PORT101

PORT101

First-Year Portuguese I

Welcome to the Lusophone world, the world of the Portuguese-speaking countries! Study the most widely spoken language in the Southern Hemisphere and the 5th most spoken native language in the world!

PORT 101 is an interactive introduction to Portuguese language. The rich cultures of Brazil, Portugal and many other African and Asian Lusophone countries are incorporated in the materials used in class, providing you with an opportunity to immerse in authentic sociocultural situations. You will participate in communicative activities that will help you to develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. These activities will include role-play, group tasks, writing texts of practical nature such as basic internet communication, reading, and talking about simple articles on a variety of topics, playing games to revise lessons, watch and talk about short clips and music videos.

Upon successful completion of the course, you will be able to sustain basic communication about everyday life situations, such as introductions, campus life, expressing personal interests and hobbies, asking for information, ordering food, etc.

Language of instruction: Portuguese

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Note: Credit will be granted for only one of PORT 101 or PORT 110

Grading Breakdown

The assessment for this course is gently distributed and in a balanced way, with diverse activities throughout the term. There are no scary, long, stressing and tedious midterms or final exams for you in this course.

Assignments and Evaluations Breakdown:
Active Participation, oral proficiency in class, and preparation 10%
Video assignment 10%
MyLab Portuguese Activities 15%
Chapter check-ins (1 online quiz at home, 1 short tests in class, 10% each) 20%
Listening comprehension challenges (2 x 5% each) 10%
Oral interview 15%
Reading comprehension challenge 5%
Written end-of-term assessment 15%
Total = 100%

Readings

Pkg Ponto De Encontro: Portguese As A World Language 2/E W /
Author: JOUET-PASTRE
ISBN 9780133557138 or 9780205981120

SPAN312C

Topics in Hispanic Literature

Cross-listed with RMST 372

Explore Spain and Latin America’s contributions to global culture through popular Hispanic literature in translation.

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Language of instruction: English

SPAN308

Spanish for Business

This course will provide students with a foundational knowledge of business-related vocabulary, documents, concepts and cultural practices in the Spanish-speaking business world that will give them the basic tools needed to understand and produce business documents as well as carry out day-to-day negotiations in Spanish. All course assignments will be built around the different steps students will take to start up their dream business. In addition to the 21 Spanish-speaking countries that will be studied throughout the course, we will also take into account the growing importance of Brazil, North American Latino regions, trade agreements in North and South American commerce, and the European Union. Finally, the course will use of a variety of sources for information that will include, but are not limited to books, videos, on-line newspapers and magazines, podcasts and guest speakers. Accessibility—in terms of topics addressed and types of works studied, affordability and easy access to course materials, and student interests and levels – is a major priority for the course instructor.

Required readings:

Coursepack provided in digital format and made available to students with texts and materials covered by the course´s units (the company, management, banking, human resources, marketing…) and in the countries studied (México, Argentina, Spain, Colombia, Perú…).

Prerequisite: One of SPAN 207, SPAN 302. Or successful completion of a language placement exam or an assessment interview.

Language of instruction: Spanish

Note: Not available for credit toward a Major or Minor in Spanish.

SPAN302

Intermediate Spanish II

SPAN 302 is a course for intermediate-advanced students in which language skills are deepened towards an advanced level. It is the continuation of SPAN 301 or for students of an equivalent level with permission of the instructor. The objective of the course is for students to broaden and deepen their communication skills (orality, writing and listening) as well as linguistic reflection through the study of grammar in context . The course recognizing the social and cultural diversity of the Hispanic world by exposing students to literary and non-literary texts, art and audiovisual expressions. The course includes readings, analysis of texts, original compositions, English/Spanish grammar and comparison exercises, discussions and debates in which students must demonstrate not only their linguistic progress but also their capacity for critical reflection. Classes are conducted primarily in Spanish and students must use the Spanish language in their interactions and written assignments. The course includes volunteer opportunities in community projects related to the Hispanic community. Attendance, preparation and active participation are essential requirements of the course.

