. Students will contribute to choosing and/or writing texts to translate that are in line with both their personal interests and the objectives of the course. We will be working on translation techniques in various fields (arts & literature, business, food & tourism, fashion & design) and/or in conjunction with literary creativity (graphic novels, short stories, film scripts, plays, and haikus).

Learning objectives

  • To master the key concepts, theories and terminology proper to translation
  • To gain an overall understanding of the translation process and of different translating strategies and techniques
  • To develop self-assessing and self-correcting techniques in order to monitor one’s own progress
  • To work individually and/or collaboratively on a translation project
  • To improve knowledge of Italian language & culture and become familiar with grammatical and structural overlaps (or divergences) between Italian and English

Prerequisite: ITAL 202 or permission of the department

Note: Transfer students or students with experience in Italy should contact the undergraduate adviser for a language competence assessment.

Language of instruction: Italian and English

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Performing Utopias in the Contemporary Americas

Kim Beauchesne and Alessandra Santos  — 

This book offers an innovative examination of the utopian impulse through performance as a proposition of practical engagement in the contemporary Americas. The volume compiles unique multidisciplinary and exploratory texts, applying diverse critical and artistic approaches. Its contributors reconceptualize utopia as a creative and theoretical method based on a commitment to sociopolitical transformation. Chapters are organized around notions of mapping utopias, indigenizing practices, political manifestations, and the construction of social identities.

Kim Beauchesne and Alessandra Santos: Performing Utopias in the Contemporary Americas. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.
ISBN 978-1-137-56873-1