SPAN470A

Breaking the Mold: Gender Representation(s) in Hispanic Literature and Culture

Sandra Eleta, Artist Edita (la del plumero), Panamá (Edita, Panama), from the series La servidumbre (Servitude), 1978–89. Courtesy of Galería Arteconsult S.A., Panama.

This course applies an interdisciplinary and intersectional approach to study the representation of women and gender in film, literature, visual arts and drama. While providing a broad overview of scholarly research and theory pertaining to women and gender, centered on underrepresented communities in the Hispanic world, you will also analyze how women themselves produce and/or respond to representations of gender and women’s experience. You will learn how diverse artists sought and continue to seek new languages and forms, whether in photography, performance, poetry, etc. to reassess and re-imagine notions of sex, sexuality, gender, race and ethnicity that underlie many forms of social injustice and oppression.

Texts will feature theorists and scholars as Crenshaw, Butler, Lorber, Hooks, and Lorde, among others; films as Roma, La nana and Flores de otro mundo; some of the foremost female writers of Spanish Golden Age as María de Zayas and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz; and contemporary visual artists as Eleta, Burga, Gaspar, Yutsil, Bornstein and Muholi.

Required texts:

All required readings and videos will be provided on Canvas.

Prerequisites: SPAN 221; and SPAN 301 or equivalent expertise in written and spoken Spanish.

Language of instruction: Spanish

Upper Intermediate Spanish II

Spanish 402 is the next level of language proficiency for those who have completed Span 302, 401, or have an equivalent language competence, and for bilingual  students.

With an approach that is communicative and interactive, Span 402 fosters experiential learning and critical reflection through reflection, collaboration and community engagement. It  aims to refine the skills acquired in Span 302, while broadening students’ knowledge of the Spanish language and the Hispanic world. The course concentrates on key linguistic and contextual concepts, methods, and approaches of discourse analysis, as well as metalinguistic reflection.

Students will have the opportunity to consolidate and expand their language and communicative proficiency (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) skills as well as intercultural compentencies. Through the exploration of complex aspects of the language from a discursive perspective, beyond the sentence level, students will delve into syntactic, morphological, and semantic resources through various discursive genres, including literature, criticism, and journalism,  practice in academic writing, critical discussions of reading and audiovisual materials.

Span 402 gives student the opportunity to put into practice what they learn hands on by engaging actively with the Spanish speaking community, locally and abroad, developing projects through Spanish for Community.

The reading and audiovisual materials are freely accessible online. Instead of a final exam, students will submit a portfolio showcasing best examples of their course work and self reflection. Prerequisites for the course include completion of Span 302, 401, or an equivalent level with permission from the instructor.

The course is focused on:

• Grammatical analysis, vocabulary enrichment, and socio-cultural competency using a wide variety of authentic documents from the Spanish-speaking world, including literature, criticism, journalism, and more.
• Deep understanding of both concrete and abstract topics in complex written and oral texts.
• Researching and synthesizing relevant resources.
• Producing clear, adequate, nuanced, and well-structured written and oral communication on a range of topics, utilizing critical thinking, creativity, and rhetorical strategies.
• Fostering learner autonomy and self-reflection.
• Applying  communicative skills in  real contexts by engaging and collaborating  with the Hispanic community.

Learning objectives include:

• Expanding the capacity for reflective analysis of linguistic and stylistic mechanisms in the production of literary and non-literary texts.
• Distinguishing and utilizing complex grammatical resources in written and oral communication within specific contexts.
• Applying strategies of academic writing to create coherent, cohesive, and appropriate argumentative texts, while recognizing different levels of formality and lexical specificity.
• Practicing comprehensive reading and interpreting literary and non-literary texts critically.
• Extracting specific information from bibliographic sources.

Developing communication skills and  critical thinking skills for addressing social issues and/or for enriching community life though community engaged language projects.

Prerequisite: SPAN 302 or equivalent expertise in written and spoken Spanish.

Language of instruction: Spanish

Modern Magics: Spanish-American Literature and Culture since the 1820s

This course aims to familiarize students with major concepts in Latin American literature through a discussion of representative works from the most important aesthetic movements of the past two centuries, such as modernismo, realismo mágico, the Boom, testimonio, and the Post-Boom. By studying a selection of canonical Latin American works from different regions and literary genres (poetry, essays, prose, etc.), students will become familiar with the ways in which Latin American literature and culture have influenced, critiqued, and been shaped by issues such as colonialism, national identity, race, gender, migration, nature, and political violence.

The theme of our course is “Continuidades y Rupturas,” which speaks to the literary anxieties experienced in the Spanish-speaking Americas since Independence. To that end, we’ll consider how Latin American authors participate in and break with the (Ancient, Classical, European, U.S., etc.) literary tradition, as well as how these anxieties mirror and echo political, economic, and broader cultural anxieties. Spanish is the language of course readings, discussions, and assessments (written/oral).

Language of instruction: Spanish

Recommended prerequisites: SPAN 221; and SPAN 301 or equivalent expertise in written and spoken Spanish

Divergent Visions: Peninsular Literature and Culture since 1700

El curso es una introducción panorámica a la historia y los principales movimientos culturales de España durante los siglos XVIII y XIX en el contexto europeo: neoclasicismo, romanticismo, realismo y naturalismo.

Prerequisite: SPAN 221; and SPAN 301 or equivalent expertise in written and spoken Spanish.

Language of Instruction: Spanish

Tradition and Diversity in Spanish History and Culture

El curso es una visión panorámica de la historia y la cultura de España desde la prehistoria hasta el siglo XVIII.  Se enfocará en los principales acontecimientos políticos, sociales, económicos, religiosos y culturales.  El objetivo es comprender cómo se ha ido forjando su identidad plural a través de los siglos, en una lucha constante y tensa entre centro y periferia, y entre tradición y progreso.

Los objetivos de este curso son:

1) que el estudiante tenga una introducción a la historia y la cultura de España en el contexto Europeo hasta el comienzo del siglo XVIII.

2) que conozca el papel relevante de España y sus aportaciones a la vida y la cultura occidentales (por ejemplo, en el campo del derecho internacional).

3) que entienda cómo se ha formado la identidad española a partir de la fusión de múltiples razas y culturas, y la constante lucha entre tradición y progreso, centro y periferia.

4)  que comprenda el origen de la España plural de las Autonomías y su problemática (por ejemplo, la cuestión del anhelo de independencia de Catalana).

5) que aprenda a examinar con ojos críticos ciertos tópicos y lugares comunes sobre España, y comprenda la razón de ser y la complejidad de ciertos fenómenos y eventos [la Inquisición, las relaciones con América, o la expulsión de los judíos y los moriscos de la Península]

6) que entienda la necesidad de poner el arte, la literatura y otras manifestaciones culturales en relación con el contexto social, político, económico y filosófico del momento. Sólo así será posible interpretarlas y disfrutarlas.

7) que ponga las bases necesarias para poder entender plenamente, en cursos posteriores, los textos literarios y culturales que estudie en profundidad.

8) que desarrolle interés por la política, la economía y la cultura de España (que va más allá, por ejemplo, de que a uno no le gusten las corridas de toro, pero le entusiasme la paella, el flamenco y Almodóvar).

9) que siga profundizando en su conocimiento de la lengua española, especialmente en lo relativo a la lectura, el incremento del vocabulario, y la capacidad auditiva.

Language of instruction: Spanish

Prerequisite: One of SPAN 202, SPAN 203 or successful completion of language placement exam or an assessment interview