SPAN 302 includes Community Engaged Learning in all or some of the sections (see sections notes) with different options for participation. Projects are fully integrated in the course curriculum and reflected in the learning outcomes and assessments. Students have the opportunity to learn and apply their skills in community-based projects through the FHIS Spanish for Community, with community organizations in Metro Vancouver and/or in Latin America.

To learn more about past and current projects and students’ experiences please visit our website.

Language of Instruction: Spanish

Prerequisites: SPAN 301 or successful completion of language placement exam or an assessment interview

Grading Breakdown

Tareas: 5%
Essays: 20% (10-10)
Participation: 10%
Aural Quizzes: 15% (5-10)
Exam I: 20%
Exam II: 20%
Group presentation: 10%
Subject to change.

Readings

Repase y escriba: Curso avanzado de gramática y composición, 7th Edition
Maria Canteli Dominicis
ISBN: 978-1-118-50931-9
Hard copy or e-text

Determine your entry level
Find out which course level to start at given your previous experience with Spanish.

SPAN301

Intermediate Spanish I

SPAN 301 (CFER B1-1) is a course for intermediate students in which language skills are deepened towards an advanced intermediate level. The objective of the course is for students to broaden and deepen their communication skills (orality, writing and listening), as well as linguistic reflection through the study of grammar in context. Review of basic grammar topics and introduction of new structures in complex contexts.  The course emphasizes recognizing the social and cultural diversity of the Hispanic world by exposing students to literary and non-literary texts, art and audiovisual expressions. The course includes readings, analysis of texts, original compositions, English/Spanish grammar and comparison exercises, discussions and oral presentations in which students must demonstrate not only their linguistic progress but also their capacity for critical reflection. Classes are conducted in Spanish and students must use the Spanish language in their interactions and written assignments. The course may include volunteer opportunities in community projects related to the Hispanic community*. Students have the opportunity to learn and apply their skills in community-based projects through the FHIS Spanish for Community, with community organizations in Metro Vancouver and/or in Latin America. Attendance, preparation and active participation are essential requirements of the course.

*SPAN 301 may include Community Engaged Learning in all or some of the sections (see sections notes) with different options for participation. Projects are fully integrated in the course curriculum reflected in the learning outcomes and assessments. When integrated as mandatory component, the projects will not require onsite time, only optional or volunteer-based projects may have some outside class time.

To learn more about past and current projects and students’ experiences please visit our website.

Language of instruction: Spanish

Prerequisites: One of BC High School Spanish Grade 12, SPAN 202, SPAN 203, SPAN 206, SPAN 207 or successful completion of language placement exam or an assessment interview

Grading Breakdown

Tareas: 5%
Essays: 20% (10-10)
Participation: 10%
Aural Quizzes: 15% (5-10)
Exam I: 20%
Exam II: 20%
Group presentation: 10%
Subject to change.

Readings

Repase y escriba: Curso avanzado de gramática y composición, 7th Edition
Maria Canteli Dominicis
ISBN: 978-1-118-50931-9
Hard copy or e-text

Determine your entry level
Find out which course level to start at given your previous experience with Spanish.

SPAN280

Latin American Student Movements

Cross-listed with RMST 280

#IAm132

“We are the 90 percent!”

“Starving is cringe!”

“Education is not for sale!”

What if the classmate sitting next to you today were one of the leaders for change toward a better tomorrow at UBC, in Vancouver, or even around the world?  The slogans that open this course description were voiced by student leaders that strove to revolutionize the face of university life and society as a whole in Mexico, Chile, Colombia… and even right here in Vancouver, Canada!

Since the start of the 20th century (and even long before!), student activists from across Latin America have used the university as a space to breed social and political change.  Beginning with José Enrique Rodó’s Ariel (1900), which establishes youth as a form of power to be employed toward change, and ending with more recent protests against neo-liberal education practices, this course traverses countries (Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Venezuela), spaces (the university, the mountain, the city square, the border, the internet), and genres (diary, testimonial, (graphic) novel, documentary, film, music, new and social media) to evaluate the major concepts, practices, urgencies, and voices that frame student movements in Latin America throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

We will read some of the most impactful works-in-translation on student-driven pathways to change: Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s Motorcycle Diaries (2003), Iverna Lockpez’s graphic novel, Cuba: My Revolution (2010), Elena Poniatowska’s collection of testimonies on the 1968 Mexican Student Movement and ensuing massacre, Massacre in Mexico (1971), Omar Cabezas’s account of his time as a student-revolutionary in Nicaragua’s Sandinista Revolution, Fire from the Mountain (1983), and Juan Gabriel Vásquez’s depiction of the bogotazo and other violent events in Colombia’s recent history, The Shape of the Ruins (2015), among others.  We will also examine manifestos, (new) media, documentaries, and films from and on student voices from Venezuela’s caracazo (1989), the Chilean Winter (2011), and more recent protests in Mexico, Nicaragua, and Colombia, which show why and how issues that impact university life—equal access to education, tuition raises, food insecurity, and safety—are also connected to broader social and political issues and questions of democracy across Latin America and beyond.

Accessibility—in terms of topics addressed and types of works studied, affordability and easy access to materials, and student interests and levels—is a major priority for the instructor.

Required texts

Required texts and supplementary materials will be provided in digital format when possible, and made available to students on Canvas.

  • Ariel (1900), José Enrique Rodó (selections)
  • Cuba: Students, Yankees, and Soldiers (1933) , Justo Carrillo (selections)
  • Motorcycle Diaries (1952, 2003), Ernesto “Che” Guevara (selections) [Translator: Ann Wright]
  • Cuba: My Revolution (2010), Iverna Lockpez
  • Massacre in Mexico (1971, 1991), Elena Poniatowska (selections) [Translator: Helen R. Lane]
  • Amulet (1999, 2006), Roberto Bolaño [Translator: Chris Andrews]
  • Fire from the Mountain (1983), Omar Cabezas (selections) [Translator: Kathleen Weaver]
  • The Shape of Ruins (2015), Juan Gabriel Vásquez [Translator: Anne McLean]

Select films and documentaries:

  • Motorcycle Diaries (2004), Walter Salles (Director)
  • El Grito, Mexico 1968 (1968), Leobardo López Arreteche (Director)
  • Chile’s Student Uprising (2014), Roberto Navarrete (Director)

Prerequisite: None

Language of Instruction: English

RMST234

[Cross-listed with Italian Studies 234]

The Humane Comedy:
Educational Laughter in Contemporary Italian Cinema

By harnessing laughter to the illustration of major social, economic, or political issues of its day, the commedia all’italiana has contributed to fostering a better informed, more humane humanity, and in the process has set an example that ought to be held up as a mirror of ethical commitment (not to mention artistic accomplishment and box-office success) for cultures across the world. Hence the title of this course — The Humane Comedy: Educational Laughter in Contemporary Italian Cinema.

The topics covered are the following. Before the midterm: the politics of early post-Fascist Italy and the paradigms of neorealism (e.g. De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves, 1948); Pietro Germi’s Divorce, Italian Style (1961); Elio Petri’s The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1971); Franco Brusati’s Bread and Chocolate (1973). After the midterm: Ettore Scola’s We All Loved Each Other (1974); Maurizio Nichetti’s Icicle Thieves (1989); Lina Wertmüller’s Seven Beauties (1975); Roberto Benigni’s Life is Beautiful (1998); Gabriele Muccino’s Remember Me, My Love (2003); and Paolo Virzì’s Caterina Goes to the Big City (2003).

The class will meet on T Th 15:30-17:00. The viewings will be introduced and/or followed by lectures and discussion.

Textbooks
CINEMA (REQUIRED)
Bondanella, Peter.  A History of Italian Cinema.  New York: Continuum, 2011 (copyright 2009).

HIST AND CIV (REQUIRED)
Hearder, Harry, and Jonathan Morris. Italy: A Short History. Cambridge University Press, 2001 (or latest ed.)

Prerequisite: None

Language of instruction: English

Course Registration

SPAN222

Hispanic Cultural Expressions

Flamenco dancer.

Este curso se propone explorar las múltiples facetas de la cultura hispánica desde una perspectiva crítica. A través del examen de varios géneros (la música, el arte y el cine), los estudiantes analizarán la producción cultural de distintos períodos históricos, vinculándola tanto con sus creadores como con sus contextos sociopolíticos respectivos. En cada análisis se aprenderá una terminología específica y se discutirán conceptos propios de los estudios culturales. Asimismo, abordaremos temas fundamentales, como la identidad colectiva, la resistencia cultural, los movimientos sociales y la política de género, entre otros. El objetivo principal consiste en que los estudiantes desarrollen su capacidad para leer, ver y reflexionar sobre textos culturales en español, ya sea oralmente o por escrito.

Language of instruction: Spanish

Prerequisites: One of BC High School Spanish Grade 12, SPAN 202, SPAN 203 or successful completion of language placement exam or an assessment interview

Grading Breakdown

Attendance and participation: 15%
Discussion Board: 15%
Oral presentation: 10%
Cultural Analysis: 15%
Midterm: 20%
Final exam: 25%

Readings

All course materials will be available on Canvas.

SPAN221

Introduction to Hispanic Literature

This introductory course offers an elementary and comprehensive understanding of literary analysis using Spanish and Latin American short texts. On this textual basis, the main literary genres (narrative, essay, poetry, drama) will be introduced with their terminology, as well as the great themes of Hispanic literature: love, violence, travel, nature, injustice, social alienation, death, beauty, family, mystery and terror. Authors and texts will be studied in their historical, geographic, political, and cultural contexts.

Diversity and accessibility are primary concerns for this course instructor, encompassing a wide range of topics, study materials, and consideration for students’ interests and linguistic proficiency. A digital coursepack featuring adapted and annotated texts from renowned authors such as Don Juan Manuel, Cervantes, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Gabriel García Márquez, Ana María Matute, Borges, Federico García Lorca, and more will be provided to students free of charge.

Language of instruction: Spanish

Prerequisites: One of BC High School Spanish Grade 12, SPAN 202, SPAN 203, or successful completion of language placement exam or an assessment interview

Grading Breakdown

Participation and attendance 15%
Discussion Leader Session 10%
Quizzes (2) 30% (15% each)
Text Commentary 5%
Essay 15%
Final Examination (required at 100 and 200 levels in Arts) 25%

Readings

A digital coursepack featuring adapted and annotated texts from renowned authors such as Don Juan Manuel, Cervantes, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Gabriel García Márquez, Ana María Matute, Borges, Federico García Lorca, and more will be provided to students free of charge.

SPAN207

Conversational Spanish II

This second year conversational-Spanish sequence is designed for students who have been exposed to a minimum of 150 hrs of conversation (CEFR A2/B1) and wish to expand in their communicative competencies.  It offers a combination of instructor-facilitated, small-group discussions, peer review projects, debates, interviews, and brief presentations around topics such as the view of the Hispanic world on global warming, technology and health, amongst other relevant topics. Special guests are a key element in this course, so students can deepen their skills as they expand their awareness through active participation.

Grammar will only be reviewed through context study, emphasizing on the topics of relative pronouns, compound tenses – both in indicative and subjunctive mood, and the use of all conditional sentences.

High attendance throughout the class, and a continuous collaborative environment is vital for the success in this course.

The Department of FHIS reserves the right to refuse enrollment to any of its language courses to a student who has, in the view of the Department, a level of competence unsuited to that course. Enrollment at or below the level the student has already attained is not permitted.

Prerequisite: SPAN 206

Language of Instruction: Spanish